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American Made

American Made

Comedy · Crime · Drama · 2017

The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.

Movie details

American Made

“It's not a felony if you're doing it for the good guys.”

2017 Comedy · Crime · Drama 1h 55m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over American Made?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Blow

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Crime · 2001

The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.

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Jackie Brown

Crime · 1997

Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.

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Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco

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Crime · 2014

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Veronica Guerin

Veronica Guerin

Drama · 2003

In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the bottom with addicts, Guerin then gets in touch with John Traynor, a paranoid informant. Not without some prodding, Traynor leads her to John Gilligan, the ruthless head of the operation, who does not take kindly to Guerin's nosing.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Doug Liman

Written by

Gary Spinelli

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise

Barry Seal

Domhnall Gleeson

Domhnall Gleeson

Monty 'Schafer'

Sarah Wright

Sarah Wright

Lucy Seal

Jesse Plemons

Jesse Plemons

Sheriff Downing

Caleb Landry Jones

Caleb Landry Jones

JB

Lola Kirke

Lola Kirke

Judy Downing

Jayma Mays

Jayma Mays

Dana Sibota

Court is in session

Put American Made on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.