Powerful

Must See Movie...

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Never trust the government at any level. They win, you lose.

1978. Barry Seal, an airline pilot, is recruited by the CIA to fly special transport missions in Central America. Initially it is a matter of information-for-supplies but ultimately he ends up being a drug transporter for Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel and supplying anti-Communist groups, including the Nicaraguan Contras, with weapons.Entertaining. Told in a very light-hearted, fun way it is a roller-coaster ride of humour and action. The humour stems largely from the ineptness and unintended consequences of the actions of the CIA and US government. If told in a more serious way, this would have been a very damning indictment of the US's involvement in Central America in the 1980s, and a powerful examination of how the CIA and US government abuse the loyalty of their own citizens. However, the story is told as a comedy, with absurdity piled upon absurdity, so difficult to believe. Just as well, as, in actual fact, much of what is described is fictional. In particular, the real Barry Seal was hardly a paragon of virtue and only ended up working with the US Government once he was facing jail time.Still, an entertaining story, regardless of its accuracy.

Doug Liman had to atone for the Jason Bourne film which was too right wing with this: a completely made up left wing distortion to trash Reagan. WAPO, NYT and others spent months on the real story and concluded Reagan and the CIA never knew about a drug connection. The Sandinista regime was not only installed by the Soviets, the president Daniel Ortega promised if you like your plan and total health care for no money you can keep it along with dozens of obama style pipe dreams. You can read about them. It was a very long list. But alas, corruption and infighting brought zero promises kept and then what a surprise, the communists took away every civil right and ruled with an iron fist, meaning rape, torture and murder. Reagan tried to stop it with the opponents who were called contras. The commies were eventually booted out but guess what? Good old George Bush put Ortega back in 2006. He was a fully converted supporter of the USA by then. We have been supporting the country ever since with a lot of money and plenty of programs. In other words, everything in the film is a lie but as a film it is pretty well made and enjoyable to watch. Liman admitted it was all lies and too bad few will ever read that.

This movie is a must see to believe. Tom Cruise hits center mass with his performance and the supporting actors wrangle us in, depicting a true life story that is unbelievable if it weren't true. Smh at the hypocrisy and double standard of our American government. Reality is often times stranger than fiction.