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Dir: Doug Liman (15, 120 mins)
Tom Cruise ditches the franchises for this loose biopic of pilot Barry Seal, who worked both for the CIA and drug runners in south America in the 1970s and 80s. An almost implausible tale which re-teams the megastar with director Doug Liman, with whom Cruise made the satisfying sci-fi Edge of Tomorrow. Plucked from ‘bus driving’ airplanes as a regular pilot, Seal is recruited by Downhill Gleason’s CIA handler but instead of playing strictly by the government’s rules he plays both the CIA and the Medellin drug lords against each other. Seal was something of a chaotic maverick, out for his own financial gain, despite the considerable danger involved, both to him and his wife, played by Sarah Wright. Brought to the screen with a heavy dose of humour, it’s good to see Cruise flexing his acting muscles again in an enjoyable tale of unlikely corruption.
Opens Aug 25