At first, the way that the film tries to settle you into the late '70s and early '80s is a little disorienting. The VHS-like resolution seems like overkill. But as the action picks up, the film's effects and tricks make it more fun to watch. It's not a standard delivery technique for certain, and personally, it added a lot to my viewing pleasure.

Tom Cruise plays Barry Seal. Seal is portrayed as a magnetic personality with some questionable morals. He loves his family, it seems more than anything else, and that love sticks to the character during the film's entire run. You never get the feeling that his family's well-being is the primary reason he's taking the risks he is, though. On the one hand, he's concerned that he doesn't have a health plan as he takes a job with the IAC ("CIA") but he takes tremendous chances with the safety of his family anyway. Eventually, he has so much money from gun and drug running, it's actually falling out of suitcases and duffel bags stacked in closets and buried in holes in the ground. Barry is actually in it for the adventure, although that is never told to us in anyway by Director Doug Liman and crew. Seal is constantly trying to shelter and hide his family from the dangers that he himself is kicking up. He shows frustration at times, but never backs away from new "business", no matter how shady.

Enough can't be said about Cruise's performance. He's so good here. I have relayed my thoughts before about how much better he makes every movie that he's in. He's an endlessly entertaining actor and it's fun to see him portray a man who's not an infallible hero or indestructible force. For the last time, I don't really know what kind of freak he is in real life but he is one of the very few actors that I'll watch in anything. The movies that he's made over the last decade and a half have been terrific more often than not.