This film essentially begins with a young pilot named "Barry Seal" (Tom Cruise) abruptly leaving his job for Trans World Airlines (TWA) to work for the CIA taking aerial photos of communist insurgents in Nicaragua. One thing eventually leads to another, and he soon finds himself working simultaneously for the Medellin Cartel smuggling cocaine into the United States. Although he is eventually arrested, his knowledge and experience working in Central and South America becomes invaluable to the American government which then results in him being recruited for even more hazardous assignments. The problem, however, is that the more involved he becomes in these clandestine operations, the more difficult it becomes for him to evade serious accountability. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that, even though this film is supposedly based on a true story, the fact is that Hollywood has taken its usual liberties and embellished much of these events completely out of proportion. But that's Hollywood for you. Even so, this still turned out to be an entertaining film with Tom Cruise putting in an especially good performance. That being said, historical accuracy aside, I enjoyed this film, and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.