Jack Reacher is based on a series of books about a six-foot, 250-pound man, so apparently fans of the book were not pleased to hear that 5'7" Tom Cruise, more scrawny than brawny, had been cast in the role. However, he does a great job with the role; if the book fans can put away their biases, they may actually end up enjoying the film adaptation.
Jack Reacher (Cruise) is a ghost. He served in the military, mostly working as an investigator, and received many honors; and then, after that, he seemed to vanish. When James Barr (Joseph Sikora), a sniper who has shot five random people asks for him by name, he randomly shows up to talk to the DA, Rodin (Richard Jenkins) and his colleague Emerson (David Oyelowo) about the man, and ends up working with the lawyer defending the sniper, the DA's daughter, Helen (Rosamund Pike). All evidence points to Barr having committed the crime, but Reacher isn't so sure, and he must figure out the evidence before being run out of town by some shady characters.
The movie was action-packed, but did feel a little slow at times. My other complaint was that they never explained the motivation for the whole scheme (without going into more details...) at the end, and why that turn of events happened that way; we learn who was involved other than the sniper, but the reason for this person being involved is left up in the air, which kind of annoyed me. Other than that, I found the film to be very witty, as well as including great action scenes, including a few car chases as well. I can't remember the last time I saw an action movie that was this witty, actually; for example, in one scene the DA is discussing how hard Jack Reacher is to find, and then an aide pops into the room and says "a Jack Reacher is here to see you, sir," which was ironic and also pretty funny.
Yes, see this movie. Like I said, I have not read the books, so I can't tell you how it compares, but as a stand-alone film, I enjoyed it a lot. It's a little bit "fluffy" - odds are, the next day, you won't remember much for it - but it's definitely a fun ride and one worth taking. Tom Cruise proves he definitely still "has it," and he upholds his reputation as a great action star here. The film also seemed to be left open for a sequel, so perhaps we will see more of Jack Reacher in the near future.
Jack Reacher is in theaters now and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 130 minutes. 3.5 stars out of 5.
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Liz Parker is a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in Creative Writing and Literature, and she loves going to the movies. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films
