Movie rating: 4 Star

Jack Reacher

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Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has taken on quite a task for his second feature; despite winning an Oscar for writing the screenplay to The Usual Suspects, his directorial debut The Way Of The Gun was largely ignored (despite being pretty great), and his screenplays ended up as average (Valkyrie) or terrible (The Tourist) movies. Now he's adapting a novel from a hugely popular series, with a lead character described as being 6 foot 5, 250 pounds with dirty blonde hair. To play this person, McQuarrie has chosen... Tom Cruise.

But despite being pretty much the exact opposite of author Lee Child's ex-Military Police Major Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise fully embodies the character in almost every way possible. Possessing the mental prowess of Sherlock Holmes and the physical abilities of his own Ethan Hunt, Cruise clearly relishes the role of man who will do anything to ensure the correct people are punished for their ill deeds, even if that means breaking a law or two. Or a leg or two.

Reacher is dropped into a plot involving an expert sniper who, apparently, has killed five random people for no reason. The sniper himself calls in Reacher for legal assistance, before being beaten into a coma while in police custody. So it's up to Reacher, with the help of the sniper's attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike) to get to the bottom of why the sniper killed these five people, and then why he would call in Reacher to prove that he didn't.

McQuarrie injects the twisty plot with some fantastic dialogue - although there are a few cheesy one-liners - and most of the supporting cast (Richard Jenkins, Jai Courtney, Robert Duvall) do quite well, save for Werner Herzog as chief villain The Zec, who feels painfully underwritten. Aside from that, McQuarrie also does fantastically well directing with a lean, economical but muscular fashion, a distinct throwback to the 70's cop thrillers. The opening sniper attack and the subsequent flashbacks are all terrifically tense, and the bone-cracking fist-fights, a teeth-rattling car-chase and the satisfying climax are all handled with aplomb.

A late entry for one of the most entertaining movies of the year, Jack Reacher is evidence that - despite his stature - Cruise is still one of Hollywood's biggest and best.

Review by Rory Cashin | 11:57 | Wednesday 26th December 2012 | Movie Review

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Comments

• jack brown

  I am Not to going to see this movie and for one reason only .Tome cruise is an idiot who gave up his family for scientology lunacy

  Posted 23:53 | Sat 29th Dec 2012

• damien

  If you can get past all the apparent baggage that comes with a Tom Cruise movie these days and manage to go see this I think you will be plesantly suprised. The story and pacing are excellent,no suprises there cosidering it is based on a successful series of novels.However ,it is the symbiotic relationship between Director, McQuarrie and his star Cruise that ensures this movie just feels a little special .It is nice to finally see a movie that knows exactly what it is ,a homage to the gritty 70s cop thillers ,with a little Dirty Harry Callaghan thrown in for good measure. I urge you to go see it.

  Posted 10:50 | Tue 1st Jan 2013

• sr

  By far the worst crap in this genre that has been made in years. I loved Cruise in Collateral, he was brilliant and in Minority Report and ace in Tropic Thunder and born for MI, but he is terrible in this, he's not even trying, he doesn't care and quite soon into the movie thanks to the terrible supporting cast, dire directing you'll not care to much either. **it. Truly awful. 0/10

  Posted 09:54 | Thu 11th Apr 2013

• Mr.T

  very worrying that entertainment .ie gives this C movie four stars......was the evostik container left open perchance?

  Posted 13:28 | Thu 11th Apr 2013

• Emma59

  Jack Reacher was brilliant . A very enjoyable action filled film .Tom Cruise was amazing in it.

  Posted 14:26 | Sun 13th Jan 2013

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