Jack Reacher

Based upon an English book series about an ex-US Army Military Police Corps officer.  The film Jack Reacher is based upon the ninth book in the series, titled “One Shot”, a reference to the snipers in the film.  In the book series, Reacher is tall and imposing.  In the film, Reacher is played by Tom Cruise, who is 5’7” and about 170lbs; Hollywood is at it again! The film revolves around a spree killing.  A sniper has murdered five seemingly random civilians in downtown Pittsburg.  The man arrested for the crimes requests Jack Reacher.  From here, Jack and the accused’s attorney go on a long string of conflicts, investigations, and miraculous discoveries to untie the plot, and the deeper motives of the supporting cast of the film.

“You think I’m a hero?  I’m not a hero…”

First the complaints: this film is long.  2:10 and could have easily lost 40 minutes of time.  While it seems the intention is to build a franchise, and I can only assume that the amount of time taken was to remain true to the source material, it still felt unnecessarily long.  This was probably exacerbated by the fact that the film had the feel of every other cookie-cutter action/mystery movie in the last ten years.  While the investigation, deduction, and revelations were compelling, the overuse of stoicism, bravado, and some unrealistic scenario’s gave the appeal of ‘just another action film.’ With that said, Jack Reacher does deliver some great performances, particularly in Werner Herzog.  The iconic director finds his way to the other side of the camera to play the ominous kingpin, Zec (don’t worry, that doesn’t spoil any of the surprises).  His character is brutal, and Herzog brings him to life with an eerie calm. Furthermore, the action sequences are believable; ‘older A-List celebrities that kick-ass’ was once the monopoly of Liam Neeson.  Cruise proves he can swing with the best of them.  There’s also a fair amount of gunplay, and the token car chase to complete the mix.

“The law has limits, he does not.”

Probably most memorable and refreshing is that within the character of Jack Reacher there is not a sense of justice within the law.  While the character is hardly a vigilante, he is a simplistic vehicle for right and wrong, and does not seem burdened by the necessity of the justice system.  Should there be an obvious wrong that needs righted, there is no need to burden the courts with it, this character handles it.  While this seems common, it is not a character trait often found in cinema today (assumedly because it may incite a bad example.) The book series has 18 canonical entries, with more on the way.  With a budget of $60 million, Jack Reacher grossed over $216 million at box offices, so sequels are not out of the question.  Cruise is no stranger to franchise film work, having helmed the Mission Impossible series, with its fifth film rumored to be in production, as well as a rumor that Cruise is working on a film adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall, Werner Herzog and Richard Jenkins has completed its theatrical run, and received positive reviews from fans and critics alike.  Personally, while it’s a decent rent, or stream should it ever come to Netflix, this film seems like an elongated setup to a run-of-the-mill action franchise.  Reacher is expected to be released on DVD and Blu-ray home media on May 7^th 2013.