Jack Reacher

Saw JACK REACHER on Monday night at an advance screening. Here's some of my thoughts. There are no spoilers.

First off, I'd say I agree with the general critical reception: 4/5 stars. To me that means it's a solid movie that delivers at the high end of its genre. JACK REACHER isn't trying to be anything revolutionary, it's more the kind of action thriller audiences haven't seen for a while.

This isn't MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE or even James Bond. Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie takes his inspiration from action movies of the late 60s/early 70s like DIRTY HARRY (which has been name checked in a couple reviews already), BULLITT (for the car chase); and maybe another Don Siegel movie, CHARLEY VARRICK. The excitement here doesn't come from over the top stunts or huge explosions. Like the action movies just referenced, you thrill to watching a strongly defined protagonist outsmart, outfight and outmaneuver the bad guys.

Which brings me to the character of Jack Reacher and the casting of Tom Cruise. In the series of novels by Lee Child this movie is based on, Jack Reacher is an ex-MP detective. After a lifetime spent on military bases overseas, he lives as a drifter in the United States who adheres to a life of zero commitments: No house, no job, no car, no possessions, no family. Oh, and he stands 6'5" and weighs 250 lbs.

Clearly Tom Cruise doesn't match that physical description. What makes Reacher such a great character in Child's books though has far less to do with his exterior than it does with his intellect. If you've read the series as I have, it's a little strange at first. As the film played out however, I got more relaxed and more into it. This was definitely a movie about Lee Child's hero Jack Reacher, physical differences be damned.

Would I have preferred an unknown actor closer to Child's description to play Reacher on screen? Yes, of course. But I could say that about virtually any character, and often do. I generally want unknowns for everything.

Which is where Cruise's casting comes in handy a bit. Because his casting sort of guarantees a certain amount of box office, it means the filmmakers can take more chances. Like crafting an action movie that's longer on character and occasional brutal violence and short on mindless action and impossible nonsense.

JACK REACHER was a very satisfying action thriller for me. I felt it captured what I love about Lee Child's thrillers and Jack Reacher in particular. I'd definitely recommend it, and I'm going to see it in the theater again. That's for damn sure.

I have read all the Jack Reacher's books (at least the novels and short stories written by Lee Child) so I knew the plot pretty well and it is well rendered for most of the movie. The first half is spot on, sharp to deliver the action like Lee Child: with a lot of thought but few words.

Then, for some reason it strays from this really fine rendition. My guess is that they couldn't cope with the overwhelming violence of Jack Reacher's stories. They did not want something too off-putting for the masses since Tom Cruise was supposed to bring in a larger crowd. So why did they chose this one story in the first place? Obviously they dug the beginning, the premise and it shows: it is the one thing that is perfectly adapted. But, hello, this is a story which starts with a mass shooting! Certainly the worst kind of terror attack you can show when you specifically focus on the doomed victims in the cross-hairs of the sniper's sight...

I am not a big fan of Tom Cruise and casting him as the imposing silent square-jawed Jack Reacher was definitely baffling. I don't mind much about the size, that is definitely in the realm of creative license for the adapters. Now you can only stretch the adaptation so far without losing the concentrated spirit of the original material. So the real problem is that Tom Cruise always wants to flash his smile, to be funny and agreeable at some point. But Jack Reacher is above all an introverted loner, he does not display his emotions when he is hurt by some bad guy's actions: he dutilfully registers this and takes the steps towards some retribution.

That was the real challenge of bringing Jack Reacher to life, not betraying his original inner strength but making him likable... wild and sexy. In this adaptation of One Shot I cannot understand how they could underuse Rosamund Pike to make her play a frigid attorney whereas Reacher absolutely needs some kind of a delicately veiled lascivous sidekick. Instead we get a scene that is fine for Tom Cruise but totally at odds with the Jack Reacher character where he takes a step to seduce a girl that is basically not sufficiently attracted. Here they miss the mark big time.

Then you get the fight in the bathroom that is comical, which is ok except that it shows Reacher at a disadvantage. That was certainly dumb to have the great Jack Reacher being taken by surprise by two dimwit thugs.

Jack Reacher as Frank Bullitt

Now this is icebox logic, I reckon. Where the movie actually starts losing it for me is with the stupid car chase (Jack Reacher does not like to drive, isn't that an interesting plot device?). Then Reacher doesn't team up with the attorney and does alone to the shooting range. It is great to have Robert Duvall but well... that is a setup that does jettison the fantastic ending in the book. Instead we get some run-of-the-mill shoot-out in a quarry that sorely reminds you of all these movies that ended up behind schedule and out of budget when it was time to wrap it up.

Really a pity that they would show so much energy and talent at the beginning and then got lazy or tired or something to just dish out something that does not come together as a Jack Reacher adventure.

And confirming this, yes it is getting even worse till the very end with that final moaning of the sniper after Jack Reacher is eventually off to a new destination. Almost as if they had brought in another director with his own writer midway through a shoot in sequence.

There was a time—let's call it "The 80s"—when action movies didn't need CGI cheats, shaky-cam and ADD-editing to entertain us. They also didn't have to destroy ten city blocks, have a "clever" hook or feel the need to tack on a social message to justify their carnage. No, all they needed was a reason for some good old steak and potatoes action and a star to anchor it all. 2012's Jack Reacher has these qualities in spades.

Maybe this won't appeal to the eGeneration who need to have their senses constantly bombarded, but for the rest of us, Jack Reacher is a solid bit of retro-refreshment.

James Barr (Joseph Sikora), a former military sniper, is in jail for killing 5-people and says he is innocent. He asks for ex-Army MP Officer, Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise). But Reacher knew Barr in Iraq and is out to prove him guilty. Hmmm……should be a slam dunk.

It's not often that we get a good thriller along with a good mystery as well, but that is what we have here. Why would Barr ask for Jack Reacher if Reacher knew what Barr did in Iraq? Also, what was the purpose of Barr killing 5-people who had no connection to each other? Assistant DA Helen (Rosamund Pike) asks Reacher to help prevent Barr from getting the death penalty. But, we also had some good fight scenes and an exciting car chase. Let the games begin.

This gets somewhat talky in the beginning as Helen and Reacher analyze what had happened. But, we hang on every word because we, too, need to know things. All this sounded like the dialogue was dubbed in, but I think the microphones were just too close to the characters and this made it seem as if the dialogue was dubbed in. To be honest it did look like Rosamund Pike had weak knees around Tom Cruise, but the script wouldn't go here. It just looked that way to me.

The supporting cast of bad guys was good as was Detective Emerson (David Oyelowo), assigned to the Barr case. Robert Duvall comes in as a retired USMC Gunnery Sgt, Gunny Cash, who does a masterful job as the owner of a gun range and inserts some humor as he deals with Reacher.

Over all this was very good. But, I did have the feeling something was missing. Maybe it needed a better ending as this one was kind of weak for such a good story.

Maybe Tom Cruise is leaving his Mission Impossible movies behind and is now centering on another action hero: Jack Reacher, who is described as someone who seems to only wear the clothes on his back, doesn't care about the law and is only concerned with one thing: justice, and the way he goes about achieving it may shock you. Hey, Lee Child, the author of the Jack Reacher series wrote about 15-books. See? (8/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes, not much

Considering the mixed reception that 'Jack Reacher' has garnered, most of the critical external reviews have been positive or mixed feelings but it also received a lot of backlash from fans of the books, it was hard to say how 'Jack Reacher' was going to turn out.

When finally seeing it, the film is far from perfect by all means but to me it was not bad at all. In fact it was very enjoyable with a number of strengths. It's a very well-made film, stylishly and atmospherically shot with a neo-noir feel while there are some good use of locations and the editing is tight and crisp, making the action coherent and not resorting to the often seizure-inducing shaky cam technique. The music is energetic and haunting without being brash or overly-bombastic, with very effective use of silence.

Despite a few draggy and too padded out scenes (particularly the overlong and far too talky scene with Jack and Helen trying to piece things altogether) and an anaemic - due to the lack of tension-, anti-climactic and all too convenient ending, the story is paced very nicely and is always diverting. The twists and turns ensure some good tension and suspense and it never feels too predictable, hackneyed or convoluted. There's also the use of flashbacks to remind the viewer of anything important, thankfully they're not overused or repetitive. The action is exciting rather than overly-loud and generic with the right amount of chaos and urgency, like the brawl and the fight in the hallway. Character interaction is strong, with the central one between Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike having some nice moments, and Jack is a very interesting character.

Most of the acting is good. Whatever has been said of Tom Cruise being physically completely wrong (often described by detractors as one of the biggest miscasts ever), he still makes for a charismatic and intense hero that has steel in his eyes and plays it appropriately straight despite the campiness of some of one-liners. Am amazed at well he deals with the action, his energy and dexterity are enviable. In support, two fare particularly strongly. One is Robert Duvall, his role is quite small but he brings a very memorable curmudgeon wit. The other, and even more so, is Werner Herzog's spine-tingling villain, his story of how he came to lose his fingers is the film's most chilling moment. Richard Jenkins is strong if underutilised, likewise with David Oyelowo. The biggest surprise was Jai Courtney in the best performance this viewer has seen from him, unlike his awful performances in 'A Good Day to Die Hard' and 'Terminator Genysis' he actually isn't annoying and he has a personality too. 'Jack Reacher' starts on a wonderfully tense note too, so much so that one wishes that that quality of tension was there at the end, and while Christopher McQuarrie is a better writer than he is a director he directs more than serviceably here.

Sadly, there are drawbacks. Much has been said already in the review about the ending and some draggy pacing and padding, but another problem is the overlong length with some of the third act feeling forced dialogue-wise and bloated. The two biggest problems with 'Jack Reacher' are the script and (as much as I hate to say it) the performance of Rosamund Pike. There are some clever and funny moments in the script but the amount of times the one-liners were cheesy and forced and the film became too talky in a long-winded fashion were more numerous. Pike is a much better actress than she is given credit for, and she has given some good to great performances in good to great films (especially her brilliant performance in 'Gone Girl') and has even been a redeeming factor in mediocre/bad ones or heavily problematic ones, but her performance here is one of her worst in a role that wastes her. She is not helped by her character, who is bland and underwritten and it was like the writers couldn't decide what personality to give her and her dialogue is well below par and is frankly beneath Pike, but this viewer has never seen her look so stiff and bug-eyed (she has showed much more expression and range than here before, despite what her detractors say) and the performance was an uncomfortable mix of melodrama and phoning in.

In conclusion, while far from flawless 'Jack Reacher' has a lot of great things still and judging it as a standalone is very enjoyable. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox