Jack Reacher is the main character in 17 books. 17 whopping books and now Tom Cruise stars as said main character on the big screen. In a nutshell; Reacher is a former Military Police Major, and is basically a bad ass who wants to do the right thing. He’s a bit ninja like, without the suit. He’s off the grid and turns up out of the blue. He’s got no passport, no address, hell…he’s only got one set of clothes. So that’s our title character who gets involved into a case where a trained military sniper has decided to shoot five random victims. Granted all isn’t what it seems as these things go, so stick in some car chases, fights and shoot outs and you have the first Jack Reacher movie….potentially out of 17 movies (Cruise says he’d love to do more)
This is a bit of a different beast for Tom Cruise in the sense it’s not a blockbuster where’s he swinging around the Dubai Skyline and whatnot. Jack Reacher is a solid, but slow burning thriller (for the best part) and it’s refreshing to see Cruise do something like this again after doing Axl Rose impressions and the likes. Don’t get this reviewer wrong, Cruise is the biggest and best action star on the planet, but he’s also quite an accomplished actor. In Jack Reacher he brings a deep, burning intensity to the screen. It’s the tone of voice, it’s the eyes and the general mannerisms that will have you instantly glued to our lead character. And while I’m led to believe, physically Cruise’s Reacher is quite different from the book’s Reacher (by a few pounds and inches) it’s irrelevant. His performance is really watchable and while the fight scenes are brutal in places, you wish there was a little bit more. Instead though, we get the best car chase since Ronin.
Christopher McQuarrie and his crew provide an exhilarating car chase sequence, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Robert De Niro screeched around Paris in 1998. There’s some fantastic camera work with tight close-ups which give a surreal cluster phobic feel to the chase, but adds ten fold to the intensity. While it sounds cheesy, it does give a real impression of actually being in the car with Cruise, who shot all of his own car stunts. Again though, you’re left wanting more.
With a supporting cast including Rosamund Pike and Robert Duvall, you have a bunch of characters who are likeable and even though Duvall has little screen time, it feels just about right as any more and this have turned into a buddy / bromance kinda movie. Pike though is perfectly peppered throughout and has a tantalising look about her, where no doubt, some audience members will be screaming for a semi topless shot at the least. Richard Jenkins, who’s not as ample as Pike, plays these kinds of roles in his sleep and as such doesn’t break much of a sweat.
At 130 minutes, this is by no means a slow movie (state the obvious anyway) but to McQuarrie’s credit, the pacing while not lightning fast, is solid and steady. Overall Jack Reacher is a rock solid night out at the cinema. Cruise is rather excellent and It’s entertaining, engaging and burning with intensity. Not only that, it absolutely, positively leaves you craving for more Cruise as Jack Reacher. So, lets get more Reacher on the big screen (maybe I’ll buy some books) but in the meantime, check this out, because it packs a serious punch!
