Tom Cruise appears to be on the lookout for another successful movie franchise to hitch a ride on – and Jack Reacher may be the one!
Jack Reacher is a fictional character created by a UK author about an American investigator who used to handle tough criminal cases involving members of the Army.
Since leaving the Army, Reacher has drifted around (carrying only money, a toothbrush and a credit card) and solving crimes that come his way. To date, there have been 17 novels published featuring the character.
The ninth novel (“One Shot”) was chosen to introduce Tom Cruise as Reacher solving five simultaneous murders from six shots by an expert sniper. Reacher does not think that the suspect (a former Army marksman) is responsible and tries to identify the true killer, but comes up with more than he bargained for.
Cruise plays Reacher in a quietly confident way – quick to drop a one-liner (which often get a hearty laugh from the audience) as he applies his knowledge of the criminal mind and his fighting skills to solving the case.
I actually found the latter a little disconcerting, especially hearing the crunch of breaking bones and the ease with which Reacher dispenses such violence in several fight scenes.
However, there are several well staged car chases in the film which are accompanied by some of the best sound effects I’ve heard.
Cruise reportedly did all his own stunt driving which could very well be true as there are a couple of sequences where Cruise can be clearly seen as the driver as the cars screech through the streets of Pennsylvania.
While it may sometimes be hard to keep up with Reacher’s logic as he draws conclusions from the clues he finds, Jack Reacher is an entertaining film that is well set up for subsequent outings. Public reaction to recent random mass shootings in the US may have an impact on its initial box office takings, but it will probably have a long term lifespan and become a successful series of films.
Several of the co-stars in Jack Reacher put in impressive performances. Rosamund Pike moves on from assisting movie spies (James Bond in Die Another Day and Johnny English in Johnny English Reborn) to acting as the defence lawyer side-kick to Reacher.
Richard Jenkins (who has previously won acclaim in both broad comedy and drama) plays a potentially sinister character, while Robert Duvall makes a late entrance in an appealing role supporting Reacher in his final confrontation with the ‘bad guys’.
Overall, another good film from Tom Cruise who has a knack for giving audiences what they want!
3 out of 5
Jack Reacher Australian release: 6th December, 2012 Official Site: Jack Reacher Cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Jai Courtney, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall Director: Christopher McQuarrie
