Jack Reacher

You think I'm a hero? I am not a hero. And if you're smart, that scares you. Because I have nothing to lose. It got off on the wrong foot, fans of the Lee Child novels were up in arms about the casting of Tom Cruise in the title role. He didn't fit the profile it was said, scorn was poured on the film, quite often by people who hadn't even seen it! So how refreshing to find that since I personally have no affinity to the Child books, and having never read anything by the author, I found a wonderfully old fashioned thriller. Reacher the character is a damn fine creation, an ex military bad ass who doesn't get found unless he wants to get found. He gets involved with jobs that need solving, utilising his special skills to close out the mysteries. Here he pitches up along side defence attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike) when an ex army sniper apparently at random kills five people and then mentions Reacher's name during interrogation. Cue twists and turns, rocks upturned for covert clues and a shady road to be trawled to get to the crux of the matter. Cruise as Reacher is superb, where under the astute directing and writing of Christopher McQuarrie we are left in no doubt this is a cool no nonsense hard man, loved by the ladies and feared by not just the crims, but also the law authorities. None of which is overkilled, it's subtle in execution, McQuarrie doesn't need to turn his film into a blitzkrieg of CGI blunderbuss multiplex pandering. Action is smartly staged, the violence brutal without being course, while the story is delightful in how it gleefully wrong foots the viewers in plot dynamics and sly humour. The deal is closed out via the sterling supporting turns to Cruise, with Pike, Robert Duvall, Werner Herzog and Jai Courtney adding considerably to this splendid Cruise and McQuarrie broth. In spite of divisive reviews and reports, Jack Reacher in filmic form has risen above that to become a success. Hooray! 7.5/10

So five, ostensibly unconnected, people are picked off walking along the street by a sniper. Surprisingly, the police manage to apprehend the culprit pretty quickly but are bemused when he asks them to summon "Jack Reacher" (Tom Cruise) who, as it happens, was already on his way to the city. The defence attorney "Helen" (Rosamund Pike) is trying to elicit some help from "Reacher", but this former criminal investigator wants to nail the man's ass firmly to the slats. When the accused is reduced to a coma after being beaten up on a prison bus, the two start to work in earnest on this seemingly open and shut case and we gradually discover that, well there is a great deal more to discover...! It's way too long, this, and takes the best part of an hour for us to get past the character establishment and who's got a grudge bits, also Pike is really quite sterile with her portrayal of the dogged lawyer - but once Cruise gets into his stride the story starts to pick up quite interestingly with plenty of action, a few twists and an ending that reminded me a bit of "Highlander" (1986). Eye-candyman Jai Courtney is still as wooden as a door post but does enough here, as do Richard Jenkins and the sparingly, but effectively, used Werner Herzog. Cruise has made loads of these films that showcase his talents in high-end action films and this fits neatly into the middle of the pile. Not bad, but I've already forgotten it.