Tom Cruise as ex-military investigator Jack Reacher may not physically fit the character of author Lee Child‘s popular action-suspense novels. Reacher is a big and tall enforcer. Cruise is not.
But not to worry. A short time into JACK REACHER the movie, you’ll buy into Cruise’s interpretation of the complicated character.
How to describe Reacher?
Well, he’s a loner of sorts who doesn’t care much for laws. He only cares for what’s right.
And when a sniper takes out five random victims in Pittsburgh, PA all evidence points to former Army sniper James Barr.
Fast forward through tough fights and hot muscle cars and Cruise kicks ass and takes no prisoners. Some of it almost in cartoonish fashion. It works well enough that the tinsel town skinny predicts this first Jack Reacher film could evolve into a movie franchise for Cruise.
Personally, I’m not so sure, we’ll see.
Producers of the film have wisely surrounded Cruise with a quality supporting cast including Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog and Robert Duvall among others.
So who exactly is Jack Reacher?
Tough to define. Cruise himself describes him as “an analog character in a digital age.”
And with a total running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, it sure didn’t seem like it.
I only wish I could say the same for other long movies.
JACK REACHER: The law has limits. He does not. That’s why I’m raising 3 out of 5 precision fingers.
JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES: On Radio / On Cable-TV / On-Line.
I agree Jack.
Reacher, the grouchy, sardonic, sociopathic (In a good way 🙂 ), utilitarian man of action, who novel after novel, serendipitously appears at just the right time to whip knots on bad guys is a reach for Tom Cruise.
I think Tom Cruise is great (He killed it in Collateral imo.) in action movies where he is a serious baaadddaassss but, I don’t know.
Reacher is supposed to be this hulking grouch, who is so grumpy, he throws his clothes away instead of washing them (I think, just to piss himself off with starchy new tags on his shirts, stiff jeans, uncomfortable shoes, you know, keep the edge, keep your head in the game.). He has lots of money, never works, but always rides the bus. Once again, I think he likes to piss himself off.
There is one Reacher book, where he goes to f*ckin Nebraska and 40 pages in, there are fights, fires, firefights, car wrecks, blood and mayhem on the level of the Tet Offensive. IN NEBRASKA!!
I will see it.
It still sounds fun.
A short time in…
About one foot short?
I saw a commercial for this movie and I swear the first time I thought it said,” jack reacher ound.”
Only if Meester Cruise is in a giving mood.