‘Jack Reacher’ is the 2012 film by director and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. Starring Tom Cruise, Richard Jenkins, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Werner Herzog and Robert Duvall. Based on the novel One Shot by Lee Child.
A mystery guy finds a spot in a parking garage. Then opens fire with a sniper’s rifle. He gets away scott free. Or does he? A missed shell casing and quarter leads the police to James Barr (Joseph Sikora). He doesn’t want a lawyer. He wants Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise).
As he feels he is the only one who can prove his innocence. But there is bad blood between them. Barr went on a killing spree while in the military. And it was covered up. Reacher swore to take him down if it ever occurred again. Reacher drops what he’s doing to investigate. After a failed attempt to scare him off he decides to work with Barr’s attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike).
The DA handling the Barr case is her father Alex Rodin (Richard Jenkins). Adding more misery is a Russian gang leader The Zec (Werner Herzog) and his enforcer Charlie (Jai Courtney). The Zec had Charlie set up Barr for the murders. Plus their ace in the hole does want he can to help.
The good: Tom Cruise as the don’t-mess-with-me CSI like ex-military. Kept expecting Mission Impossible level stunt and fight sequences from him and the others. The sequence dedicated to showing who the victims were. The elaborate conspiracy to kill one specific person. Spartacus: Blood and Sand’s Varro aka Jai Courtney as the baddie Charlie.
The car chases. Hate to have those repair bills. Loved how Reacher ditched the sports car. The crowd’s reaction to everything. People helping him escape. Robert Duvall! All sass and attitude. Loved his ear plugs. His sound directed marksmanship. A remorseful Barr confessing to the Rodin family as justice for his earlier crime.
The bad: The shooting spree. Reacher comes off as cold and inhuman at times. The entire sequence making Linksky (Michael Raymond-James) show what he will do to survive. Little to no emotional involvement with the characters. The forced romance with love interest Rosamund Pike.
The poor attempts to set up Reacher. The two bad guys with bats trying to attack Reacher in the bathroom. Was it supposed to be funny? Then carrying the fight into the hallway. Why hit someone when you can slam his head into the guy underneath him? Having Red Lips’ face partially uncovered so Reacher could identify her.
The ugly: Time spent waiting for something to happen.
Enjoy this review? Receive email alerts when new reviews are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button above.
Comments