Jack Reacher Movie Review

Jack Reacher was a movie that I was looking forward to see. I had enjoyed the trailer and having heard the outcry from Jack Reacher fans around the world about the lack of size Tom Cruise posessed to pull of the 6'6 character from the books. I had never read any of the Jack Reacher novels so I was able to go into this movie with an open mind and make a decision on the character for myself.


The movie begins with a sniper sequence that looks like it comes directly out a a video game, getting the view point at times looking down the scope of the gun aiming at potential targets. The man arrested for the shooting simply writes "GET JACK REACHER" a note that baffles the interrogators in the interview room, until he later turns up of his own accord, and is soon investigating what has happened. The movie takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Jack lays down his own laws, as he only believes in what is right and what is wrong.


This movie is a thriller, but gives us some great action sequences. The one that mostly sticks out in my mind is a great car chase through the city, with the police chasing Reacher, at the same time as Reacher chasing someone else (I won't spoil it). This features some excellent set pieces and has you moving towards the edge of your seat. The fight sequences are equally as good, and Cruise looks very much at home performing them. The actual style of the fighting reminds me very much of Batman Begins, with very close combat, and elbows and heads flying around. I think Tom Cruise is a veteran when it comes to action, and pulls of these scenes with ease, as well as pulling off the character and showing a dominating prescence on screen. I tihnk he knows what he is down, having been on our screens since the 80's, and puts in a great performance.


The slight disappointment for me was the end of the movie did seem to up the cheese value, and felt very much like a 1980's tv show, which was a bit of a let down, even though I didn't know what to expect. However, it was still enjoyable and didn't put me off being interested to see if Jack Reacher would be returning to our screens.


Another great plus point for me was seeing the great chemistry between Robert Duvall and Tom Cruise, who I don't think have worked together since Days of Thunder, but the chemistry was still there and it was good to see them sharing the screen once again.


Another great performance was from the main bad guy 'The Zec" played by Werner Herzog, who puts in an outstanding performance as the villian of the movie, but it is a great disappointment that he doesn't get more screen time as he owns the screen and steals the show whenever he is on. The character was excellent and it is a shame we did not find out more about him as he was intriguning to say the least.


The plot was great, and played out well on screen. I think I am going to try and read the book after watching this, I will be interested to see how much it differs from the movie, and how different Cruises' Reacher is from the fictional one. This will quite easily draw you in and keep you interested.


Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable movie. A thriller at hard with a big dose of action, that will keep you interested all the way through to the end. This has a solid plot which will hold your interest, although for me I was slightly let down by the tv show style ending, no doubt setting up for a future film franchise. Now time to read the book....

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I heard nothing but mediocre and bad things about this movie. I decided to give it a chance on Netflix last night and was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually liked it.

Cruise brings his A-game as usual. You can never say that he doesn't deliver in a film. The supporting cast helped the film, with Pike as the lawyer determined to give the accused sniper a fair trail.

Things don't add up and the mystery unravels. Of course we know the truth because we as the audience were present during the opening sequence which showed the real shooter on his killing spree.

A plot that, despite being a little absurd, stayed true to it's own limitations and world. Every step the film took seemed like a logical one to me. With only two scenes that seem to stick out in my mind as odd. One: the bad use of comic relief when two guys try to attack Cruise in a bathroom and two, when pedestrians decide to help Cruise when dozens upon dozens of cops are after him.

People seem to be up in arms about the casting of a 5'7" Cruise to play a 6'5" Reacher, but putting gripes like that aside and watching the film for what it offers, Jack Reacher delivers. I think it was unfairly bashed and that hate is really unwarranted.

The film has excellent action sequences (if only a few) and one of the best filmed car chase scenes in recent years. Jack Reacher is a good film.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

It's on Netflix? Damn, gotta check it out now. I have to get out of this stupid Skins phase...

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Under-the-radar Movie Awesomeness.
http://earlsmoviepicks.blogspot.com/

Ashdoc's review---

Jack the ripper---a mysterious killer who killed people a century ago in Britain and was never found .

And now we have Jack Reacher---an equally mysterious enigma , but exactly the opposite ; a saviour cum messiah of an innocent man who has been wrongly framed in a killing....

And how wrongly ?? The face of the real killer is shown right from the start as he moves with a sniper's rifle to mow down five people in a single killing from long distance , but in such a way that the entire blame is put on a an ex army sniper who has done a similar thing long ago .

The ex army sniper is in real trouble , but help is at hand.....or at least within reach as the reacher is here to reach out to help out the innocent and needy....

.....And Jack Reacher is played by none other than Tom Cruise , the ageing fiftyish star whose stardom seems ageless.....

But can he do without the charms of a lissome blonde and blue eyed costar played by Rosamund Pike ; a costar whose charms are accentuated by the heavy breathing of her partially exposed bosom ??---no he cannot.....
So she plays Helen Rodin who is the lawyer of the accused , and to make things interesting she is the district attorney's daughter.....

But is Helen Rodin's father the district attorney himself involved in the killings in any way??

And who are the people who incited a cold blooded sniper to kill five innocent people in a spree of bloodlust one fine day ?? What are their obviously sinister motives ??

But above all who is Jack Reacher , whom the victim calls for help as soon as he is accused of the killings ?? He's been reported missing for two years---so is he to be trusted to crack the case ?? What is his personal stake in helping out the accused ?? Who's he anyway ?? Should the lovely Helen Rodin take his help ??

All suspenseful stuff....

.....And thats the stuff I like---for good suspense is the stuff that good movies are made off....

As Jack Reacher begins to apply his razor sharp mind to crack the case , he discovers that not only he has to use his brain but he has to use his brawn too....

......For as he comes perilously close to the real culprits , they try to use muscle power to get rid off him....

No problem.....

Jack smashes punches that would put Mike Tyson to shame and hits kicks that would give Bruce Lee a run for his money....

.....But actually its the killers who are running for their life, as Jack is invincible in combat---be it car chases throughout the city or shooting people , its hard to beat Jack....

And he handles all situations with aplomb.....be it firing guns or tracking down clues , the real culprits feel the shadow of the law closing on them....

He's a master sniper himself and can hit targets accurately at long range , but given only a knife he can still tear his way through all situations.....

The person who's ranged against him is a lionheart too ; a person who broke his own fingers with the help of his teeth to escape frostbite when his fingers turned gangrenous in Siberian winter , and who expects his subordinates to do the same for survival---on pain of death....

May the best win in this evenhanded battle....

But the ones to win most are the people watching the film , as the movie shows some gripping action especially towards the end when the villain's main henchman and Jack drop their weapons for some old fashioned combat---hand to hand fighting.....

So what are the motives of the killers ?? Go and watch the movie for that---it wont be a bad outing....

Verdict---Gripping suspense and decent action .

I would rate this movie a 3 out of 5. I was really hoping for it to be amazing, and maybe be in the running for the Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne realm, but it fell short in suspense. The movie was very well acted, and succeeds if it were to set to be made as a quick hollywood produced espionage thriller. However, concerning the source material and genre, it should have been directed with more of a humanistic feel. I loved the Harrison Ford, Jack Ryan movies along with the Bourne's because even though the hero was gifted, it made them accessible to the audience. While watching Jack Reacher, you felt "removed," in the sense that Jack Ryan was invincible and that you were watching a story, rather then being embedded in an adventure that you were not sure of the outcome. The story itself kept me interested but I didn't feel invested with the protagonist (and I don't know still if this was fault of the direction or the script, in regards to character development). Either way, its a good passing watch, but once you have seen it, you more than likely won't want to see it again. Having said that, I give it a 3 out of 5, and if your bored or have it at redbox or something cheap, check it out.