Highly Overrated But Still Good

An action-packed slog

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Tom Cruise is NOT Jack Reacher...i know Jack Reacher and he folks is NO Jack Reacher. First and foremost he's a midget! Jack Reacher is 6'4"...Reacher's size is a paramount (like that pun?) plot point in almost all of Lee Child's excellent stories. Second...Tom Cruise has a huge schnozz (nose) almost the size of his ego...Reacher does not. In addition Cruise has teeny baby hands...Reacher has huge meathooks of steel. And aside from the physical disparity... Cruise loves himself a little too much on camera...Reacher is a subtle, quiet, loner..not some pretty boy trying to act hard. Reacher walks...everywhere....he doesnt drive...he rides (buses mostly...or he hitches). He wears crappy clothes...not Tom Cruise movies outfits...and he puts them in the garbage when he changes outfits. He hates cell phones. He is cool...Tom Cruise is not.

Tom Cruise just believes he was made for action roles such as Jack Reacher. After all, it seems those are pretty much all the roles I have seen him in during the last few years. (Not being a Tom Cruise fanatic maybe I missed some of his more dramatic roles?)With military snipers all the rage, it's not surprising the movie revolves around the killing of several people by a sniper in a US city. In comes a beautiful lawyer who just happens to be the District Attorney's daughter to defend the accused; then throw in uber detective macho man drifter, gun fighter, ex-soldier (and martial artist too!) Jack Reacher and we have the makings of an action movie. Gripping at times, predictable at others but eminently watchable as action movies go. But only if you enjoy action movies with a little bit of gratuitous violence ... because if you're searching for a Sundance Film Festival movie then Jack Reacher is not the one!

The film opens up like "Basic" with one man requesting another. A man (Joseph Sikora) is accused of random shootings. The evidence is overwhelmingly against him. In Iraq he was a sniper. Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) arrives as a brash and cocky individual, a role Tom Cruise has perfected. Jack is elusive. Eventually he takes on the task as the lead investigator for the accused. His lawyer (Rosamund Pike) happens to be the daughter of the prosecutor (Richard Jenkins). As Jack investigates, things are not what they seem which draws us into the story.Unfortunately the mystery is short lived as clues come too fast. It then resorts to an us vs. them with a car chase scene that lasted way to long for this type of crime drama. The script was otherwise well done. Acting was as we would expect from the cast. Makes for a decent rental. There could be a Jack Reacher sequel, hopefully with some complexity. This is another film shot in Pittsburgh, the Hollywood of the East.Parental Guide: 1 F-bomb, no sex or nudity. Some spicy language and sexual references.

Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise sees him playing the title character in this mystery, spy action thriller. Having no knowledge of the novel series, one could not compare Tom Cruise's performance to how the character in the novel is supposed to be depicted. Although, in presence I may agree with several critics and fans of the novel, that he may have been miscast. His performance seems to be lacking in any spark and he comes off as too unenergetic and not as mysterious or silent as he should have, according to some others. Though perhaps with another leading man as the title role, this film would not have been as successful.The story isn't too bland but it seems like a recycle of many past action thrillers we have seen already. There is the typical scene plot with the female lead being hostaged by the villains than the lead has to come and save her, then killing the villains. It has all been done before many times, and it was very predictable in here. The mystery is only for the characters in the film having not sure what is going on, but we the audience already known everything which leaves little suspense. The running time is 130 mins and feels like it. Another thing with the film is that at no point we feel that Jack Reacher is in real any danger, and they make him completely invincible. Despite some decent action scenes, Jack Reacher isn't as fun as it should be. It's more of a serious toned film and with Tom Cruise's presence it comes off as awkward and quite silly. Jack Reacher is no Jason Bourne or James Bond