This is one of those films that I kind of knew was coming along but didn’t really pay much attention to until I saw the trailer by accident while watching something else (think it may have been Skyfall) and then realised that Tom Cruise was in it (he’s one of my favourites) but even then didn’t think much about going to see as it didn’t really look like my cup of tea.
But then it was post-New Year and the Book God and I fancied going to see a film and it was either this, The Hobbit again or Tinkerbell and the Legend of Something Pink and Sparkly (I’m assuming that’s its title judging by the attire of the small girls in the Odeon foyer) and thought “what the hell, let’s give this a go”
So wee Tom Cruise (for it is he) is playing the enigma that is Jack Reacher. I will own up to not having read any of Lee Child’s novels but I understand that the one thing we do know about about Reacher’s appearance is that he is 6’5″ and it is fair to say that The Cruiser may be many, many things but really tall is not one of them. This is not an issue for me as the Book God is 5’5″ so I am very comfortable with the idea of the less tall actor but, you know, interesting casting choice (though not so much when you realise The Cruiser was also a producer on the film).
So, there’s this horrible crime at the beginning of the film and the main suspect is not cooperating with the investigation other than to say that they should get Jack Reacher, who duly turns up and ends up working with the defence and uncovers what’s really going on because of course these things are never simple, are they?
I suspect that this film is more enjoyable the less you know going in. I also think that this is (for me at least) elevated above a fairly OK TV movie only by the presence of Tom Cruise and a rather nice cameo from Robert Duvall. Oh and an excellent but not on the screen long enough villain played by Werner Herzog.
And it has a brilliant example of something Anne Billson was talking about recently in terms of the role of women in this sort of film, which I had never really considered before, and which is also very evident in one of the trailers we saw for the new Sylvester Stallone film, which looks truly, truly dreadful. I suspect that (along with the whole girlfriend in the fridge phenomenon) this is something I will no longer be able to miss whether I look out for it or not.
So final verdict = nothing actually wrong with Jack Reacher, its perfectly serviceable but lacks pizazz.
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January 6, 2013 at 12:54 am
Carl V.
I think I probably liked it a bit better than you as I think it had a bit of pizazz. I was looking forward to this from the moment I saw the trailer, in large part because I know Cruise doesn’t do grossly violent, gory films and too many action films are marred by this nowadays. Mary and I went and saw it in the theater not long after it opened. It was hard to watch the opening so soon after the Newtown incident but other than that we really enjoyed it.
I’m a big fan of Rosamund Pike and I liked her in this. She is a bit of a damsel in distress at times but that didn’t surprise me given that this is built on that detective noir foundation that has been around since the early hard-boiled days. Unfortunate but I still liked her role and her performance.
And I don’t have a problem with Cruises’ height. (In part because I’m 5’6″, lol!). I enjoy him in all these action roles. I’m not a Cruise fanatic but him being in a film generally means I’ll want to see it.
January 6, 2013 at 9:07 am
brideofthebookgod
I hope it’s successful enough that more are made. I see that Cruise is signed up for another Mission Impossible movie (I really loved Ghost Protocol last year , and maybe Jack area her suffered for me by comparison)
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January 6, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Carl V.
I am hoping they make more Reacher movies with him too. And yes, I enjoy the MI movies and thought Ghost Protocol was a whole lot of fun.
March 8, 2013 at 7:07 am
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