Jack Reacher

Plot: Five people are shot by a sniper and quickly the police arrest Charlie. He tells the police to call Jack Reacher, and then he gets beat up and spends the rest of the movie in a coma. Immediately Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) shows up at the police station, and meets with the detective Emerson (David Oyelowo) and the defense attorney Helen (Rosamund Pike.) Reacher is a tough-guy, former Army investigator who lives off-the-grid. 

Reacher checks into the evidence and finds it too neat, and suspects the Charlie is being set up. Soon someone tries to murder Reacher, and then witnesses start to die. Reacher just gets mad, leading to chase scenes, fist fights and a showdown at a quarry.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: I saw Jack Reacher at a $1 matinee since I did not like the first-run movies this weekend. Jack Reacher had a lot to like, and plenty of imperfections too. Not a bad popcorn movie -- better if you don't think about it. A few of the characters are well developed, and there are some clever plot twists.

I never really bought the idea of a drifter, tough-guy super cop like Jack Reacher -- why would someone live this way. Taking the bus everywhere? No cell phone?  Really? 

Rosamund Pike does a adequate job, but a better performance in the female lead would have really helped. Despite the fact that she might be double-crossed by people she trusts, we don't see much emotion. Tom Cruise does a nice job acting, but since Jack Reacher is such an enigma, it is hard to say what he is acting for. 

I liked the scene where he jumps out of the car curing a chase scene, and walks over to the bus stop to hide from the police. Then a guy loans him a ball cap as a disguise -- pretty funny. 

Cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Vladimir Sizov

Directed by:  Christopher McQuarrie, based on the book series by Lee Child (Lee Child can't be his real name, can it?)

Rating:  2.0 stars: good but with weaknesses. Enjoyable but not super fun. 

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