'Jack Reacher' - Not a real reach for Cruise...
It seems that Tom Cruise is trying to keep his action hat firmly in place with the noirish 'Jack Reacher', while not his best piece of work, certainly not his worst. Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (the writer of 'The Usual Suspects'), Reacher is a passable if not interesting character. Cruise plays both the part of Tom Cruise as an action star and the part of Not Tom Cruise as an action star. By that I mean he is able to pull off many of the tough guy scenes while still maintaining a solid, wry sense of humor just when it is needed.
Jack Reacher is a former military policeman, having served many tour of duties while somehow never making it past Major, well, simply because he doesn't follow the rules and values justice at all costs. It's the perfect set-up for a hard boiled crime thriller. It has all of the elements of a noir piece; the strong, silent Reacher who basically lives without a cell, a car and only on cash; drifting from place to place, off of the grid; sort of like my Aunt Marge (if you ever want a good laugh - call her cell and listen to her voicemail message).
It all starts with what seems like a random sniper attack in front of a baseball stadium (a harrowing piece that actually delayed the film because of the Sandy Hook shooting). The ex-military sniper is caught and while in police custody scribbles a note to 'Get Jack Reacher'. Before the DA and detective in charge can ask who is Jack Reacher, he is there and on the case. While not as complex as 'The Usual Suspects', McQuarrie weaves a tale that has one too many red herrings, but is able to keep things interesting enough. Based on a popular series of pulp novels it was first laughed at that Cruise was selected to play Reacher; (no surprise there, Cruise produced the film) as in the novels Reacher was described as a mountain of a man. But surprisingly, as played by Cruise, he is more of a modern Sherlock Holmes who can kick butt as good as Riggs from 'Lethal Weapon'.
In fact, many of the shots from McQuarrie seemed like homages to pulp detective films of the recent past. A car chase through the streets of Pittsburg, no soundtrack, just the roar of the engine as in 'Bullit'; the climatic fight scene during a pouring rain storm as in 'Lethal Weapon' as well as a few others. I normally enjoy homages, but when they are this close to the original, it does get a bit annoying. Better to pay homage and add your own personal twist to it. For good examples, watch just about any Tarantino film!
Overall 'Jack Reacher' while not a great film, is a good, fun film and worth the price of an afternoon admission. I like the character and I like Cruise in the role, here's hoping that the next film in the eventual franchise raises the bar a bit more from 2 1/2 stars to 3 or better!