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Movie Review: Jack Reacher (2012)
Rating: (15)
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, Robert Duvall
Plot:
A military trained sniper shoots five random victims in suburban Pittsburgh before asking for “Jack Reacher” (Tom Cruise). In this seemingly open and shut case Jack Reacher must quickly piece together the evidence to uncover the truth.
Review:
“Jack Reacher” the best selling crime series by author “Lee Child” tells the story of, you guessed it, “Jack Reacher”. He is the personification of the ultimate alpha male. He is the greatest at all the things: the sharpest detective, the best driver, the greatest fighter. In the army, he earned all the medals, winning the military shooting competition no one in his class had ever won before. He has a photographic memory and can take on five men at a time in a scrap after accurately psychoanalysing them. His mind works faster than anyone else’s and he sees patterns no one else sees. He is essentially the embodiment of Batman, Sherlock Holmes and Steven Seagal all rolled into one and it was only a matter of time before Hollywood put the wheels motion to bring this alpha male fantasy to the big screen.
The movie itself in the one hand plays out as an old fashioned detective story whilst in the other a goofy and at times muddled Hollywood action thriller. The films lackluster and underwhelming plot line devoid of any weight or plausibility serves as a springboard for the introduction of the main character. There are shreds of a passable low-budget detective action movie underneath but again it's just there to serve as the backdrop for Jack Reachers character. There is one exception that keeps this slightly above the rest however, Tom Cruise.
Cruise’s portrayal of the stoic and impassive rogue investigator is the highlight of this otherwise very drab movie. His subtle charm and charisma draws you into this mystery. Having said that the other supporting players can’t quite reach the level Cruise has set. Most of the supporting characters “Rosamund Pike” “David Oyelowo” contribute to the movie only as bait, their job to float theory after theory on the audience’s behalf so Cruise can dismiss them. “Werner Herzog” and “Jai Courtney” portray the one dimensional and generic antagonist’s, only there to serve as justifiable momentum in pushing Cruise’s character forward to an relatively underwhelming finale.
The action and quick fire dialogue often comes across as forced and unnatural and is delt with too light heartedly and lacking grit in a story that deals with murder and conspiracy. The humor often feels extremely misplaced in the context of the story and as a result lessens the weight of the plot and its characters. The trouble with “Jack Reacher” the movie isn’t its lead character, it’s the movies disinterest in anything else.
Overall:
Jack Reacher offers a rather underwhelming and at times questionable plot line, its only saviour is by the solid performance from Tom Cruise, carry this to a respectable victory.
Good review Allan. Jack Reacher is a film that I have very few problems with. I was never bored; it was well acted and directed and features an interesting and complicated storyline which kept me guessing.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan. I felt the movie's plotline was waffer thin and the antagonist's were just used as pot devices with little to no depth. Apart from Tom Cruise's excellent performance as Reacher the film lacked depth, grit and felt like an lesser 80s cop thriller. As a fan of the books I expected so much more. Thanks for the comments as always, appreciated. Also enjoying your site. Would you like me to post a link?
DeleteAgree with your review Allan the plot was paper thin, but the stand out issue for me was the dialog betewwn the characters was weak and unnatural making for at times uncomfortable viewing.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan. I felt the movie's plot-line was wafer thin and the antagonist's were just used as pot devices with little to no depth. Apart from Tom Cruise's excellent performance as Reacher the film lacked depth, grit and felt like an lesser 80s cop thriller. As a fan of the books I expected so much more. Thanks for the comments as always, appreciated.
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