'Jack Reacher' a solid genre vehicle for Cruise
The US premiere of ‘Jack Reacher’, an explosive action thriller based on the book ‘One Shot’ by Lee Child, was postponed in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The decision was understandable.
Christopher McQuarrie’s film opens with heart-stopping scenes of a sniper taking aim at innocent bystanders on a riverbank, including a nanny cradling a terrified young child in her arms.
Viewed through the gun man’s high-powered rifle scope to the steady beat of his breathing, the massacre sends shivers down the spine as shots ring out and figures tumble like rag dolls to the ground.
McQuarrie accomplishes this haunting set piece with brio and restraint, replaying the slaughter from myriad perspectives later in the film as police uncover the clues to the shooter’s identity.
Nothing else in ‘Jack Reacher’ comes close to this bravura sequence and the initial rush of adrenaline in our veins eases to a steady pulse.
Former military officer Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is a ghost in the system, even to the US government with all of the top-secret technology and resources at its disposal.
He is lured out of hiding when a mentally unstable sniper, James Barr (Joseph Sikora), is arrested for the murder of five innocent people outside PNC Park in Pennsylvania.
Before Barr slips into a coma, he writes down three words – Get Jack Reacher.
On cue, Jack makes contact with lead detective Emerson (David Oyelowo) and District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins), convinced that the cops have caught their perpetrator.
“I didn’t come here to help (Barr). I came here to bury him,” growls Jack.
However, Rodin’s daughter, defence attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), isn’t convinced of Barr’s guilt and she hires Jack to check the forensics.
A scattershot chain of evidence leads Jack to criminal mastermind The Zec (Werner Herzog) and his sharp-shooting henchman (Jai Courtney), whose business interests may play part in the unfolding mystery.
‘Jack Reacher’ is the first chapter of a potential new franchise for Cruise, based on the ninth book in Child’s ongoing series.
It’s a solid genre piece, punctuated by smartly orchestrated action sequences, including a night-time chase through city streets and a couple of bruising fist fights.
Cruise isn’t stretched in the lead role, which asks him to play rough and tough, telling one bad guy: “I mean to beat you to death and drink your blood from a boot!”
That seems slightly extreme, not to mention unhygienic.
Pike is an appealing love interest but Herzog is woefully miscast as an ex-con, who gnawed off his digits in prison and inspires unintentional hilarity rather than fear with his utterances.
Thankfully, Robert Duvall’s appearance as the owner of a shooting range in the second half prevents the film from capsizing.
Star Rating: 3/5
