You think I'm a hero? I am not a hero. And if you're smart, that scares you. Because I have nothing to lose.
It got off on the wrong foot, fans of the Lee Child novels were up in arms about the casting of Tom Cruise in the title role. He didn't fit the profile it was said, scorn was poured on the film, quite often by people who hadn't even seen it! So how refreshing to find that since I personally have no affinity to the Child books, and having never read anything by the author, I found a wonderfully old fashioned thriller.
Reacher the character is a damn fine creation, an ex military bad ass who doesn't get found unless he wants to get found. He gets involved with jobs that need solving, utilising his special skills to close out the mysteries. Here he pitches up along side defence attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike) when an ex army sniper apparently at random kills five people and then mentions Reacher's name during interrogation. Cue twists and turns, rocks upturned for covert clues and a shady road to be trawled to get to the crux of the matter.
Cruise as Reacher is superb, where under the astute directing and writing of Christopher McQuarrie we are left in no doubt this is a cool no nonsense hard man, loved by the ladies and feared by not just the crims, but also the law authorities. None of which is overkilled, it's subtle in execution, McQuarrie doesn't need to turn his film into a blitzkrieg of CGI blunderbuss multiplex pandering. Action is smartly staged, the violence brutal without being course, while the story is delightful in how it gleefully wrong foots the viewers in plot dynamics and sly humour.
The deal is closed out via the sterling supporting turns to Cruise, with Pike, Robert Duvall, Werner Herzog and Jai Courtney adding considerably to this splendid Cruise and McQuarrie broth. In spite of divisive reviews and reports, Jack Reacher in filmic form has risen above that to become a success. Hooray! 7.5/10