So five, ostensibly unconnected, people are picked off walking along the street by a sniper. Surprisingly, the police manage to apprehend the culprit pretty quickly but are bemused when he asks them to summon "Jack Reacher" (Tom Cruise) who, as it happens, was already on his way to the city. The defence attorney "Helen" (Rosamund Pike) is trying to elicit some help from "Reacher", but this former criminal investigator wants to nail the man's ass firmly to the slats. When the accused is reduced to a coma after being beaten up on a prison bus, the two start to work in earnest on this seemingly open and shut case and we gradually discover that, well there is a great deal more to discover...! It's way too long, this, and takes the best part of an hour for us to get past the character establishment and who's got a grudge bits, also Pike is really quite sterile with her portrayal of the dogged lawyer - but once Cruise gets into his stride the story starts to pick up quite interestingly with plenty of action, a few twists and an ending that reminded me a bit of "Highlander" (1986). Eye-candyman Jai Courtney is still as wooden as a door post but does enough here, as do Richard Jenkins and the sparingly, but effectively, used Werner Herzog. Cruise has made loads of these films that showcase his talents in high-end action films and this fits neatly into the middle of the pile. Not bad, but I've already forgotten it.
