or the world's biggest bada##...it lies in the fact that he's a normal, perfectly relatable and very realistic human being, albeit a trained and skilled soldier and detective.Rosamund Pike does a great job as the lawyer, Helen-a far cry from glamorous 'Bond girls' one of whom Pike herself has portrayed , and Lara Croft styled action heroines who normally populate the action film genre. Instead she's a three dimensional character with her own doubts, anxieties, convictions and flaws.One of the great things about this movie is how, without wavering from its narrative, it does highlight several significant real-world issues; ranging from the political debates over gun control, to legal representation for terrorists, to the politics surrounding the actions of military personnel overseas, to the corrupt political-industrial nexus...without necessarily taking sides or trying to come across as being preachy of moralistic.To sum it up, Jack Reacher is virtually a 'slice of life' piece...albeit, a very dark and grimy slice of life.

through the plot and figure out what is going on, but still very enjoyable. This is a MUST see for anyone who loved the Dirty Harry movies, or ones similar. Minimal fluff, no stupid romance, a believable plot and a good car chase. And bad guys killed the way they should be. Fantastic!

disrespect for authority but believes in right and wrong. In many ways the character feels like it would not be out of place in a western, as Reacher lives life his way, an anti-hero, a loose cannon that is as dangerous as he is unpredictable. Which makes the character perfect for a movie. Ironically larger than life in many ways, and the physicality has nothing to do with it.The rest of this review does contain some spoilers, so readers beware.The story opens with a random shooting that clearly shows the audience that the shooter is not the man who is arrested and asks for only one thing, Jack Reacher. It is clear he is a patsy but the film never really pretends he is involved or even an innocent victim , as the mystery deals with not just who was the real killer, but also who was the intended target s . The script is tight and well crafted by the very talented McQuarrie Usual Suspects, Way of the Gun and there are some real dialog gems in there that writers of the screen can learn a lot from. The story is a gamble in many ways and not just the backlash over casting as there is no real character arc for Reacher and no love interest, but the story is all the better and refreshing for it. It contains very little action, but what is used is cleverly placed in the plot that builds towards the climax. As we left the theater myself and my wife had a conversation about Tom Cruise's more recent films. Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Knight and Day and now Jack Reacher and how he delivers pure entertainment to the audience. Movies with the re-watch factor. His films contain the right amount of character, action, plot, laughs and thrills to engage the audience from the first to the final frame. Giving the audience what they expect without phoning in a performance and collecting a pay-check. As an indie film maker myself I think his trick is simple, he's a lover of films doing what he loves, making films and it shows in the end product s . For some reason and I'm not sure why Cruise is starting to remind me a little of Paul Newman as he grows older not a bad thing .The cast is very strong with Cruise carrying the film easily on his shoulders with strong support from Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall and Richard Jenkins, with Jai Courtney being a name to look out for. I must admit I always feel a little at ease when I see Richard Jenkins is in a film as he is an exceptional character actor. The only issue I really had was to do more with character development of the man behind the man, The Zec, played by Werner Herzog. There has been a tendency since the Dark Knight to ramp up the villains and make them a little too larger than life see Skyfall , to make them almost a parody of movie villains. Almost comic book in nature and here is doesn't really work, which could be as much to do with too little back story for the villain as much as too little overall screen time. But if a "boss" will someday make you chew off a finger to survive if you fail a task, he would surely become a victim to a stray bullet or two from his disgruntled employees/henchmen. just saying .Overall a entertaining and intelligent thriller to close the year that has restored my faith in "bigger" movies, as too many films have disappointed of late. Not that Reacher is a really big budget movie by today's standards, as you could make four Jack Reachers for one Total Recall remake and there is simply no comparison in terms of film- making. It is rare to leave a film interested to know more about the character and his other cases/adventures, but Jack Reacher will leave you wanting more and give you an interest in checking out the Lee Child books. I have never read any... yet.

off well. In fact, it was riveting because we see future son of John McClane Jai Courtney shooting down people with a sniper rifle. What makes it riveting is that we are seeing from the eye of a sniper and what exactly we are seeing from their eyes. Its really well done. Of course he shoots people and the police catch the wrong guy.Enter Jack Reacher. We are given exposition that he is ghost and that you only find him when he finds you, that type of thing. Pretty soon Jack is investigating the framed sniper, and all sorts of people come out to get a piece of him but luckily Jack is one of those people with a "particular set of skills" and goes all Jason Bourne on them. The action scenes are awesome! I particularly love the car chase scene, you know, the one you saw in the commercial all the time when he's just blending in with the onlookers and the cops never think to check the people in the crowd. What disturbs me on that scene was the cops automatically finger point him for a crime. I just didn't get why they were chasing him in the first place. Did I miss something here or was this just an excuse for a cool action sequence? While I'm on the negatives here, I just felt like Tom Cruise and that other lead girl he was with the name escapes me just felt like characters written on a page. True, I like some of the dialogue Cruise gives out, but I just can't help but seeing them as Hollywood stereotypes.With that being said, the movie was awesome and I was never bored. It's the last movie I'm seeing this year. So looking forward to what they have in store for 2013!

really well and made it more of a "thinking movie" than I anticipated. That being said, the turns in the plot kept the film from becoming stagnant or boring and the action sequences felt real and authentic. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the cinematic elements and there were some flaws in one of the plot twists but nothing that really hurt the movie-watching experience. All-in-all, I'd say this was a great movie that most people would very much enjoy watching.

character believable but the character Jack Reacher is interesting enough that other actors could do a decent enough job, as it is seen in the James Bond franchise. It is worth adding that Tom Cruise did such a good job in the role it was possible to forget who the actor was, and enjoy and believe the character; though the character was given some of Tom's charisma, and it did work for the character. As a whole, the film is reminiscent of a high budget TV crime drama but in movie form. The action scenes are there to drive the story along and not over the top but kept down to earth i.e. obeys the laws of physics as much as Hollywood can. It has a few plot twist in the revealing of the crime mystery. The acting is believably good Robert Duvall is noteworthy in his small role that could be argued he equaled or did better than Tom Cruise's performance . Rosamund Pike also did a good job acting and making the character work for the film. The directing, cinematography, editing, soundtrack, and screenplay writing are all above average and better than the sum of their parts. Meaning there is positive synergy at work. It is refreshing to experience a film out of Hollywood that keeps me interested the whole time and not critiquing it during the viewing.I would recommend this film to anyone who likes the crime/mystery drama genre or who just likes the actors involved. It is entertaining, engaging, and a good 2 hour 11 min of escapism.

has been name checked in a couple reviews already , BULLITT for the car chase ; and maybe another Don Siegel movie, CHARLEY VARRICK. The excitement here doesn't come from over the top stunts or huge explosions. Like the action movies just referenced, you thrill to watching a strongly defined protagonist outsmart, outfight and outmaneuver the bad guys.Which brings me to the character of Jack Reacher and the casting of Tom Cruise. In the series of novels by Lee Child this movie is based on, Jack Reacher is an ex-MP detective. After a lifetime spent on military bases overseas, he lives as a drifter in the United States who adheres to a life of zero commitments: No house, no job, no car, no possessions, no family. Oh, and he stands 6'5" and weighs 250 lbs.Clearly Tom Cruise doesn't match that physical description. What makes Reacher such a great character in Child's books though has far less to do with his exterior than it does with his intellect. If you've read the series as I have, it's a little strange at first. As the film played out however, I got more relaxed and more into it. This was definitely a movie about Lee Child's hero Jack Reacher, physical differences be damned.Would I have preferred an unknown actor closer to Child's description to play Reacher on screen? Yes, of course. But I could say that about virtually any character, and often do. I generally want unknowns for everything.Which is where Cruise's casting comes in handy a bit. Because his casting sort of guarantees a certain amount of box office, it means the filmmakers can take more chances. Like crafting an action movie that's longer on character and occasional brutal violence and short on mindless action and impossible nonsense.JACK REACHER was a very satisfying action thriller for me. I felt it captured what I love about Lee Child's thrillers and Jack Reacher in particular. I'd definitely recommend it, and I'm going to see it in the theater again. That's for damn sure.

a fine old school action thriller with many new tricks which i haven't seen before check the buss stop scene. Classic! . I loved the pacing and the great interaction between players. Sure, some of the one liners seemed a tad forced, but they were not so common. Well done Cruise again.Do yourselves a favour. Ignore the negative reviewers and give this a go.

guys. The comedy was heightened even further with the old codger Cash Robert Duvall . Mr. Duvall always delivers a convincing performance, same here. As with any film that features Mr. Cruise the expectation is that it will be fast paced and very entertaining, same here. The only thing missing was his trademark sprint to or after something or anything. I've just come to expect to see him running, really running but we are getting older. The trailer is the only kind that I like, the ones that do not give away the whole movie. It shows that Reacher is bad a$$ without playing out every aspect of the story. David Oyelowo Emerson is one to watch, he is building an impressive resume and it is easy to see why because whenever he portrays a character he is that character. When he played a pilot in Red Tails, I totally believed he could fly a plane. When he was the head of a company experimenting on Apes, I was again thoroughly convinced and I believed every aspect of his being a police detective. One of the best car chase scenes that I've seen lately was in this film. There were so many attributes of this film that I liked, including the sexual tension between Reacher and Helen Ronin Rosamund Pike that I will just sum it up by saying. Everything just seemed to be genuine and authentic, even though I know that the fights are staged they looked logistically correct, but Steven Segal did come to mind. I liked that the film had a legitimate beginning and end, even if there are subsequent Jack Reacher tales to follow, there was no gaping wide open door of a final scene leaving the audience wondering 'What's up with that?!?'. But I do hope there are sequels, at least one. I give it a green light