A former Army sniper gets framed for a mass murder. When the police pressure him to confess, all he says is “Get Jack Reacher.”
Who is Jack Reacher?
Why is he off the grid?
What is his relationship with the sniper?
Did the sniper really kill those people?
Whoever killed them, why are they dead?
Verdict
As a huge fan of the Jack Reacher novels, I was surprised both by how good an action movie this is and by how faithful it is to the character.
Let’s be clear: This is an action movie, not a mystery movie.
There is a mystery in it, but to be a mystery movie, the audience would need a chance to solve it ahead of the detective. There is no chance of that in Jack Reacher. In fact, when the movie ends, you still won’t know why the bad guy did what he did, or how he got from being a zek to being…well, I don’t want to give anything away.
The puzzle is figuring out why the people died, and who was the real target of the shooting. In that sense, the movie really does play fair. We see all the evidence that Reacher does as he does. We have every chance to figure it out.
Once that puzzle is solved, it’s all about Reacher getting to the guys who did it.
I have to say that, as a fan of the novels, I did not like the casting of Tom Cruise. Cruise is far too short to be the Reacher portrayed in the books. So I was delighted to see Cruise get rid of almost all of his usual mannerisms. In fact, this is about the only moment that Tom Cruise peeks through the character:
Other than that, I thought the movie kept the right tone and had most of the Jack Reacher moments, including the one (it’s in almost every book) where he explains why he dropped off the grid.
Christopher McQuarrie wrote the screenplay based on Lee Child’s book. He has only written one movie that I didn’t enjoy, and it wasn’t Jack Reacher. It was The Tourist. I’ll see Jack the Giant Slayer eventually, and I will definitely see The Wolverine.
As for criticisms: I thought several of the scenes went on too long, including the car chase. In fact, while the car chase was great, none of the characters involved were set up as great drivers so it felt a little superfluous.
There were a couple of shots, including one of Reacher’s shaking right hand, that made me think some little story arc got left on the editing room floor.
Considering how many action movies I’ve seen, it’s easy for me to remember where I’ve seen this chase scene, this fight scene, this suspense moment, before. That never happened in Jack Reacher. I even enjoyed that car chase while it was happening.
Now, let’s talk about marketing. In addition to being a writer, I’ve worked in marketing for over ten years. Let me shed some light for Tom Cruise fans and for Jack Reacher fans.
Suppose you want to make a Tom Arnold vehicle. He (and you) want him to break into big screen, leading, roles. He doesn’t have an established track record as a leading man. You want to hook your movie onto a property with an existing fan base. That will draw those fans to the movie, and hopefully attract a bunch of people curious to find out what about the franchise makes it worthy of big screen treatment.
Then you make McHale’s Navy and piss off everyone.
Now, suppose you want to make an action movie, and you can get Tom Cruise. If the movie is another Mission: Impossible, a lot of your marketing work is already done. Tons of people saw the first four movies, and are probably ready to see a fifth. You have the Mission: Impossible logo, the classic Lalo Schiffrin theme music, and Tom Cruise’s name. With some other famous actors and a big-name director, you’re all set.
If it’s not an established franchise, though, you start looking around for something big and fresh. You’re not reviving a forty-year-old property. You want something in the current imagination.
Lee Child’s books are published in 96 countries and 41 languages. He has sold over 70 million copies. Jack Reacher is a great match.
Okay, so if you’re Lee Childs, and your books are published in 96 countries and 41 languages, having sold over 70 million copies, why would you give Hollywood a crack at your carefully developed property? Because more people have seen Tom Cruise movies than have read your books. Even if the movie flops (In six months, it made $80 million globally; but it cost $60 million, so it’s not a huge success), tens of thousands of people learn about Jack Reacher and your books.
So hopefully everybody wins.
Overall
If you are a fan of action movies, Jack Reacher, or Tom Cruise, then you should see Jack Reacher.
Tell ’em Crazy Uncle Rich sent ya.
