THE LAW HAS LIMITS. HE DOES NOT.
When Pittsburgh police arrest a man they believe shot and killed five people, he has only one request – that they contact Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise), a mysterious former Army investigator. Cruise goes Clint Eastwood in this first adaptation of one of Lee Child’s pulp novels; he may not be everybody’s idea of Reacher, but still has the conviction to make us root for his no-nonsense character. Writer Christopher McQuarrie’s blockbuster debut is way overlong, with the main villain a complete cartoonish enigma, but entertaining nonetheless. Gets a shot in the arm from Werner Herzog and Robert Duvall’s tongue-in-cheek appearances.
2012-U.S. 130 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Novel: Lee Child (“One Shot”). Cast: Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher), Rosamund Pike (Helen Rodin), Richard Jenkins (Alex Rodin), David Oyelowo, Werner Herzog, Robert Duvall.
Trivia: Vince Vaughn, Brad Pitt and Hugh Jackman were allegedly considered for the lead. Followed by Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016).