Rating of
2.5/4
Nothing new here *crowd sighs and backs away*
memento_mori - wrote on 06/28/13
I am a fan of Jack Reacher. I am. I've read some of the books and I like the hardcore character Lee Child has created. But when I heard Tom Cruise was casted as Jack Reacher in the movie, my facepalm was so severe, my hand went through my head.
I have nothing against Tom Cruise. Admittedly, the guy is a little nuts with Scientology and all, but he still is a damn fine actor in movies such as Jerry Maguire and Magnolia.
But nowadays, I can't stand him in action movies. It didn't bother me that he was small and Jack Reacher was very big, it bothered me that when I saw the movie, I didn't see Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher. I saw Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise.
He has a habit of always portraying the ass-kicker. It's nothing new. I don't know what Child was thinking.
Other than the illogical casting, the movie was fine. It's a good mystery with some great shots from writer-director Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), but it's nothing we haven't seen before.
It has a typical structure from beginning to end and I could predict pretty much every scene.
The villain is also severely underdeveloped, I struggled to remember his name.
So:
Pro: Directing
Con: Casting, Premise, Acting, Script, Characters, General Disappointment in Lee Child for the most minimal Ambition possible.
