Jack Reacher

A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims.

Christopher McQuarrie is much better known for his writing than directing, The Usual Suspects being the most famous product of his imagination. He has only directed once previously, The Way of the Gun, in 2000. There is much of that film's darkness as this begins, but it gives way to far more standard fare. Jack Reacher is an enjoyable ride overall, but is let down by a half-baked plot and some lazy story progression.

I was pleasantly surprised by the opening of the film, as the sniper attack that will become the basis of the investigation is presented as it occurs. However, there is something to be desired in the way in which it is brought to the screen. As is usual for movies desperate to attain certain film board classifications, the action is very much sanitised for a younger audience (think people just sort of falling over). In spite of this, the atmosphere retains a certain gravity and sets a very specific tone, which, had it been retained, could have made for a very different outcome.

Once the initial setup has been dealt with, the movie gradually shuffles closer to Hollywood territory. There are several scenes that hark back to the promising beginnings, but in the main, the action thriller conventions take over. The character himself is fairly uninteresting, but his hazy back story provides some motive for the action sequences. His vague military past having just enough substance to account for his skill in combat.

The focus is mainly held on the investigation, rather than Reacher's prowess with firearms or his fists. It's quite successful in that the first half of the film holds a decent amount of suspense at times, punctuated by any violence that does take place. It's in the second half that the creativity seems to dry up and it struggles to keep its head above average. I was disappointed to find myself rolling my eyes involuntarily at key points due to the banality of it all. Fortunately, the action also ramps up in this period, which distracts from the mediocre narrative and keeps things from falling apart.

All things considered, there's enough here to make it worth a watch, but it's not something that will stick with you. There is some good work as far as some of the action scenes are concerned, a frantic car chase being particularly worthy of note. The cast is passable, but with nothing spectacular to report, it's mostly just Tom Cruise being Tom Cruise. 

The Verdict:

6/10
Worth a watch for Tom Cruise fans or those who appreciate the genre. Starts out well, but slides into mediocrity in the second half, kept afloat by virtue of its decent action sequences.