Starring: Tom Cruise, Richard Jenkins, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 130 mins
Genre: Action/ Crime/ Thriller
Opens December 21st
By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com
If you're looking for an action movie to take him this weekend before the Christmas holiday opening in theaters, “Jack Reacher”, a film based on the book “One Shot” by Lee Child, starring Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins and David Oyelowo.
When a sniper shooting takes six innocent lives, the city of Pittsburgh is put on high alert. The police quickly they find the man they suspect as the killer. When in custody, the suspect is under pressure from the lead investigator and District Attorney to confess or be put to death. They put a notepad in front of the suspect to write out his confession. He reaches for the notepad and instead of writing a confession, he writes GET JACK REACHER. Who exactly is Jack Reacher? Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is a bit of a ghost; he has no records on file other than his military papers. He has no priors, no bank accounts, no cell phone, no address; he is a ghost. When the District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins) and Lead Police Investigator Det. Emerson (David Oyleowo) figure out where to start in trying to find Reacher, he just appears. Seems that Reacher caught a clip on the nightly news about the shooting and is also is trying to figure out the pieces of the case. The suspect, Barr first encountered Reacher when he was serving in Iraq, so if anyone was ever going to figure out the case and clear his name, it would be Reacher.
The attorney covering Barr’s case is the D.A’s daughter Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), and she begs Reacher to be an investigator for her team. Reacher eventually agrees, and the deeper he digs into the details of the case, the more complications arise for him. The crime scene was just about perfect except for the fact that the killer paid the meter before the shooting spree. That one piece doesn't fit the puzzle. When word reaches the true killer, who is part of a larger crime syndicate, the word is put out to eliminate Reacher. Will Reacher be able to solve the case, clear Barr’s name and reveal the true criminals before it is too late?
If you’ve seen one Tom Cruise film, there are no real surprises going into “Jack Reacher”. What this film resembles is a combination of “Missing Impossible”, “Knight and Day” and any other type of big-budget action flick that he's been involved in. The only difference is that it's smart, clever, and there's more humor then you would expect. Fans of the book “One Shot” in the Jack Reacher style series will be happy to know that the film does stay close to the book and keeps the essence of the character intact. There is quite a bit of violence, so with the recent events happening those who are more sensitive may want to hold off on seeing this, but otherwise if you're a fan of action films or a fan of the books, you will enjoy this film. “Jack Reacher” opens nationwide starting Friday, December 21, 2012