Tom Cruise is the best at everything except acting as Jack Reacher, in the new crime thriller Jack Reacher. Casting megastar Cruise as a brilliant ex-army super cop with skills rivalling Batman isn't the worst idea. But the inflexible Cruise plays his titular role with a shoulder shrugging boredom that sucks the energy from his surroundings with every sarcastic quip. Luckily, the hard boiled plot of a mass-murdering sniper set up by a dark, international conspiracy is told with enough panache and captivating cinematography that the film is able to work around its star's flaws. It doesn't hurt matters when famed director Werner Herzog shows up as weirdo, fingerless crime lord super-villain. At times Jack Reacher moves with a swift, engaging intensity. It's just a shame that Cruise trying to be Reacher is such a stretch.
