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.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2012 – Jan 2, 2013.
it did keep me awake and dreaming of a new – not a bad flick.
Chas.
Ugh, I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m a fan of Lee Child’s novels. And Jack Reacher is a 6’5″ 250lbs monster of a man. I knew that frickin’ Cruise wasn’t right the minute they announced him in the role. Glad to hear it was fast paced though – it will at least do justice to the novel.