Jack Reacher

It's hard to expect anything from a film with such a trivially simple title, ordinary marketing, and average posters. But the opposite is true. It is incredibly cleverly shot within its genre, and you have to praise the director's inventiveness and cleverness. Tom Cruise is more than just an ordinary protagonist, unlike Jason Bourne or Daniel Craig’s Bond (I love all three), but while those are followers of dynamic editing, raw directing, camera filters, and kinetic action, Jack Reacher takes it easy, with thoughtfulness and full-contact fights without any enhancements – it’s beautifully slow and hypnotic. One of the best crime films in recent years, brilliantly cast and stylistically stunning. Some shots deserve a “Hall of Fame” award, and the sound design deserves an Oscar. (2013-01-11)

I’m really not surprised that Tom wanted to play Reacher, even though a 7-foot muscleman would have suited the part better. In any case, he plays marvelously (as if he were making fun of it all in some places), this type of guy suits him. A precisely built up story, emphasis on dialogs and hilarious one-liners. McQuarrie’s firm hand safely delivers One Shot to the desired destination. A little too slowly, unfortunately and there probably won’t be a sequel. Shame. - You think? - All the time. You should try it. (2013-04-19)

You'd think they could always have gotten Nicolas Cage, since he must always be available. Instead, however, they pass the baton to Richard Krajčo's reject hobbit brother, who channels Langdon, the Equalizer, and that fighting guru with his heart in the right place, Michael Jai White, and mixes them all together with the kind of guy who goes on a castle tour and constantly snorts mockingly at every sentence the tour guide utters. It's a film so monumentally lacking in charisma that even Rosamund Pike rolls her cleavage on the table out of boredom, just to give the viewer motivation to sit through the scene. When a bunch of frenetic humor starts coming out of nowhere, it's like someone making fart noises with their armpits at their parents' funeral, and I've forgotten to mention the action scenes, which have no concept or choreography whatsoever, but are dominated by the kind of exposition that puts Ben Hur to shame. And most importantly, I don't know, but if according to the ratings this film really offers that whiff of the "good old-fashioned decent" crime film that makes every one and a half people here clutch at their hearts, I don't understand the low rating of Road House, which it kept reminded me of. (2015-04-27)

A decent enough film, almost a "thriller comedy" at times. It’s something in the style of Gibson's Payback, with one big minus - why did it have to be clear from the beginning that the person who did the shooting was not the arrested man, but someone else? Couldn't they have deceived us for at least half the film? I wouldn't have minded that at all. Otherwise, it’s a quality film in all respects. The opening shot through the rifle scope may steal from Two-Minute Warning, but then it's one great scene after another, with the bathroom scene being somehow perversely successful and the sensational car chase making me feel sorry for the beautiful mustang. I liked Tom Cruise better here than I did in Mission: Impossible, I liked Rosamund Pike as much as always, i.e., very much, and Robert Duvall was just the cherry on the cherry cake. As for composer Joe Kraemer, I hope that after Jack Reacher he will start getting more jobs like this, because he obviously has ideas and he knows how to do it. (2013-06-15)

Today was the day I'd been saving the Jack for. It suited me perfectly. Great action, at times the shots of Jack driving reminded me of similar shots in Speed Racer. Jack was smart and cocky, but he wasn't immortal and he didn't know everything. He's just a really good ex-soldier. Helen had beautiful eyes that hid an intelligence that could expect not to be subjected to blonde jokes. Honestly I'd quite like to read the book because I'd like to know what was going through Jack's mind, that's how intrigued I was by his character. I had fun, Tom didn't come across as stunted, and the story moved along smartly. There was no room for pity, finally. (2016-03-21)