Christopher McQuarrie knows what kind of film he’s making. This isn’t a crime thriller in the vein of “Once Upon a Time In Anatolia”, where it’s a realistic character study. “Jack Reacher”, based off of Lee Child’s novel “One Shot” (which is a better title, in my opinion), is a relatively by the numbers Hollywood crime actioner. And there’s nothing wrong with that! I relate these films to the candy you buy while in line at the grocery store. They quench your sweet tooth enough for an immediate satisfaction. They don’t stay with you for awhile like a hearty meal (“Once Upon A Time In Anatolia”), but satisfy you during the duration.
I haven’t read the novel this film is based off of, so I can’t report on how faithful it is. Seeing how this is standard fare, I’m going to bet only mildly. Tom Cruise is in the role of Jack Reacher, a mysterious former Army cop who has more medals and Purple Hearts than you’d think one person could attain. He’s the proverbial “best there is” that nobody can touch. In real life, you’d probably come across one of these in the occasional time. In the movies, there’s seemingly twelve of them living on the same block.
He’s introduced into the film in cheeky Hollywood fashion. District Attorney Alex Roding (Richard Jenkins) and Detective Emerson (David Oyelowo) have arrested Gary Barr (Dylan Kussman) who is believed to have killed five innocent people outside PNC Park. Being a trained sniper and having all of the evidence pointed towards him, it’s a seemingly open and shut case. The only response he gives them in questioning is, “Get Jack Reacher”. As the two look into his files and notice he’s off the grid, they state the only way to find him is if he comes to them. Immediately after saying that, the secretary knocks on the door and states a Jack Reacher is here to see them.
Jack heard of Gary’s arrest on the news and sprung into action. It turns out when he was an Army cop he was investigating a case involving Barr. He had killed four men in cold blood, but got off when it turned out they were all involved in a rape marathon (you read that right). He’s been classified as a cold-blooded killer whose sole purpose in the Army was to have a license to kill legally. Having spent two years in Iraq and not shooting one person, his bloodlust got the best of him.
Defending Gary is Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike, who seemed to be auditioning for “Law & Order“), who is trying to get him life instead of death row. She’s the daughter of the District Attorney, which gives McQuarrie ample usage of family melodrama. Thanks to the two actors, it works. She hires Jack Reacher to investigate the case for her, not expecting the information he would find.
We know from the opening that Gary is innocent. At the very least, we know he’s not the one who did the shootings. We see a man, who we later discover is Charlie (Jai Courtney), performing the murders. As we follow Jack around, we try to decipher along with him whether Gary was framed or working with Charlie. This includes numerous shots of showing the same footage from the opening to pad the runtime, though they place Gary in Charlie’s place, so I guess it counts as new material.
This is why I stated that Christopher McQuarrie knows what kind of film he’s making. He’s playing the audience like a fiddle and taking them along on the ride. By showing us that Gary wasn’t the sniper, it allows us to have knowledge that only Jack Reacher knows. We feel a connection with him and the case, giving us a feeling of involvement. While this can be a cheap tool at times (especially when the numerous twists come into play), it’s used effectively to involve the viewer and crank up the tension.
McQuarrie is the right man for this job not just because he knows how to work the audience, but because he knows how to work filler into the story. I already mentioned the family melodrama, but I haven’t touched upon the car chase in the middle. It’s clear it was thrown in by producers to get the audience’s adrenaline pumping. In the hands of a lesser director, it would have been a pointless scene. McQuarrie gives Jack a reason to partake in what is seemingly a ludicrous car chase and make it reasonable. He also frames the shots quite well and doesn’t succumb to the shaky cam that is the norm nowadays.
He also gives Robert Duvall and Werner Herzog (yes, that Werner Herzog) glorified cameos that play a pivotal role. Herzog more so than Duvall, as he’s aligned with the bad guys (playing a character named The Zec, which means prisoner). Both men chew up the scenery, Werner with fables of chewing off his fingers to avoid frostbite and survive, Robert Duvall as a veteran running a shooting range who has a few screws loose. He’s having a ball shooting out one-liners and bullets and it’s hard to resist cracking a smile when he’s doing so.
“Jack Reacher” is a vehicle for Tom Cruise and it shows. He gets the best lines (my favorite being how he slyly calls a woman a slut), he kicks the most ass and, for the most part, isn’t too badly hurt. He’s extremely intelligent, except when around Cash. Then he seems to make many screw-ups in planning, such as almost blowing their cover. Same goes for Helen. She’s a smart lawyer who knows the law in and out except in the presence of Jack. There’s a spot in the film where she asks him why contacting Gary’s friend(s) would be ideal. How about to gain some information on him?
Slip-ups like this and an overabundance of cheeky humor do drag “Jack Reacher” down. As does it’s running length. It’s about twenty minutes too long, which all could have been shaved off by trimming Reacher’s soliloquies. Even so, it’s an entertaining enough Hollywood thriller with tight direction from a smart director. It’s brain candy that pleases you during the ride, but doesn’t leave a lasting impression.
Final Rating: B-