Jack Reacher
(2012 - December 21)
Action |
Crime |
Drama
2 hr. 10 min.
Rated: PG-13 Violence, Some Drug Material and Language |
What parents should know
Grade: B+
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay),
Lee Child (book)
Stars: Tom Cruise,
Rosamund Pike and
Richard Jenkins |
See full cast and crew
Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror.
But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for
one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says:
Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, ex-military investigator Jack
Reacher is coming. He knows this shooter-a trained military sniper who
never should have missed a shot. Reacher is certain something is not
right-and soon the slam-dunk case explodes. Now Reacher is teamed with a
beautiful young defense
lawyer, moving closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings.
Reacher knows that no two opponents are created equal. This one has come
to the heartland from his own kind of hell. And Reacher knows that the
only way to take him down is to match his ruthlessness and cunning-and
then beat him shot for shot. -- (C) Official Site
Jack Reacher is a fictional character created by British author Jim Grant (who writes under the pen name of Lee Child) and is the main character in 17 Books. The Jack Reacher (film) starring Tom Cruise was released on December 21, 2012.
Having never read any of the Jack Reacher books I have an unbiased perspective regarding the screenplay and whether it is true to the novel. After seeing the film I did a little research on the character Jack Reacher.
Lee Child, unemployed and midway through writing the first Reacher novel, had not been able to come up with at name for the main character. On day while shopping with his wife at their local supermarket, an elderly lady approached him and asked him to reach an item
off a high shelf for her. His wife jokingly remarked: "Hey if this writing thing
doesn't work out, you can be a reacher in a supermarket."
Jack Reacher is a former United States Army Military Police Major. He was born on a military base in Berlin in 1960. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he served 13 years in the Military Police, during which time he became part of a fictional military police
unit, the 110th Special Investigations Unit, created to handle
exceptionally tough cases, especially those involving members of the United States Army Special Forces.
After leaving the Army Reacher became a drifter wandering the United States, a reaction to having been told where to go, when to go and what to do for every day of his
life from military childhood to military adulthood. He wanted to get to know his own country since most of his young life had been spent living
overseas on military bases and at the military school West Point. He prefers to travel by bus or as a hitchhiker. He travels light as a drifter, his only possessions are money, a foldable toothbrush and, after 9/11, an expired passport and an ATM debit card. He doesn't have nor has he ever had a driver's license.
This film devolves into one of my 'pet pieves' the conflict comes down to a fist fight between the well armed hero and villain...just shoot the gun and put an end to it. It's supposed to be a dramatic 'mano a mano' moment but it's just plain stupid and annoying.
Plot
In his first film, sure to become a franchise, a sniper kills five seemingly random
Pittsburgh citizens. The police quickly identify and arrest a suspect, former military
sniper James Barr (Joseph Sikora) says little more than 'Get Jack Reacher' (Tom Cruise),
a drifter and former Army Military Police
officer. The authorities have no idea how to find him when he suddenly, Reacher, having seen a news
report featuring James Barr prompting him to
seek him out so that he can take care of unfinished business between
himself and Barr.
Reacher appears in the District Attorney Rodin's (Richard Jenkins) office. Barr's defense is pleased and relieved; but Reacher has
come to bury Barr not to save him. He is shocked by Barr's request that Reacher prove his innocene and
Reacher sets out to confirm for himself the absolute certainty of the Barr's
guilt.
Appearances aren't quite what they seem to Reacher who agrees to work as an investigator for Barr's
defense attorney, Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), who happens to be the District Attorney's daughter, and a
local detective (David Oyelowo) to try to find out the truth behind the
shootings and prove Barr's innocence. Reacher methodically begins to unravel a treacherous and deadly case
involving a hired killer (Jai Courtney) and a Russian known
only as "the zec"...the prisoner (Werner Herzog).
In the book the film is based on One Shot, the events take place in a small Indiana town, the film moves the events to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Author, Lee Child, makes an brief appearance as the Desk Sergent.
Cast
Jack Reacher Helen
Emerson Rodin
Charlie The Zec
This Is 40
