Jack Reacher: Movie Review by a Book Lover

I went into the theater with a chip on my shoulder. Tom Cruise as the invincible Jack Reacher? No way. Jack is like 6’6” and like 230 lbs. Cruise is just a skinny little guy with a body more like a teenager than a man. How can he possibly play this hero I’ve been reading for years?

So why did I go? One reason; Lee Child. This author gave me Jack Reacher and many great books in which to live for a little while. How could I not go and support an author who’s given me such great times?

During the opening scenes I had to keep reminding myself to calm down, give it a chance. Keep an open mind. It was hard at first…and then I got sucked right into Reacher-world.

Tom Cruise aced Jack Reacher.

There, I said it. And by the end of the movie I could definitely see him step into the skin of our hero. There were several reasons this worked.

Tom put on some weight for this character; mostly muscle.  When he took off his shirt his body had the muscular thickness I could see on a man I visualize as Reacher. Tom looked better than I’ve ever seen him in any of this other movies. Skinny kid gone, grown man awesome.

Camera angles. Tom didn’t appear 6’6” but he did come across as taller in most of the scenes. Good camera work made him appear larger overall which let us see him as a possible Reacher. It wasn’t there all the time but enough so that Tom definitely came across as much more than the skinny character he’s played in movies like Mission Impossible. 

The story was true Lee Child. The language of Lee came through in almost all of the scenes and they stayed true to character of Jack Reacher. We see him buying new clothing and dumping his old stuff in a Good Will bin. Yes, his toothbrush is in his pocket!  A little sexy, a little unreachable, very dynamic.

Action scenes were awesome. From the fight scenes to the car chases. I was on the edge of my seat throughout. It was Reacher style fighting, no holds barred and dirty as anything we’ve read in the books. Totally fitting our beloved Reacher.

If you’ve read the book you see things from the inside of Reacher’s head and because this is a movie you don’t get that as much but that’s true with every movie. However the plot was there and kept us on the edge of our seat. There were moments I had to cover my eyes the action was so graphic. (That’s a good thing!) I laughed out loud, nearly screamed with fright and wanted to yell at the screen at times. (I restrained myself since the woman in front of me was doing enough of that for everyone ~ )

When we go to the theater, if the movie was GREAT we call it a “Buy”. Meaning we have to get the DVD when it comes out so we can see it again and again. Jack Reacher was definitely a “Buy” in my book.  I’d go see it again today if my family wouldn’t think I was crazy.

Well played Tom. Jack Reacher gets 5 STARS in my book. Go see it and keep an open mind. I’m glad I did. One more thing: make sure you check out the sexy desk Sargent…..