Edge of Tomorrow is now in theaters and to calm my excitement temporarily, I threw in Jack Reacher. Based off the popular novels by Lee Child, Jack Reacher separates itself from the uniformity people expect from a murder mystery, painting untouched characters to peak our interest. The subplots carry their own freshness as does the central focus of the story. The plot isn’t superficial but it’s also not so complicated that viewers get lost along the way. It has an alluring temptation to it, drawing us in like a fish about to be caught in a net and once it’s got us, we’re unlikely to become disengaged.
Tom Cruise continues to impress me with his repertoire of characters. Rarely do the clichés of stereotypical personas emerge from Cruise’s showings. No matter what seemingly innate withdrawals, what surely must be a character we’ve seen hundreds of times, Cruise always manages to make it his own. He doesn’t allow the script to stagger him.
Jack Reacher proves to be more of the same as Cruise welcomes him to his entourage of action phenoms. He’s got his quirks, expressions and gestures down pat. They’re crucial to character development and the dialogue is very well-written. Plot and character furtherance are both involved and none of it seems misdirected or unfocused. Director Christopher McQuarrie also wrote the screenplay for Jack Reacher and you can tell the film’s kingpin and writer are on the same page which really solidifies the direction. It’s a narrow but stern focus and it’s done quite well.
The cast spouts off the dialogue effectively and most of the characters are taught to audiences but I didn’t feel the film reached its ceiling. Jai Courtney has a solid poker face but it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot going on upstairs. He’s not as dominant a character as he perhaps should be. I also feel the Zec was more of a twisted, fortified character in the novel than he was here. Werner Herzog was pretty impressive in the role but I didn’t feel like he had enough screen time to establish his desperate figure. I would have liked to have known him a little more. Rosamund Pike plays the curious defense attorney and she’s a good accessory to Cruise’s Reacher. Robert Duvall has some fun with his role as well.
The stunts are well-choreographed and enthralling but as a murder mystery, this film relies on the characters and most are thoroughly mastered by their performers. The cinematography is well-done and shoots the city of Pittsburgh with glamour.
I hate to reference a previous review but this film was the polar opposite of Skyfall. Where Skyfall lacked innovation, Jack Reacher had ingenuity coupled with plot upheavals that didn’t seem out of left field nor thrown so straight across the plate that a blind man could predict it. It’s not going through the motions. It’s perfecting all of its mechanics and illustrations to the utmost detail and it shows in the final product.
Once again, if you’re new to my blog, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.
90-100 It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Godzilla, Secretariat, Prisoners, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
80-89 It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Young Guns, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Spider-Man 3, Divergent)
70-79 It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too. (Skyfall, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 300, Flyboys, Dawn of the Dead)
60-69 It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (Speed, Godzilla(1998), The Incredible Hulk, Disaster Movie, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story)
50-59 This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (The Starving Games, You’re Next, Thor, Full Metal Jacket, Alien Resurrection)
40-49 This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Billy Madison, A Haunted House, 300: Rise of an Empire, Cowboys and Aliens, Serendipity)
30-39 Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30′s ironically define the 1930′s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb. (Stonados, Redemption, Pride and Prejudice, The Contract)
20-29 What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Thor: The Dark World, The Sum of All Fears)
0-19 Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (Open Grave, Alien 3, Dark Fury, Midnight Cowboy)
My score for Jack Reacher: 92.
Tom Cruise comes to the plate and delivers a homer that the galleries of fans can admire once again in Jack Reacher. It is probably my favorite film shot in Pittsburgh and also one of the few films that I would like to see a sequel for.
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