Cast: Tom Cruise is obviously having fun. I wouldn't be surprised he powered through getting this movie made through sheer force of will. It has that kind of feel. Everyone is pretty awful in this, but by design, if that makes any sense. Vets like Robert Duvall and Richard Jenkins are living it up as best they can. Familiar faces like Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo are dropping their accents and collecting a paycheck. The rest of them are either looking pretty (Alexia Fast) or intense (Jai Courtney) as needed.
Plot: This movie is incredibly dated. The investigation at the center is reminiscent to a Tom Clancy movie from the 90s or maybe earlier. There is a twist exactly when you expect one. Someone will launch into a contrived speech the moment you say to yourself "he's not about to launch a speech, is he?". The fight scenes play out exactly as you think they will. Even the few funny parts are like they are giving you permission to laugh like you are on some sort of morphine drip for laughs. And you know what? That's fine. I think the word for this movie is pulp. It's like the man equivalent of making a movie out of a harlequin romance novel. I can't say if that is how the book reads, but it's certainly how the movie plays.
Elephant in the Room: Isn't Jack Reacher supposed to be a towering brute? Apparently, Tom Cruise is not who anyone imagined to play that character. I actually think he works. In the movie, he is smart and cunning, a master investigator. To cast a John Cena looking guy to play him would be too much. Also, I just don't see how this movie gets made or has the kind of release this one did without his name attached to it (Imagine Alex Cross without Tyler Perry fans supporting it).
To Sum Things Up:
I can't say I liked this movie. It's more accurate to say that I understand it. There is a pretty specific market for this one (I'd be shocked if the median age for this is less than 40). I know if I brought any of my friends to see it, we would spend the whole time laughing at how uninteresting it is. At the same time, I could see watching it with my dad and him thinking it was an OK action movie. I can't really recommend it for anyone simply because it is too unremarkable to assume anyone would feel strongly about it. That doesn't mean it's bad though.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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