In the film that bears his name, Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise, Rock of Ages) is an enigma. Unknown until he is mentioned by a spree killer (Joseph Sikora, Safe) in custody for gunning down five people at random, he materialises at just the right moment. In the literary world, however, the character has anchored 17 novels and two short stories by author Lee Child. Such prevalence may evaporate much of his mystique, but it built an ardent fan following in the process.
It is therefore surprising that the feature Jack Reacher adapts the ninth book in the series, asking cinema-goers to warm to the former military investigator turned drifting detective part way through his story. Yet in the hands of writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (The Way of the Gun), the lack of background proves an asset, presenting the unacquainted with a second puzzle to solve: the construction of a protagonist both charismatic and calculating, and resourceful but retiring.
The film’s self-contained narrative concerns the aforementioned sniper, who demands Reacher’s involvement in his case before falling into a coma. The supervising officer (David Oyelowo, The Help) and district attorney (Richard Jenkins, Liberal Arts) are sceptical, but defence counsel Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike, Wrath of the Titans) seeks Reacher’s assistance – first to keep her client from death row, then to ascertain the truth surrounding the seemingly senseless carnage.
In his first directorial effort after a 12-year absence (scripting Valkyrie and The Tourist in the interim) McQuarrie moulds the movie’s twin mysteries into a mostly satisfying alternative to the standard police procedurals and legal thrillers. With an anti-hero pitted against a dubious bureaucracy, as well as two shadowy adversaries (Spartacus’ Jai Courtney and noted filmmaker Werner Herzog, in an interesting and increasingly entertaining masterstroke of casting) tracking his every move, the usual formula is evident, yet is eclipsed by the film’s strong sense of its pulpy leanings.
Surprises stem from Cruise in the lead role, his second convincing attempt at action in as many genre outings (following 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol). His perfectly-timed delivery of McQuarrie’s clever, sometimes comic dialogue hits the mark, with the star working well with the feature’s dark undercurrent of humour. Convention and cliché may prop up proceedings along the way, but so do a few entertaining set pieces framed by Caleb Deschanel’s (Killer Joe) fluid cinematography. Indeed, that the sum of Jack Reacher’s eclectic parts equals such a solid film is perhaps the third of its puzzles; one that it so clearly and confidently relishes.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Jack Reacher
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
USA, 2012, 130 min
In cinemas January 3
Distributor: Paramount
Rated M
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