Jack Reacher
starring Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Joseph Sikora and Robert Duvall
written and directed by Christopher MacQuirre
Rating: ◊◊◊◊◊
Called “Outlaw” in Japanese, Reacher, based on a Lee Child’s 2005 novel One Shot, should have been a lot better. It’s got Tom Cruise in it and a lot of action, so it should be an automatic winner. However, it was so BORING I kept waiting and waiting for it to end. Reacher is largely unknown, untraceable, off-the-grid U.S. Army veteran who goes around solving crime. Or, helps the police solve crime before disappearing once more into the great American unknown, like so many crime-fighting heroes, the High Plains Drifter, the A-Team, the Lone Ranger, Spiderman, Batman, et al. So the Japanese title “Outlaw” is not so inappropriate. I never understood the premise, though. Why Reacher? Let the police do their job. This film features a useless villain, a mysterious Russian mobster trying to take over a construction company - presumably in order to use its legitimate business to disguise his other, illegitimate businesses. What a pathetic villain! And, Reacher is entirely unnecessary to solve the case.
So, not a very good movie.