Tag Archives: Lee Childs

Jack Reacher

Posted by Craig Gorham on

Before we get started, a few words about Films and Books. They’re different. A few more? I’ve seen numerous comments and reviews about Jack Reacher and most seem hung up on the fact that Tom Cruise doesn’t match the physical description in the books. Really! That’s what you want to say. Get over it. The character of Quaid in Total Recall is described in the book as a skinny nerd type, a 70′ s era Woody Allen if you will. Who do we get? Arnold Schwarzenegger (and more recently Colin Farrell). Robert Langdon in the Da Vinci Code (or possibly Angels and Demons) claims he is often mistaken for Harrison Ford. So do they cast Harrison in the role? Nope, Tom Hanks. What I’m trying to say is that there is more to a character than just looks, there’s, for lack of a better word,character.

Which brings us to Jack Reacher. I will confess that I haven’t yet read any of the Lee Childs novels, but what I gather from friends who have, is that Reacher is a huge, unstoppable force of nature, an arrow for justice who believes that the shortest distance between two points is a punch in the face. A man of few words, with no ties and no responsibilities. Well, Cruise nails all of that except the stature. Did that affect my enjoyment? Nope.

Put aside any prejudices you may have and enjoy what is a good old fashioned thriller/mystery. Just like Jack himself this is a lean beast of a film. From the opening sniping scene, viewed through the rifle scope (Hitchcock would have been proud) to the heroes exit there’s scarcely a wasted moment. The plot itself is not that complex and we as the viewer are privy to information Reacher is not. Again, does this spoil our enjoyment. Nope. The mystery becomes less of a who-done-it and more of why-did-they-do-it. Any more than that I’m not going to go into. Retelling the plot is not a review. Suffice to say, bad men do bad things and the hero (and I use the term loosely) saves the day.

There’s a car chase that reinforces Reachers character, full throttle, nothing matters but the objective and provides further proof that Cruise is utterly fearless (he does ALL the driving. No really, ALL). There’s also a cine literate joke regarding Tom Cruise and running (Well I laughed).

Of the other performances on display here, the other outstanding turn is that of Werner Herzog as the mysterious villain, The Zec. A survivor of a Russian prison camp, he is prepared to do anything in order to survive, a point chillingly illustrated by his tale of gnawing off his own frostbitten fingers in order to save his own life. Herzog is on top creepy form here and his bewilderment at others unwillingness to save themselves is utterly convincing.

In brief (too late), put aside your prejudices (literary or otherwise) and go see Jack Reacher. With eighteen or so more novels to choose from, I for one would certainly relish the opportunity to cross paths with him again.

8 out of 10