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Review: Jack Reacher

By Christine Petralia

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

December 25, 2012



I was really hesitant to see Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise because I had no idea what the film was about. However, with some recommendations, I decided to venture to the theater. And I was pleasantly surprised. To me, it was a longer CSI on the big screen, but it’s actually much, much more.



Based on the book One Shot, by Lee Child, Cruise portrays Jack Reacher, a loner and former Army Military police officer. No one finds Reacher, he finds you. After five people are killed in a sniper shooting in Pittsburgh, PA, police arrest suspect James Barr (Joseph Sikora) a former army sharpshooter. During his interrogation, where police tell him he has two choices, the death penalty or life in prison, if he confesses. Instead, he asks them to find Jack Reacher.



Reacher shows up at police headquarters, while detectives are trying to figure out how to find him. Barr’s lawyer, Helen (Rosamund Pike), also the DA’s daughter, lets Reacher know that she has taken the case just to keep Barr off death row. Everyone, even herself, is convinced that Barr is guilty. Meanwhile, after Reacher agrees to help Helen investigate the case, he digs deeper and unravels a much deeper scandal involving the police department and a hired killer.



Jack Reacher has just the right amount of subtle humor, drama and action to keep the film moving until the very end. While I never read the books, I can only imagine that Cruise did an excellent job of portraying Reacher. Though, Cruise always does a good job at playing those aloof characters, just as he did in all the Mission Impossibles.

If you like detective films, with action and plot twists, check out Jack Reacher.

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