by Allan Tong for FILMbutton

Tom Cruise plays action hero in this above-average thriller adapted from Lee Child’s bestselling novel. Jack Reacher opens with a sniper picking off five victims on a sunny day in Pittsburgh.   The cops quickly catch him, but the alleged killer denies everything.  Instead of an attorney, he demands to see Jack Reacher.

Enter Cruise.  As Jack Reacher he gets to the bottom of this heinous slaughter by reaching back into the sniper’s military service where he was trained to be an expert sharpshooter.  Also, Reacher delves into the personal lives of the victims who aren’t as innocent as they appear.  Twists and turns lead to the surprise ending (which I won’t divulge here).

Ultimately, Jack Reacher rests on the shoulders of Cruise.  You either believe him as an action hero or not.  I don’t quite buy him, but my larger problem is the character himself.  He’s predictably perfect, like beating an entire gang of meatheads single-handedly or having a quick answer for any question.  His character succeeds too easily, and that’s boring.

Truly, the best part of Jack Reacher is not Cruise, but German director Werner Herzog.  As the heavy, Herzog is deliciously evil, his portrayal bordering on camp yet throughly captivating.

Allan is a Toronto filmmaker, co-directing Leone Stars, a documentary about child victims of the Sierra Leonean civil war. He is also Content Editor for FILMbutton.