Jack Reacher

Talk about a smack in the face. A good, adrenaline fueled kick to the proverbial nuts if you will. In today's day and age of CG action and green screen blasphemy, Tom Cruise gives us an extremely welcome Christmas gift with his new actioner, Jack Reacher. I never read the books, but I am well aware of the huffing going on about Cruise placing himself in the lead role. Sure Cruise is good and can be great, but the Reacher character is a 6 foot 5 inch, 250 pound behemoth of a man, who uses those particular physical traits to instill fear and intimidation into anyone who sees him. At 5'7", Cruise is hardly intimidating. However, after seeing how he acts in certain situations, I did become intimidated by him. Let me also say a little something about what I expected through trailers, and what was delivered. I expected a hard nosed action film about a vagabond who paved his own path and nothing more. I had no idea this film would lie smack dab in the heart of my favorite genre, Thriller. It is a great thriller. Instead of a whodunnit?, we get more of a Why do it? It kicks off pretty quickly and has you wanting more in a hurry. It had absolutely no CG, and one of the best car chase scenes in the last 10 years, and maybe a top 10 chase scene of all time in that Chevelle. It was a standard chase that was anything but ordinary according to how Hollywood usually does things these days. It all goes to the Director. The Direction of this scene was Masterful. The Direction of the entire film was insanely great, but this chase scene sets this film apart from other similar films. I didn't want it to end, and neither did my companions. Except for maybe Melissa F., who was more interested in digging into that cracky, crinkly plastic bag of Goobers (I think they were Goobers) than watching Jack destroy other men on screen in a very tactical way, I think they were as enthralled as I was. I also want to commend Tom Cruise on his impeccable timing and delivery of hilarious one liners that, for all intents and purposes, was able to eliminate any need for a crappy comic relief character. He did both jobs to perfection, and I already want to watch it again. The film was pretty flawless, and then who shows up? Robert Duvall. A man among men. Cole Trickle's crew chief of yesteryear. Those two have a chemistry unmatched by many, and though it was a bit role, maybe 20 minutes, it was very memorable, and really put the icing on the cake. I cannot wait for a sequel and I hope they go with my Brother's idea for a title. "Jack Reacher Round 2. Read it fast and out loud. You'll get it.

NBM rates Jack Reacher - Phenomenal