Viewed – 28 May 2013  Blu-ray

Based on the novels by best-selling author Lee Child, this intelligent and thrilling movie casts Tom Cruise as the eponymous former Military Police Officer turned drifter who gets involved in a mystery surrounding a shooting incident in Chicago.  Befriending a lawyer (Rosamund Pike) charged with defending the man accused of the murder of 5 innocent people, Reacher is soon the target of a ruthless organisation.

Directed confidently and with no end of style by Christopher McQuarrie (The Way of the Gun) and along with good chemistry between Cruise and Pike, this proved very entertaining.  Villainous fodder was mostly clichéd but for Werner Herzog’s very creepy turn, and at times tough-talking Cruise proved slightly unconvincing considering his rather ageing, out-of-shape appearance.  Thankfully a killer car chase, a very sexy Rosamund Pike and a nice twisty-turny plot peppered with sharp dialogue, meant such short comings were easy to overlook.  A cameo by screen legend Robert Duvall was also a lot of fun.

Yet I couldn’t ignore the feeling the material seemed beneath an actor of Cruise’s caliber, often imagining someone like Tom Berringer in the role.  Also from the off, where this one was going was fairly predictable – but the journey there was at least well acted, exciting in parts and looked the business throughout.

Verdict:  3.5 /5

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