As Jack delves deeper into the underlying criminal activities, more people die as a threat to the military investigator.

Sadly, the five victims at the first of the movie aren’t the only ones targeted. When he fails to do so, he is shot in the back of the head. But his assaults are less gruesome than the leader of the criminals (Werner Herzog) who forces one of his men to chew off his own fingers. He also doesn’t hesitate to break a man’s hand or give a well-placed heel to the head. (Strangely, these two goons resemble The Three Stooges more than serious thugs but that doesn’t keep the rest of the film’s unnecessary violence from spiraling out of control.) Jack subdues his attackers with a thumb to the eye or repeated strikes to the groin. Unfortunately that only lasts long enough for a couple of guys with a baseball bat and crowbar to attack the hero. Working with the wide-eyed Helen, Jack uncovers an even darker conspiracy behind the deaths.Īt that point it seems this possible franchise might take after a John Grisham plot where intrigue and subterfuge drive the story. Working with the limited cooperation of police investigator Emerson (David Oyelowo), Jack starts his own review of the evidence and soon begins to question Barr’s guilt.

Rather he’d like to see him suffer for the former murder of four men in a war zone. Somehow Jack gets the word and shows up at the prosecuting office of District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins) only to discover that Rodin’s daughter Helen (Rosamund Pike) is defending Barr. When trained sniper James Barr (Joseph Kikora) is accused of the aforementioned murders of the unsuspecting civilians, he requests Jack’s help before fellow prisoners beat him into a comatose state. Without a driver’s license, credit card, last known address or luggage, he moves below the radar until someone needs his help. As a result, the early part of the movie is spent introducing the ghostly character of Jack Reacher (Cruise), a former military investigator who took himself off the grid after returning home from military duty.

Other than this false start, Jack Reacher appears to be a move to make Tom Cruise into the next Hollywood franchise after the fashion of Jason Bourne, Alex Cross or Jack Ryan.

Though no one deserves to be the victim of a random attack, the depiction is particularly disturbing considering the film opens only a week after a gunman shot and killed 20 first graders in a Connecticut elementary school. In the opening scenes of Jack Reacher, a sniper trains his gun sights on innocent citizens walking along a sunny riverside path. Though movies are filmed months in advance of their release, the content is sometimes eerily current.

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