an uneven mix of good and bad

Rating: Null/10 (6 May 2020)

A reputable D.A. has a seemingly open-and-shut case against an ex-military marksman accused of gunning down five seemingly unconnected people, but with his life at stake the accused is willing to take extreme measures to defend himself...cue Jack Reacher: a lean, mean, exceptionally savvy antihero and "ghost" who can only be found if he wants to be, and in this instance decides to take a closer look at the evidence in question. Slick, crafty, and exciting but equally manipulative and absurd, this shallow action/thriller is a guilty pleasure that allows the usually charismatic Cruise to play a harder, colder version of Ethan Hunt, but it tacks on clichéd bad guys, spends too much time trying to explain the plot, and has a needlessly long-winded and far-fetched finale that, once it's all said and done, really doesn't seem to be worth all the trouble. **½