Jack Reacher and the art of borrowing cars

Rating: 8/10 (16 September 2013)

I know nothing about the books, so this review is based on the movie alone.
I liked it more than I thought I would. This is not so much an action film as it is a thriller and a detective story. There certainly is action, but it's not the core of this movie. There's a little conspiracy, some character development when needed, and of course the inevitable "good vs. bad" - confrontation in an expected manner. All of the main elements work quite well. Not exceptionally well, but well enough to keep the film interesting, intact and effective.
I felt like I was watching a mixture of Dirty Harry, Bourne and Taken, possibly with a little Lethal Weapon thrown into the mix. And again, I'm not talking about the amount of action, just the overall feeling of resemblance I got. So it didn't feel too original, but three things worked so well that "Jack Reacher" isn't just a mediocre movie:
1) Christopher McQuarrie knows how to put a story on the screen (as we know from "Usual suspects"). He knows when to further the storyline, he knows when to give us a little breather. The story is coherent and moves along nicely. Just when you think you need an action scene, you get it. You get some unexpected humor and nice details every once in a while, and everything just seems to have its rightful place. This movie isn't deep and the script is not overly brilliant, but it's handled very effectively and that is something I've grown to like, because the opposite happens way too often in movies. Thumbs up to McQuarrie.
2) This movie is wonderfully shot. Cinematography is very good and pleasing to the eye at all times, and on top of that the action is shot very, very well. It wasn't long ago when I watched "Bourne supremacy" again, and I absolutely hated the unnecessarily shaky camera. "Jack Reacher" handles action perfectly. You can feel the chaos and the urgency in some scenes, yet you're always aware of what's happening. This is the way I wan't to see action scenes shot, be it a fight scene or a car chase (we get both, and they're very good).
I would also like to compliment the satisfying violence. It does what it's supposed to do and looks/feels mean enough in a movie that warrants it. Of course I would've wanted an R-rated cut, but I'm fairly pleased how things were handled.
3) Tom Cruise. I can't help it. I absolutely love his work. He's just got that certain presence. When he stares, when he talks, when he throws a punch, delivers some comic relief or pulls off some nice stuntwork - I'm usually sold. He's not especially impressive in this movie, but him just being a professional himself is enough, he carries this film when it needs it. I can nowadays keep my opinions of his "religion" at bay when I'm watching a movie. I even tried hating him at some point for some juvenile reason, but every time I saw one of his better films (Last Samurai, Oblivion), I was just thoroughly sold and entertained.
Acting isn't crap otherwise either. Werner Herzog is always a fun guy to watch, and Jai Courtney is decent (still not seeing Die Hard 5 though). David Oyelowo is interesting, Alexia Fast not too bad at all. Joseph Sikora has only a minor role but delivers a strong performance, especially in the end. Robert Duvall, nice seeing you too! I liked how almost every character was simplistic, in a good way. No overly complicated motivations, just the good old basics. Honorary mention goes to James Martin Kelly who plays a grieving father.
Rosamund Pike's character left something to be desired. She is an important piece of the movie, and sometimes I got the feeling that either the director wasn't really sure what to do with her or she just couldn't nail it. Sometimes she's smart, sometimes a little clueless, sometimes emotional and sometimes professional. I didn't get a good grip on her. I enjoyed her though, especially in scenes shared by her and Cruise. Also, it might be that she was the least simplistic character in this film and stood out in a weird way because of that.
I really enjoyed watching this movie. It felt like it took a lot of good things (while leaving bad things alone) from 70's, 80's and 90's action thrillers and made them modern again. There's also some fooling around with certain movie clichés in a funny way. Not a masterpiece (with an R-rating, a little more gripping story and a little more developed characters, this could've been a modern classic for me) but certainly a welcome, good old-fashioned thriller with some action and humor on the side.
Now, excuse me while I put on my leather jacket, borrow somebody's car and go tell some woman how to do her job.