Good Action/Mystery Movie

Rating: Null/10 (21 June 2013)

Really enjoyed "Jack Reacher", even though I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan. I haven't read any of the books but to my mind he did a fine job as Lee Child's omniscient superhero. A friend tells me that in the books he is supposed to be much bigger, and Cruise is on the small side, but it didn't matter. He is surrounded by a very good cast, including Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall and, especially, the great Werner Herzog.
Although there is a pretty high body count, the emphasis is on a mystery that, at first glance, isn't much of a mystery. A former Army sniper is accused of a random shooting in which five people are killed. He calls on Jack Reacher, who appears mysteriously, to aid his cause. As you can probably guess, things are not what they seem.
I am not familiar with director McQuarrie, but he turns in an excellent job of moving things along - there is precious little downtime - and allowing the mystery to gradually unfold without a lot of contrived confusion. There is a thrilling car chase and along the way several baddies get their comeuppance. Does it all hold water? Don't be a killjoy. My headline says it all. If you get a chance and are a fan of this genre, rent it and watch it.