An eminently forgettable movie

Rating: 5/10 (4 May 2013)

An unimpressive tough-guy performance from Cruise, who looks less imposing every time he takes his shirt off! At any rate, the character is supposed to be a 6'5" tall (1.96 m) guy with a 50- inch chest, weighing in at 220-250 pounds (100–115 kg) - so one might have thought that Cruise, at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) would be deemed highly unsuitable! Then again, he'd already pulled of greater an even greater casting coup in McQuarrie's Valkyrie (check him out as the German Officer Claus von Stauffenberg), so I guess this is no surprise. Furthermore, though I'll fully admit to not having read any of Jim Grant/Lee Child's books about Reacher; I've checked up with friends who have - and Cruise's portrayal seems rather glib to say the least. Director Chris McQuarrie's finished script leaves a lot to be desired and certainly does no justice to the Thriller genrethis is a predictable Hollywood popcorn muncher from start to finish.