This is no Usual Suspects

Rating: 6/10 (22 December 2012)

I think that director and writer Christopher McQuarrie did a pretty good job on this film, although it is nowhere near the excellent writing that he produced for The Usual Suspects (one of my favorite films). I think that the difference was that in this film there was no element of surprise. I figured out the whole film before it was revealed on screen. And if I figured it out, I know that Emma did since she is more analytical then I am. I have to say that although I was ahead of the film a bit, I still enjoyed seeing it play out. Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is an ex-military drifter who apparently shows up whenever there is injustice with regards to another ex-military sniper. Jack teams up with Helen (Rosamund Pike) to confirm that what happened is the truth and ends up getting more than he bargained for. When I first saw Rosamund on screen, I thought it was Jenna Elfman. They look incredibly alike and I am sure that I am not the only person who thought that. Anyway, Jack seems to get some level of support from unexpected characters. One of those characters is Cash (Robert Duvall) who adds a little comic relief to the film. Emerson (David Oyelowo) heads up the police force, while Rodin (Richard Jenkins) is the District Attorney and Helen's father. There is a sub-story about the volatile relationship between Helen and Rodin. Every time I see Richard on screen I can't help but think about the HBO series Six Feet Under where he played a dead guy. This film had some disturbing violence in the wake of what happened earlier this month. There was a time that the powers that be stopped promoting this film (and for good reason). After you get passed the initial scene, the film tells a pretty good story. The action sequences were really well orchestrated and did add a bit of excitement to the film. I do want to say that Tom plays a lot of these types of characters and I think that I like it better when he steps out of the box a bit, like he did when he was in Rock of Ages. There are a lot of really good films coming out during the holiday season and I am not sure if this is a "must see", so with that being said, I am giving this film an amber light.