Cases are never Open and Shut

Rating: 7/10 (22 October 2016)

Since I recently saw the sequel in the cinema I thought it might be best to see what the original movie was like. As it turned out it the are nothing alike (with the exception that both star Tom Cruise as the title character). Sure, both of them have a mystery that needs to be uncovered, but this film is much more of a detective film than is the sequel. Also, the film is set entirely in Pittsburg whereas the sequel seems to go all over the place (and even has Reacher traveling in a plane, something that apparently he isn't suppose to do). Sure, Reacher in both films is a bit of a tough guy, and also a loner, but I felt that this film was somewhat more reflective of what the character was suppose to be like.
Anyway, the film is set in Pittsburg and one day a sniper shoots a number of people in a park by the river. He is then caught, and it pretty much appears to be an open and shut case. As it turns out Reacher had encountered this particular guy in Iraq where he has been arrested, charged, and then released, after shooting up some civilian contractors. The problem is that his lawyer doesn't really believe that he is guilty, and while Reacher is pretty much convinced that he is, as he begins to dig deeper he realises that there are a number of things that don't make sense (such as why he shot from where he did) and that there are much more sinister things going on.
One of the major differences is that the only reference to the army in this film is that Reacher, and some of the other characters, were once soldiers, but in the main the film really deals with civilian life and the soldier's reintegration into that life. Mind you, it isn't necessarily about how demobilised soldiers have difficulties readjusting to civilian life, and we do note that our sniper spent the entire war watching soldiers through a scope and never actually taking a shot, but as it eventually comes out reintegration is not a problem (though can be used to cover up more sinister plots). The reference regarding being a sniper who never fired a shot is to another film – Jarhead. There was a similar theme there (and we see this in Three Kings as well) – the soldiers were trained, and went to war, and never fired a shot. I don't think this is necessarily the case in the Iraq War, but the suggestion is there.
Don't expect a huge amount of action in this film, though Hollywood, of course, has to throw in a bit, especially at the end. This is more of a detective film, with a lot of mystery, and a few twists, thrown in. Mind you, unlike the sequel, which I eventually worked out what was going on before all was revealed, this was a little more difficult (though there were some hints dropped about the place). They also play around with the sexual tension, though there seems to be a lot more in this film than in the sequel. Once again Reacher is portrayed as the loner, the drifter, that really can't connect with people. However he is described as a ghost, as somebody who doesn't want to be found, but if he wants to be found then he will find you – this is why he goes everywhere by bus namely because buses are anonymous.
Oh, they did have a bit of a car chase, and an interesting scene where he was hiding from the police. It felt a little unrealistic, but then again you can't have the main character arrested before he has solved the mystery (and if you do you have to provide him with a way to be able to get out and wrap everything up satisfactorily). Mind you, nothing is ever all that simple in real life, but then again this isn't real life, this is Hollywood.