If this was based on Lee's 9th novel, how bad were the first eight?

Rating: 4/10 (31 December 2012)

Back in 1997 Lee Child published his first Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor. I read it, was mightily unimpressed (you'll love it if Dan Brown's literary prowess rocks your world) and forgot he existed. Then Lee made it big. Very big. He sold the rights to his ninth (were the first eight no good???) novel, One Shot, and the world went nuts over the casting of 5'7" Tom Cruise to play 6'5" giant Jack Reacher.
Cruise's height is not an issue, so if you're a fan of the books quit your whinging. Cruise is a big enough star to fill Reacher's boots and the problems with this film have nothing to do with the actor's stature. It's just not a great film.
If you're looking for light, easy, disposable entertainment that won't require you to engage your brain then Jack Reacher may suffice, if you've already watched Seven Psychopaths, Skyfall, Tower Block I'm sure you catch my drift.
Jack Reacher is a war veteran with no past, no driving licence and no way of tracking him. He's a shadow and he'll contact you if and when he wants to. When James Barr is accused of randomly shooting five pedestrians, he says simply "Get Jack Reacher" and as DA Rodin (Richard Jenkins) and cop Emmerson (David Oyelowo) are attempting to work out why and how to do just that, in walks Jack Reacher. Over the next two hours or so he and prosecutor Helen (Rosamund Pike), who happens to be Rodin's daughter, attempt to prove Barr's guilt (or innocence, depending on which side you sit). While Helen attempts something vaguely resembling intelligent investigation, she recruits Reacher as her investigator and he favours the results gained by beating the crap out of people and we're supposed to believe he doesn't want to use such methods and is really a sincere, thoughtful bloke who wants to be left alone. It's about as convincing as James Bond being a secret agent but telling everyone who he is – just a great deal less entertaining.
It's plinky plonk filmmaking again; all rather predictable and convoluted and I rather lost interest part way through and opted instead to count how many times the bloke in front checked his mobile phone (eight times) and the man behind farted (only twice but they were truly horrendous). Earlier this year, Cruise gave us Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. It was far-fetched, well crafted and very entertaining in a way Jack Reacher cannot hope to attain. It's all so wooly, has little pace and lacks anything to really compel the viewer to engage with it.
There are some fine touches including the stunt in the trailer where Reacher abandons the car and a sequence that establishes who, how and when each civilian was murdered, but at the heart of Christopher McQuarrie's second film as director (after The Way of the Gun) is a couple that has less on-screen chemistry than Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Cleopatra (i.e. not much!). If McQuarrie can't be bothered to hire a convincing actress or cast two stars that spark together, I can't be bothered to persuade you to watch his film.
Why would you when there are so many others out there? It's been reported that McQuarrie, who also wrote Jack Reacher, and Cruise will reunite for Mission: Impossible 5. Let's hope it's the McQuarrie who won an Oscar for writing The Usual Suspects that turns up and not the one who gave us the worst Tom Cruise film this year.
It's not awful. It's just not terribly good and, for all its flaws, Skyfall is by far the better option for simple entertainment that's still on general release.
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