Unmemorable and confused Crime/Action/Mystery/Noir movie

Rating: 5/10 (1 June 2017)

Some moments stick, most do not.
The one individual who makes Jack Reacher worthwhile is Werner Herzog. Playing a Gulag survivor, he channels up all the bone chilling eeriness of the best Bond villains, while being an authentic human being. He has limited screen time, but he makes you wish he had more.
And then there is Tom Cruise. The coming of age star does a more refined version of his 'posing for the camera' style of acting. His depiction of Reacher wanders back and forth between broody and completely carefree relaxed.
Director Chris McQuarrie handles the movie with likewise inconsistency. He ping pongs between realism and gimmick from scene to scene. There are two or three fisticuffs scenes that are as cheesy as Steven Segal movies, while other talkier scenes resemble John Le Carre material.
Macquarie stages a good car chase to kick off the last act; one that is more streamlined and coherent than most other car chases. It ends in a laugh as Reacher disappears into a crowd in a fashion that only Cruise could get away with. Then comes the big climactic action piece on a construction site. It is endurable until we come to that typical moment where Reacher and another ruffian decide to drop their guns and punch it out (cue eye roll)
By trying to please intelligence and non-intelligence simultaneously, Jack Reacher turns into a confused movie. Its sole achievement is getting a performance out of Werner Herzog.