Better than I Expected

Rating: 6/10 (8 June 2013)

When a sniper shoots randomly five victims, Detective Emerson (David Oyelowo) finds evidence to incriminate the former paranoid marine James Barr (Joseph Sikora). It is an easy case for the prosecutor Rodin (Richard Jenkins), but Barr refuses to sign the confession and he calls Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise). When he is transported to prison in a bus, the other prisoners beat him and Barr goes to the hospital in coma.
The pacifist attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), who is the daughter of the prosecutor, decides to defend him but Jack Reacher is a former marine investigator that left the army and has become an unknown drifter. Out of the blue, Jack appears in the city and Helen invites him to work for her investigating the case. Soon he finds that the Barr is innocent and there is a conspiracy behind the murders where the apparent culprit is the scapegoat.
"Jack Reacher" is an action movie better than I expected. The plot is intriguing but as usual the ego of Tom Cruise spoils the movie. There are unbearable scenes but maybe the worst scenes are Jack Reader going unarmed to face the gang of killers in the stone quarry and when he drops his weapon to fight against Charlie while Helen is prisoner of the bad guys. Then he easily executes The Zec in a lack of consistency in his behavior. Last but not the least: Why not Gerard Butler in the lead role? My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Jack Reacher: O Último Tiro" ("Jack Reacher: The Last Shot")