Better than I thought it would be

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2013)

Just saw Jack Reacher. The opening scene made me think about the recent Sandy Hook shooting spree, even though it is a different scenario.
Overall: not a bad film. I quite enjoyed it. Tom Cruise wasn't brilliant, but he did have his moments. Rosamund Pike is quite attractive, although she was really just a side character, as are all the others. Robert Duval also shows up as a grizzled gun lover, but Cruise is the pony of this show. Quite violent, some minor plot holes, the usual good-guy-beats-all-the-baddies stuff, and a 50 yr old Tom Cruise not doing too badly til he takes his shirt off, and then he looks like he's straining to hold his gut in.
Some snappy dialogue (the bar scene); some okay action here and there; an overly extended chase scene; and a mystery solved.
**SPOILERS** The plot has the titular Jack Reacher investigating a sniper shooting spree in some unnamed US city. Pretty soon he's neck deep in a conspiracy involving embezzlement from the government.
A reasonably solid outing for the aging Cruise. Weirdo Scientology beliefs aside, he still does okay as a lead.