Entertaining , engaging, and well done

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2012)

Jack Reacher is entertaining and a solid film. It is a crime drama genre with some action and a little more humor. It is a story driven film with enough character development to make sense, but leaves some mystery about the main character Jack Reacher to keep it interesting. Having not read the books it is based on, the story was well done enough that I would want to see any future installments of the series. While the lead actor, Tom Cruise, is believable in the role he would not have to continue playing the lead character to keep the story interesting. He added to the film and made the character believable but the character Jack Reacher is interesting enough that other actors could do a decent enough job, as it is seen in the James Bond franchise.
It is worth adding that Tom Cruise did such a good job in the role it was possible to forget who the actor was, and enjoy and believe the character; though the character was given some of Tom's charisma, and it did work for the character.
As a whole, the film is reminiscent of a high budget TV crime drama but in movie form. The action scenes are there to drive the story along and not over the top but kept down to earth (i.e. obeys the laws of physics) as much as Hollywood can. It has a few plot twist in the revealing of the crime mystery. The acting is believably good (Robert Duvall is noteworthy in his small role that could be argued he equaled or did better than Tom Cruise's performance). Rosamund Pike also did a good job acting and making the character work for the film. The directing, cinematography, editing, soundtrack, and screenplay writing are all above average and better than the sum of their parts. Meaning there is positive synergy at work. It is refreshing to experience a film out of Hollywood that keeps me interested the whole time and not critiquing it during the viewing.
I would recommend this film to anyone who likes the crime/mystery drama genre or who just likes the actors involved. It is entertaining, engaging, and a good 2 hour 11 min of escapism.