Good tense action story

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2013)

Barr (Joseph Sikora) is faced with overwhelming evidence of him killing 5 random innocent people in a spree shooting. The only person he asks for is Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise). Jack isn't a friend or a defender. He believes that Barr is guilty. Even his attorney Helen (Rosamund Pike) believes that he's guilty.
This is some good tense storytelling. And they've got a pretty great car chase to boot. I love that the chase slows down and takes a pause. I like the tension is allow to built up as he slowly drives down an alley. It isn't just one long constant bang them up chase.
If there is a problem , there is a small weakness in either Tom Cruise and/or Jack Reacher. He does this all-knowing pause in every conversation to create tension, but it's an old cliché. There is so much quiet mannerisms in his performance that it's becomes tired. I get that he's the strong and silent type. Sometimes an exposition just need to go quicker. Sometimes he should get it over with. At over 2 hours, it's too long for a relatively simple story. They need to tighten up a lot of dialog to speed things up. And the final fight drags on a little too long. Even with this minor problem, I still consider this one of Tom Cruise's better films lately.