Much better than I expected!

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2012)

I never expect much from a Tom Cruise film. Actually, that's not true. I always expect it to be a Tom Cruise ego stroke-athon, and in that respect I was not disappointed. In every scene where Tom walks into a crowded bar or store or whatever, it seems clear that every woman has been given the direction to point an "I want you" look at Tom. Perhaps this is just the natural response to Tom's manliness; perhaps he exudes great wafts of pheromones that women can't resist - I admit that I don't actually know. OK, I got that off my chest, now let's get to the movie.
I have to admit, I really liked this film. The acting and character development is uniformly good, and particularly so in the case of David Oyelowo - I'll have to go find some of this guy's other films. Even the villains are pretty well developed instead of just being disposable generic bad guys. Werner Herzog is excellent as The Zec, and I just wish Arnold Schwarzenegger would take a cue from a fellow European septuagenarian and pick a few roles that are age-appropriate for him, (Werner is only 5 years older). Rosamund Pike is excellent in her role and perfectly cast for the part, in my opinion. I just wish she would get past her distinctly noticeable reluctance to allow her teeth to contact one another when she speaks - it's really distracting.
But what really sets this film apart from most of what I've seen this year (or in the past few years) is the fact that it has a discernible plot that isn't full of logical holes and discontinuities. Oh, there are a few - it isn't perfect - but it's a distinct improvement over such films as the recent James Bond outing (see my review). It's even better (story-wise) than the Bourne movies, in my opinion (although it can't touch the Bourne Identity for sheer intrigue). I've seen other reviews knocking the lack of "action" in this film, but I thought it was balanced perfectly with the dialogue and story development. The action served the story, rather than just being there for it's own sake, as it seems to be in most "action" films of the past few years.
So, if you like a good action film that actually has a plot and some solid acting, go see Jack Reacher. If you can look past Cruise's palpable narcissism, you'll really enjoy this movie!