Surprisingly entertaining, provocative film!

Rating: 9/10 (7 July 2014)

My instincts told me to completely ignore this movie! I was sure that JACK REACHER (2012) would be a dud. Not so much because it starred Tom Cruise (I actually like him, see my reviews of his movies, most of which are very positive), but just I thought the title itself was misleading, making me think this was going to be some insipid, mindless summer action movie with corny one-liners. Nothing of the sort here!
The film starts off with a literal bang, as a mystery sniper kills 5 innocent people in a square in downtown Pittsburgh (the film's setting and actual shooting location). The police immediately connect the dots and arrest a prime suspect named Barr (Joseph Sikora), a disturbed military veteran suffering from PTSD. All evidence points to him committing the crime, so the police detective in charge of the investigation Emerson (David Oyelowo) and the district attorney (film veteran Richard Jenkins) try to coax a confession out of him. Barr's only response is to write on the confession "Get Jack Reacher"! The 2 men brainstorm to try and find him, but he finds them.
Into town struts the film's title character, exquisitely brought to life by Tom Cruise. It's amazing that after such a variety and eclectic collection of roles in his now 30-year career that Cruise can so effortlessly essay a character like this, different from any other he's played before. I was certain that Reacher would be the typical Cruise cocky, smarmy character that he would do in roughly every other movie in the 80s and 90s, just an older version! But I was wrong.
Now while Reacher is certainly a smooth operator and tough guy, Cruise also imbibes the character with great subtlety, intelligence, and class. Scenes that I expected to be totally cliché were presented in a very unique and interesting perspective due to clever dialog and nifty fight choreography. Not to mention there were really good actors in the supporting roles that gave their characters enough dimension so they didn't come across as the typical throwaway summer action movie boobs. In particular, I'd say my favorite supporting character was Sandy (expertly played by Alexia Fast), who had a couple of great scenes with Reacher that helped give the film it's heart.
Rosamund Pike had a huge role in this movie as well. In fact, she actually may have had equal (and dare I say more?) screen time as Cruise. She played attorney Helen Rodin, who is defending Barr, but thinks he is guilty, so she is trying to get his sentence reduced from death penalty to life in prison. I found the dynamic between Cruise and Pike to be very refreshing. Although there were hints of sexual attraction, it was mostly downplayed to keep their relationship on a purely professional level. I was sure they'd be jumping each others' bones at some point in the proceedings! Additionally, the legendary Robert Duvall has a welcome extended cameo role and he of course makes the most of it.
While the film has all the requisite elements of a summer action movie, it is surprisingly fresh in a lot of ways and turns the typical clichés found in summer movies on their heads with clever, convincing dialog, an involving storyline, and one of the all-time greats Tom Cruise carrying the show!