An enjoyable episode of Law and Order with a car chase and a gun fight thrown in

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2013)

As condescending as it sounds, that summary title really is the best way I can describe how I felt about Jack Reacher. It's an enjoyable episode of Law and Order with a car chase and a gun fight thrown in. I hesitate to call it an action movie because the car chase and gun fight really are the only action sequences. The rest is a sort of noirish police procedural... a very straightforward bad guy vs good guy kind of deal.
The strange thing is while Tom Cruise didn't feel big or imposing enough to play Reacher, this film also didn't seem big enough to hold someone like Cruise. It's a strange dynamic and it doesn't spoil the movie in any way, but all the way through I couldn't help but feel like I was watching something that wasn't quite spectacle enough for a celebrity of Cruise's status.
Still, it's a rock solid thriller, with a dash of cheesy superdetective thrown in. The action scenes are gritty and realistic, the fight choreography is satisfying. I enjoyed myself with this one and I can't help but think it might have done better at the cinema with a more enticing title.