Jack Reacher movie review and synopsis

Thelongestfilm.com – Jack Reacher movie review. Jack Reacher plays a homicide investigator who digs deep to prove the innocence of a former sniper who shot five random victims. Tom Cruise starred in the action thriller film that reunited him with the scriptwriter for Valkyrie (2008), Christopher McQuarrie.

Jack Reacher an adaptation of the ninth novel which tells the adventure story of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher entitled One Shot which published in 2005.

Filming took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for three months and the film released on December 21, 2012. In carrying out a tense car chase scene, Tom Cruise did it alone without the help of a stuntman.

Review Jack Reacher movie

Jack Reacher movie review and synopsis

A van parked at the edge of the building and loaded coins into the parking machine. A sniper readied his rifle and then shot five people from a distance. The police came to the scene and found a lot of evidence that points to James Barr, an Iraq War veteran with sniper skills.

During interrogation, Barr given the choice to plead guilty and thrown into prison or executed. Barr wrote “Get Jack Reacher” in a paper and invited an investigation into him, although they found no facts about him.

Not long after, Reacher (Tom Cruise) meets detective Emerson and prosecutor Alex Rodin (Richard Jenkins). Initially, Reacher not allowed to see the evidence.

But when Barr beaten by inmates in the prison into a coma, Reacher begins investigating the case under attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), daughter of Alex Rodin who becomes Barr’s defense attorney in his case. After viewing some evidence, Reacher makes a statement to Helen about the case.

Reacher said he was there not to defend Barr, but to punish him for repeating the same mistakes he made when he served in Iraq. While in Iraq, Barr shot several people not in combat conditions as a thirst quencher by shooting him because while on duty he never allowed to shoot once.

But because the victims of the shooting were the perpetrators of the rape, the government later pardoned his mistakes. Then Reacher promises that if Barr repeats the same mistake, he will come hunt him down to bury him. Reacher begins an investigation on the condition that Helen agrees to interview all of the victims’ families.

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The results of Helen’s interview raised suspicions that the shooting had the intention of killing one of them and the other victims were only a diversion.

There was a fight outside the bar

Jack Reacher movie review and synopsis

Meanwhile, Reacher gets into a fight outside a bar with some of his cohorts which prompts him to investigate one of them who a few days later found dead in front of his house.

Reacher seen at the crime scene when the police arrive which gives him a chase. But the pursuit failed and Reacher headed for a shooting range in Ohio which was likely Barr’s usual practice range. From the owner, Reacher found a potential shooting suspect who caught on camera with Barr.

Helen kidnapped and held hostage by a group of gangsters who work for a construction company that has an interest in the company owned by one of the victims.

Reacher arrives with Martin Cash, the owner of a shooting range who positions himself as Reacher’s sniper. One by one the gang members successfully paralyzed by them, leaving only the leader.

Zec, the leader of the gang, tells Reacher that he doesn’t have any witnesses to defend Barr because they’ve all been killed, and prisons in America are lighter than in Siberia according to Zec.

Annoyed, Reacher shoots Zec dead and leaves the location with Helen. Barr wakes up from his coma and cries because he feels guilty when he interviewed by Helen.

Helen provided some photos of the shooting location and asked what she should have done. From his brief analysis, Barr said he would shoot from the bridge because it wasn’t exposed to the glare of the sun.

This statement is consistent with Reacher’s analysis at the beginning of the investigation. The similarity of this analysis is because they are experts in their fields. That way Barr can be free from charges.

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Who is Jack Reacher?

Jack Reacher movie review and synopsis

Jack Reacher is a fictional character who is the main character in a series of novels by Lee Child which were first published in 1997 under the title Killing Floor.

In the story, Reacher retires from the military at the age of 36 and becomes an independent investigator, either for the government or other dangerous cases. Until 2020, 24 novels have published.

Summarized from several of his novels, Reacher has had a brilliant career in the military world. After graduating from the military academy, in four years he managed to get promoted up to four times to the rank of major.

After being demoted to captain, Reacher managed to get promoted again in 18 months. In addition, Reacher won many star awards for his services in defending the country.

After retiring at a young age, Reacher became an adventurer and never settled in any town. He only brought a toothbrush in his jacket. When his clothes got dirty, he washed them and dried them in the inn where he spent the night.

And if the dirt won’t come off or the clothes get damaged, he’ll buy cheap clothes, usually chinos and t-shirts, and throw away his old clothes.

Continuation of This Franchise in the Future

Jack Reacher movie review and synopsis

Many disagree when Tom Cruise entrusted with bringing Jack Reacher to life in the film. The most important factor is because Cruise’s height does not match the description in the novel which states that he is tall.

The info, Dwayne Johnson offered to play this character before finally Tom Cruise chosen. According to the director’s confession, he chose Tom Cruise because he the only actor who considered capable of uttering Reacher’s distinctive loud and intelligent dialogues in his novel.

But after the release of the sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), McQuarrie stated that they would not continue the Jack Reacher story with Tom Cruise as the actor.

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The continuation of the story will then developed into a television series which considered to able to freely tell the entire contents of a series of novels about it.

In July 2019, it reported that Jack Reacher would be present in serial form and would be airing on Amazon Prime. In September 2020, Alan Ritchson has cast as the role of Jack Reacher.

Jack Reacher movie review : Jack Reacher’s Thrilling Prime Action

Prime Action

Jack Reacher indeed not at the quality of action films that are usually starred by Tom Cruise, but in the action thriller genre this film at a level slightly above the standard.

Although many sneer at the difference between Cruise and Reacher in his novel and the lack of appearance of the main antagonist played by classy director Werner Herzog, this film is still worth watching.

Tom Cruise’s charisma is unquestionable and this is a major selling factor for Jack Reacher, and Cruise does his job well.

Apart from that, Robert Duvall’s brief appearance as a veteran sniper who owns a shooting range is very memorable, especially because the dialogue he makes is quite intriguing and becomes a quite refreshing moment.

This film is the opening for another series of Jack Reacher novels to adapted to the film screen. After the less successful sequel in 2016, it worth waiting for Jack Reacher’s presence on the Amazon Prime screen whose release date has not yet determined.

Hopefully it can fully reveal the identity of this veteran who has never been afraid of the law. As long as he is above the truth, of course.