I was put off watching Jack Reacher by a friend who is a fan of the Lee Child novels and told me that Tom Cruise is nothing like the Reacher he imagined. I also disliked the Mission Impossible films so I wasn't willing to give Cruise the benefit of the doubt.
On the other hand, I did really like other Cruise films like Vanilla Sky and Minority Report so eventually I thought I'd give it a go. Knowing nothing about the books I just watched it as a stand-alone film.
I liked the character of Jack Reacher. He's tough and almost impregnable. He has some good one-liners and the action scenes are exciting. Sort of like a Schwarzenegger character but more intelligent and more agile.
In retrospect Reacher's invulnerability could have made the film predictable, but it doesn't. The plot is clever, but not too complicated, and provides enough contrasts to maintain interest.
There are some gripes. Rosamund Pike's character is shallow; a pointless token female. Some of the bad guys don't stack up either, but I can't go into detail there without throwing in spoilers.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised. An enjoyable film.
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