Review: Jack Reacher is an entertaining
action mystery, hitting all of the genre conventions/clichés, but with style
and fresh take on the classic action hero. The film is about a retired military
investigator, Jack Reacher, who shows up in Pittsburg after a former army
sniper shoots five random people. As he digs deeper into the case, he discovers
that there is a conspiracy, putting his life in danger – but nothing he cannot
handle.
Writer-director
Christopher McQuarrie is
firstly making a potentially franchise-birthing action film, which also plays
as a decent mystery/detective film. Thus, there are certain genre cues that his
narrative must touch on – car chases, a gunfight standoff in the third act, a
menacing villain in the shadows, character twists, damsels in distress, our
hero showing off his talent for violence and ego so that the audience finds him
believable. All this happens in Jack Reacher, which seemingly would relegate it
to being just another fun, sure, but ultimately forgettable throwaway action
film (the overabundance of these such films is what made 2011’s Drive
such a revelation). However, McQuarrie is able to infuse the film with enough
style and fresh energy that it plays above the genre conventions and
expectations it prescribes to and is un-bashfully rife with.
The
character of Reacher is almost laughable cliché on the surface – he is a former
expert military investigator, who also happens to be a war hero, crack shot, an
adeptly proficient fighter, and all-around badass who knows he is the best and
has only complete confidence in himself. He also seems to speak only in quips.
Plus, anytime a woman sees him, they seem to find him attractive (as McQuarrie
constantly has women wrenching their necks to get a look at him). Yet, given
all this bravado, he is completely honor bound and driven. Essentially, Reacher
is the perfect man – or at least the perfect action hero, which should make him
utterly uninteresting.
McQuarrie
makes Reacher a good character (drawing from Lee Child’s novels, from which the
character is based) however by digging deeper into him and making him somewhat
flawed and even kind of sad. McQuarrie presents Reacher as a man who is
completely disillusioned coming back from war to an ideal that never existed.
He has no place in this world, so he moves around off the grid because he does
not want to be a part of it. While there is sexual tension and attraction
between Reacher and Helen (the female lead, a lawyer who is defending the
sniper when no one else would volunteer to), McQuarrie does not let Reacher
have a ‘happy ending’ as he does not get the girl nor does he even try, he
simply just moves on. He has no interest in rejoining society, as he is maybe
forever lost – only getting involved in this case because of his underlying
sense of justice and honor. Superficially Reacher is the perfect action hero,
but the audience does not want to be him (at least they should not if they let
themselves look deeper and are not just there for the car chases, brawls and
gunfights). He is broken, which makes him interesting and allows the audience
to maybe even invest in him as a character – though, the mystery aspect of the
film really drives the plot much more than the characters. Reacher as a
character is probably worthy of another couple films to be fleshed out more.
McQuarrie
also does not shy away from explicitly showcasing the sheer brutality of
violence (I am actually surprised the film is only rated PG-13). This film does
not glorify violence at all (which is strange for an ‘action film’), yet as a
genre film it still needs to have compelling and entertaining action scenes. It
does, but McQuarrie specifically lays out the toll the action takes on the
film’s characters. It is presented in a very frank, almost unnerving fashion
(unlike an action film like The
Expendables 2 in which the character reveal and enjoy the human carnage
they inflict). Reacher and McQuarrie fully engage in violence and killing, but
the tone is different and there is a feeling that it all means something and
that there is a cost for the characters, seemingly further detaching them from
humanity. Reacher knows what needs to be done and does it, but there is also
regret in his eyes.
The
villains in the film are mostly typical genre hooligans, henchman and big bads.
They might as well be nameless and faceless, as all the audience needs to know
is that they are bad men and Reacher will try to stop them. The main villain,
The Zec, is interesting however (and I am probably looking too much into this)
as he is both the typical ‘Bond-villain’, an exaggerated bad man who is almost
cartoony in his persona, and also a comment on the perception of evil in the
world. The Zec is a European (of course) former Siberian prisoner who bit off
his own fingers to survive and seems to just be completely evil with total
disregard for humanity. However, he never plays up his motivations or tries to
be charismatic or outlandish. He is merely just an evil man who does bad things
because that is all he knows, a product of a hard world who knows only
violence. The Zec derives no meaning from life and thus does not care about it.
Power has consumed him in the vacuum of all other human pursuits (like love)
being void. This character seems to speak to how we often perceive people who
do evil in the world – we only see the evil and only think about the evil. They
are just evil. And, the Zec is an old warped amalgamation of our feelings
towards those that do evil.
Despite
being a typical yet fresh take on the action genre, the film has a few issues
that hold it back as well. Chiefly, the film lacks true suspense. Reacher is so
confident and McQuarrie treats the audience to multiple examples of his
unwavering talent that the audience never doubts his ability and never
questions whether or not he will be able to save the day. As an action genre
film, the audience implicitly knows that he will save the day, as that is just
how this genre’s narrative structure works, and that he will most likely come
through somewhat unscathed. The audience expects this. However, there needs to
also be some doubt that lingers in their minds. That way, the finale will
actually be organically suspenseful and meaningful for the audience. Here, that
does not happen. There is never even an inkling of doubt that Reacher will be
the hero and defeat the villain. Sure, the finale is still entertaining, but it
lacks the emotional investment from the viewer to make it great.
Another
issue with the film is that its supporting characters are essentially all
throwaways (though, some still work due to strong performances). Helen has a
few character moments, but is ultimately just used as a damsel in distress to
raise the stakes for Reacher – but because the audience knows with certainty
that he will save her, there are never really any stakes. Plus, the villains
essentially tell the audience that they are not going to kill her thus further
diminishing any actual suspense that remained.
Jack
Reacher probably should have been just another ‘action film’ to be enjoyed and
forgotten, but the strong lead character and McQuarrie’s direction and writing
elevate it to something somewhat more substantial in the genre (of the action
films I have seen this year, it is among my favorites, trailing only Skyfall
and Chronicle).
Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements:
Christopher McQuarrie is probably best known for his writing (having won an
Oscar for The Usual Suspects).
However, his direction on this film is one of its strongest aspects. His blunt
treatment of the action is refreshing and grounded the film in reality, making
things almost emotionally disarming (especially the opening sequence in light
of recent events). He is rumored to be taking on Mission: Impossible 5 next, and
I am looking forward to see what he does with that franchise following up the
last two in the series (which were both good).
Joe Kraemer’s score is
unremarkable, as the absence of music in many parts of the film has more of an
impact than when the score is used. However, it still tonally fit the film when
used. Caleb Deschanel’s
cinematography is very good, but straightforward. The film looks great, but
McQuarrie does not try to use the lighting to give it more of an atmospheric
feel or look (like say Roger
Deakin’s work in Skyfall). The same can be said for Jim Bissell’s production design,
which is firmly rooted in reality (mostly taking advantage of locations in and
around Pittsburg).
The
cast for the most part did not really have hearty roles to play with, as most
of the characters worked as genre mainstays. That said, Robert Duvall is good playing
his typical squirrely old man who is someone you would want in a fix. Werner Herzog (who still
surprises me is in this film) is fantastic as the Zec. His line delivery is
brilliant – devilishly evil without any sense of remorse, while also seemingly
playing a bit of surprise that humans are not purely base animals like he is.
It is a great and fun performance. Rosamund
Pike has the thankless role as Helen, being both the damsel in distress and
allowing the audience to get all the exposition and backstory by asking
questions. And yet, she brings vitality to the role that elevates it. She has
determination and strength; Helen is just in over her head. Tom Cruise plays Tom Cruise, and
fans of his will enjoy his work. Plus, he does a good job conveying the sadness
of Reacher that sits hidden behind his machismo.
Summary & score: Jack Reacher is a good, not
great action film that genre fans and Tom Cruise fans will enjoy. 7/10
