The modern proverb that says "Don't
judge a book by its movie" fits Christopher McQuarrie's Jack Reacher
perfectly. Based on One Shot, the ninth book in the Jack Reacher series
by Lee Child, the film is an example of yet another novel that didn't
quite carry its soul onto the screen.
The film begins well and draws you into the premise where a sharp shooter kills five random people and leaves behind a series of evidences which lead to the easy arrest of the wrong guy. The first 10-15 minutes raise a lot of questions which are answered in two words - Jack Reacher. The fearless drifter decides to help Helen, the attorney of the accused, thus entering a web of intrigue which leads them to finding something irregular about what was clearly a psychotic mass murder. However, having seen a lot of crime fiction over the years, some sequences in the film become a tad dull and uninteresting to look at. A simplistic chase sequence, the female lead being taken hostage and a fist fight with the toughest bad guy all lead to a stereotypical action film that is made two decades too late.
The film begins well and draws you into the premise where a sharp shooter kills five random people and leaves behind a series of evidences which lead to the easy arrest of the wrong guy. The first 10-15 minutes raise a lot of questions which are answered in two words - Jack Reacher. The fearless drifter decides to help Helen, the attorney of the accused, thus entering a web of intrigue which leads them to finding something irregular about what was clearly a psychotic mass murder. However, having seen a lot of crime fiction over the years, some sequences in the film become a tad dull and uninteresting to look at. A simplistic chase sequence, the female lead being taken hostage and a fist fight with the toughest bad guy all lead to a stereotypical action film that is made two decades too late.
The screenplay, which is based on a dense
crime thriller is very cluttered and comes across as trying too hard to
give out information. At the same time, what doesn't work for the story,
which was a bestseller once upon a time, is the fact that it was in
fact once upon a time. The intriguing character of Jack Reacher, an
untraceable ex-army-police officer, with no background records has lost
its charm in our world where it requires much more than quirks and
mystique to be accepted as a hero. Jack who wears only one pair of
clothes until they wear off and his peculiar no luggage, no baggage
philosophy is frankly too outlandish for today's sensibilities.
Value addition to this average thriller is done by the presence of notable actors in the ensemble cast. The film has superstar Tom Cruise, bond girl Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall of Godfather and Apocalypse Now fame and the legendary Werner Herzog. However, between a Robert Duvall who is a vague reminder of a charismatic actor he once was, a misused Herzog, an eye candy in Pike -- who shows her cleavage from time to time to establish her presence, and whatever little is left of Tom Cruise, the film falters in its entirety. What Cruise's screen presence comes across as very unintelligent and some of his dialogues are unintentionally funny.
Jack Reacher is an action film alright, but it would be wrong to call it a thriller, as it fails miserably in causing any thrill, per se. All in all, it is one of those cluttered and unwieldy crime-action-mystery films that offers a little more entertainment than most other films based on books that are cluttered and unwieldy crime-action-mystery novels.
Value addition to this average thriller is done by the presence of notable actors in the ensemble cast. The film has superstar Tom Cruise, bond girl Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall of Godfather and Apocalypse Now fame and the legendary Werner Herzog. However, between a Robert Duvall who is a vague reminder of a charismatic actor he once was, a misused Herzog, an eye candy in Pike -- who shows her cleavage from time to time to establish her presence, and whatever little is left of Tom Cruise, the film falters in its entirety. What Cruise's screen presence comes across as very unintelligent and some of his dialogues are unintentionally funny.
Jack Reacher is an action film alright, but it would be wrong to call it a thriller, as it fails miserably in causing any thrill, per se. All in all, it is one of those cluttered and unwieldy crime-action-mystery films that offers a little more entertainment than most other films based on books that are cluttered and unwieldy crime-action-mystery novels.
Rating - 2.5 out of 5
Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on December 29, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment