DVD Review: Jack Reacher

Tom Cruise keeps on convincing us he can draw a crowd at the movies. Now he's on DVD in his latest film Jack Reacher. Is this one a Mission Impossible 4 (Good Tom Cruise) or a War of the Worlds (Bad Tom Cruise)? We'll let you know in this review!

PLOT

Based on a series of novels I've never read, Jack Reacher follows its title character as he investigates a sniper shooting resulting in 5 deaths. With his main suspect in a coma, he works with the defense attorney as they unravel the web of clues and ultimately find a much bigger agenda at play. The marketing and trailers for Jack Reacher are very action oriented, but I was surprised to find that most of the film is very  information and detail oriented. That's not to say the action wasn't there, it just wasn't the main focus like the trailers would have you believe. I found the plot to be very good. Sure, some points were a little cliche and the major twist you see coming from the first 5 minutes, but it still manages to entertain.

DIALOGUE 

I struggle to find any standout dialogue from Jack Reacher. The film features truck loads of your ordinary speaking to give information. Nothing much else is said. Tom Cruise does have some good quips, but nothing we haven't seen from better movies. All in all, not much unique, but then again you don't see this movie for the complex dialogue.

VISUALS

Visually, Jack Reacher aims for a very real-world feel. During the action sequences, however, the fun and unique camera work make elevate those moments and get your heart pumping. Its the contrast between the action scenes and the rest of the film that make this movie feel like more than a crime/mystery drama.

CHARACTERS

Character-wise, the film is average. Each character sort of fits a usual movie suspects lineup. Even the main character, Jack Reacher, comes of like a amalgam of Liam Neeson's character in Taken and Gibbs from NCIS. Fun to watch, but we've seen it all before. Then you have the female attorney who turns damsel in distress, the seemingly good character who ends up being a bad guy and the main bad guy's main underling whom he trusts with all his evil bidding and such. Again, its a formula that has worked many times; but I was hoping for a bit more from these characters.

MYSTERY

IMDB lists Jack Reacher as an Action Crime Drama. But I'm gonna call it what it is: a Mystery film. But in that regard, it's a mixed bag of wins and losses. On one hand, it blows the whodunit aspect in the very first seconds of the first scene. There is no mystery there. However, we don't know why or who they did it for and the motive is actually a believable one.

So if you like mystery movies, you may or may not like Jack Reacher. If you like action movies with mystery elements, you'll probably be pretty satisfied with it. If you like feel good road trip comedies? You won't like Jack Reacher so much but you may like the next movie we will be reviewing: The Guilt Trip starring Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand!

DUSTY'S SCORE: 6.5 out of 10