Jack Reacher: It's Worth Watching

Last night I struggled to find a newly-released-to-DVD Hollywood blockbuster to stream. I considered Cloud Atlas but was scared away by its three-hour length. I would have gone with Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects, but it was only available to purchase on Amazon, not for rent. Taylor Hackford's Parker, starring Jason Statham, won't release for streaming until Tuesday. I mulled over the idea of Stand Up Guys, starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin, but judging from a few of the Amazon customer reviews I decided against it.

Then I noticed that Amazon is starting to offer "Watch While It's In Theaters" streaming for select movies. You pay more -- in this case, $2-$3 more than what it costs to stream a newly-released-to-DVD film. I almost pulled the trigger on Terrence Malick's To the Wonder, but I held off. I'm a big Terrence Malick fan. I think The Thin Red Line (1998) is a masterpiece. But I found The Tree of Life (2011), believe it or not, too esoteric and self-indulgent; and judging from a cursory glance at the customer reviews, To the Wonder is more of the same. I'll watch it at some point; it's just that last night I was not in the mood.

After about a half hour of this, I finally chose the Tom Cruise vehicle Jack Reacher. I hesitated because I've never been a huge Tom Cruise fan. I thought he was super as Frank T.J. Mackey in Magnolia (1999) and as the hitman in Collateral (2004). And come to think of it, he was incredible in Tropic Thunder (2008) -- really the best part of that movie by far. But my feelings about Tom Cruise are conflicted. He's of my generation. He comes on the scene at the same time as the country begins its full retreat Rightward with Ronald Reagan. The two films that rocketed Cruise into the Pantheon of Hollywood stars -- Risky Business (1983) and Top Gun (1986) -- are synonymous with the "Reagan Revolution" -- a mythologizing of American business and the military.

Here we are, three decades on, and Tom Cruise, a half century in age, is playing an ex-MP superman named Jack Reacher in a film adaptation of Lee Child's 2005 novel, One Shot. Christopher McQuarrie, of The Usual Suspects (1995) fame, writes the screenplay and directs. What cinched my decision to stream Jack Reacher was seeing that MacQuarrie was the guy who had written and directed Way of the Gun (2000), an excellent and too-little-appreciated movie starring Benicio del Toro and Ryan Phillippe.

The film opens with shots of PNC Park, where the Pittsburgh Pirates play, and the Allegheny River. The movie looks good. Pittsburgh looks like a nice city. Then you're looking through the scope of the killer's rifle deciding which passersby to snuff. Right away you know you're in for a treat.

This is a topnotch movie. And while it plays to a Red State, gun-toting, pro-military audience, it doesn't do it in an offensive manner. This is a testament both to McQuarrie's direction and Tom Cruise's performance. Supporting roles that stand out are Jai Courtney as the handsome heavy (Spartacus: Blood and Sand junkies will recognize him as Varro); David Oyelowo as the homicide detective; and the legendary Bob Duvall as the crusty gun-range owner and last-second O.K. Corral recruit. There is a tremendous car chase a little after the film's halfway point that is reminiscent of Bullitt (1968). Any movie that puts one in mind of Bullitt is worth watching!