Like it or not, Tom Cruise will play Lee Child’s wandering hero, Jack Reacher, in a self-titled thriller reaching theaters this December. Since it was announced that Cruise would assume the role, I’ve been plucking Child’s books off the library shelf and devouring them at will. And I have to agree with the masses who initially balked that Cruise was an odd selection for Reacher (for various reasons). The new poster, while adequate, isn’t doing a lot to sway my opinion back toward the favorable side.
Here it is, courtesy of Yahoo Movies:
That could be Ethan Hunt, Cruise’s Mission: Impossible hero, in that photo. Or any number of action characters Cruise plays. That doesn’t mean he won’t be fine as Reacher, or that people unfamiliar with Child’s books won’t think Jack Reacher is a wonderful film. They still might. But the Reacher character is supposed to be a bear of a man who physically dominates his opponents, can outmatch their wits, is an expert in all fields of weaponry and fighting … he’s the prototypical bad-ass. Cruise can play that part. I just wish it wasn’t specifically Jack Reacher.
Still, Child gave Cruise his blessing to step into this adaptation of the novel One Shot. And Cruise lured Christopher McQuarrie back behind the camera for the first time since 2000’s The Way of the Gun (though he wrote the screenplays for such memorable films as The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie and The Tourist over the years). There’s talent on display in Reacher. Let’s hope it translates into a winning film.
