Jack Reacher

   Jack Reacher has got 2013 off with a good start, although it was actually released on Boxing Day, so technically it's last year's film...Nevertheless, it is a very good film, though it doesn't challenge my top 10 films of 2012 and I don't believe it will challenge the best of this year either.
   Tom Cruise is as enjoyable as ever to watch and he has good chemistry with Rosamund Pike, who plays Helen, the lawyer who takes on the seemingly impossible task of helping Barr (Joseph Sikora) avoid the death penalty.
   Jack Reacher is based on a series of books by Lee Child, and though Tom Cruise does a great job, Jack Reacher is supposed to be about six foot five and Cruise scrapes in at a modest five foot seven. However, I think only the hardiest of Jack Reacher fans will have a problem with this.
   The car chases are exciting and the fight scenes have a comical edge to them as Reacher has little trouble beating his enemies senseless. The film begins to trail off during the second half and although the final fight sequence is well shot, humorous, exciting, tense and intriguing, I can't help but feel annoyed that Reacher decides to put his gun down and fight his main enemy with bare hands. He could at least have his gun knocked out of his grasp instead of voluntarily laying down his weapon to endure a punch up.

For fans of Tom Cruise, Lee Child and humorous action scenes.

Stars ***