First Look: Jack Reacher

By DOUGLAS TSENG

Starring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog

Directed by: Christopher Mcquarrie

Why watch: Imagine Tom Cruise in Taken...

The low-down: A military cop-turned-vigilante drifter (Cruise) investigates a series of sniper massacre.

The buzz: Is it a coincidence that a teaser for Cruise’s new flick is launched amid the brouhaha surrounding his marital woes? Hmmm… that’s a little something for conspiracy theorists to mull over. Meanwhile, based on what we’ve seen so far, the movie shows off Cruise’s titular anti-hero in bad-ass mode, beating up a bunch of thugs with extreme ease and brutal efficiency. Clearly, Reacher has less in common with Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt than Liam Neeson’s retired CIA agent in Taken — a lone wolf who doesn’t play well with others. “Tom often plays characters who are under extreme pressure,” notes director Christopher McQuarrie (Valkyrie). “But [here] he plays someone who does not experience pressure.” Especially when he’s forced to dispense his brand of my-fist-to-your-face justice. “Reacher pulls absolutely no punches,” McQuarrie adds. “He is absolutely ruthless and devastating.” And if the audience buys Cruise as a one-man army, then there’s more where it came from: The movie is based on the best-selling novel One Shot by Lee Child — and the Brit has written 16 (soon to be 17) Jack Reacher books.

Opens: Dec 20