Jack Reacher
2012130 minutes
rated PG-13
by Scott Mendelson
Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie's Jack Reacher (trailer) is such an authentic bygone relic that I'm not entirely sure it takes place in the present day. The picture looks, sounds, and feels like a relatively high-quality action thriller from the mid-1990's, which is mostly a compliment. I could be mistaken, but I don't recall a single scene where a character uses the Internet and/or uses their cell phone for anything other than *talking* (the title character even uses a pay phone on several occasions). But, thank the heavens, this is not some kind of 'let's make a 90's thriller' technical exercise, but it merely inhabits a mostly forgotten sub genre so successfully that it becomes something of a time capsule piece. For those not interesting in examining it as a kind of relic, it fortunately also operates as a consistently entertaining and intelligent procedural. It is strongly acted by all, with pulpy dialogue which I presume comes from the Lee Childs book (One Shot) from which it is based. It has issues of length and tone, but it mostly entertains and is the rare would-be franchise starter for which I'd gladly see a sequel.
