James Corden and Tom Cruise Act Out His Iconic Movie Scenes

The first filmic installment of the adventures of the former military investigator created by novelist Lee Child rustled up a resounding “meh” at the box office in 2012, and I cannot imagine that anyone who saw it back then could recall a single detail about it today. The main theme of the this “Jack Reacher” movie revolves around the concept of relationships and a man’s actions because of relationships, which is something Tom Cruise can portray very well.

Another welcome addition this time round is the addition of Cobie Smulders as Major Susan Turner, her character feels a fair amount different from her most well known role as Robin in How I Met Your Mother, but there are a few similarities that fans of hers will pick up on.

Even the filmmakers don’t seem to know why they were bothering to bring back Reacher. Reacher’s got a 15-year-old daughter, Sam (Danika Yarosh) whose character is just plain annoying and inevitably always in trouble.

While you may go and see the film for the Cruise action – because, let’s be real for a second, this guy is 54 years old and is still doing some of his own stunts – you’re here for Smulders as well. The investigation takes them to New Orleans and Mardi Gras.

So in this installment, Jack Reacher isn’t as much of a drifter, but more of a family man.

The formulaic style of the stories is what made the Jack Reacher series popular in the fist place. However, while these throwaway qualities make for a fun read, they make for a predictable, dry and by-the-numbers film. Sitting alone, at a counter, in a diner, and as he’s placed in handcuffs by the Sheriff, Reacher makes some ominous predictions, including that a phone will ring. Reacher’s solitary life is elegant. As sports columnist Nick Canepa said in the Union-Tribune last week, “This would be like casting Mickey Rooney to play Bill Walton”.

This is a Jack Reacher story through and through. Yet I’m guessing if action pictures are your thing, you’ll love it.

In the books, Reacher is a six foot five, blue-eyed blonde bruiser.

Director Edward Zwick adds some nice flourishes and does his best to keep the movie rolling past all of the plot holes. The final fistfight between Reacher and his hunter, played by Patrick Huesinger, is overlong and ridiculous, but what did you expect? It’s a shame, because the first movie was good, and this is disappointing.

Instead, the focus is on Reacher bonding with Turner and especially with the extremely annoying Samantha, a clichéd rebellious teen who comes to respect Reacher in the end, while prying open a small part of his cold heart.