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Tom Cruise has found in his latest movie, "Jack Reacher," a fast-moving and interesting action role that could replace his "Mission: Impossible" days, should it become a film franchise. There aren't as many cool gadgets or super spy disguises, but Jack Reacher, the character introduced through a series of best-selling novels by Lee Child, is as rough and tumble as Cruise's Ethan Hunt in the trilogy of spy movies.
Reacher's a man of mystery. You don't call him. He finds you. The former military hero lives off the grid until there's an injustice that needs to be righted. Such a case lures him to Pittsburgh, where a sniper appears to have randomly killed five people. Despite a mountain of evidence against the primary suspect -- a former military sniper -- Reacher knows the man's being framed.
The case becomes so complicated by lies and corruption, the only person Reacher can completely trust is defense attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike). Even she has a history that could complicate the investigation.
Director Christopher McQuarrie and Child have created a story that could have been any episode of "CSI." There are some twists and turns to the story, but never so much as to cause the facts to get tangled. Plus, Russian mobsters and corrupt cops aren't that original. It's a simplistic story made more interesting by Cruise.
The way Cruise plays Reacher is not that big a reach from many of his past projects. His cool demeanor is an extension of what Cruise played in three "Mission: Impossible" movies, "Minority Report" or even in the light comedy "Knight and Day." What keeps this film from being a mundane murder mystery is that, even at 50, Cruise has the boyish charm to make the character as deadly with a smile as he is with his fists.
