Film Review: JACK REACHER (2012)

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay), Lee Child (based on the book “One Shot” by)
Running time: 125 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
UK Release date: 26^th December 2012

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 25^th August 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I was aware that this one got a bit of a rough time from the critics on release but I decided I would give it a look anyway. It’s not that I’m a fan of the ‘Jack Reacher’ novels, I’ve never read one and anyhow, as I recall, that was a major problem for some of the critics; they were fans of the novels. As it turned out, it was neither as good nor as bad as I was expecting. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

When a random shooting takes place in a public area and five people are killed, the district attorney, Rodin (Richard Jenkins) and the chief investigator, Emerson (David Oyelowo), want quick justice. A man is arrested, Barr (Joseph Sikora), and there is seemingly overwhelming evidence against him. When asked to write out a confession, he writes just three words; “Get Jack Reacher”. The police try to track him down but he seemingly doesn’t exist. So imagine there surprise when Reacher (Tom Cruise) walks in and announces himself. It turns out he knows Barr from his days working for the Military Police but makes it clear he is not there to save him. Nonetheless, he ends up investigating the incident alongside Barr’s lawyer, Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike). It soon transpires that Barr had been set up; but by whom and to what end?

The film starts off very stylish, looking every bit the classic cop movies of the 70’s and 80’s. Sadly it does not keep this early promise and soon slips into the usual cliché‘s that have haunted many more recent cop films. I found it very hard to connect with any of the characters, although all the performances were very good. I did particularly like Werner Herzog as The Zec, a particularly shady character; other than that it was pretty mundane. I found it a bit bloated and over-long although it did pick up towards the end.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED (Just)

My score: 5.8/10.

IMDb Score: 7.0/10 (based on 115,573 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790724/

MetaScore: 50/100: (Based on 35 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 61/100 (based on 168 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 68/100 (based on 99,058 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jack_reacher/

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http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.jackreachermovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: BARNEY’S VERSION (2010)

Director: Richard J. Lewis
Running time: 129 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama
UK Release date: 28^th January 2011

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 26^th November 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film came out to a lot of critical acclaim. It was obviously positioned for the Oscars, for which it only received a nomination for ‘Best Achievement in Make-up’. Still, I thought I’d give it a look when it landed on my TV screen a few days ago. Well, it’s a pretty good film with a great rambling love story central to the plot, but no, it’s not a great film. It tries very hard to be, with some great performances, but fails to hit the mark (for me anyway). I will give you more of my thoughts after this brief summary.

The story of Barney is mostly told in flashback, as he looks back over his life. The story starts in the mid 1970’s in Rome where Barney and a rather Bohemian group of friends hang out, write, paint and drink themselves insensible. Having made one of his friends pregnant, Barney decides to do the right thing and marry her. This does not end well and Barney is left without a wife or a child (can’t say why; spoilers). Moving back home, his father, retired cop Izzy, introduces him to the daughter of a rich couple. She eventually becomes the second Mrs. P and it is at their wedding that Barney meets the woman of his dreams, Miriam Grant. Despite being married, Barney pursues her although she insists she will have nothing to do with a married man. A weekend at their home by the lake with Barney’s old friend Boogie brings about an opportunity to end the marriage and free him to capture the woman he loves. The film goes on to show the trials and tribulations of what occurs next to Barney. I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be taking me for a swim in the lake.

It’s all beautifully shot with some great tunes thrown in, but the thing central to this film is the performance of Paul Giamatti as Barney Panofsky, he is really great in the role! Also worthy of note is Rosamund Pike; she holds things together beautifully as Miriam. I must also give honourable mentions to; Dustin Hoffman as Izzy Panofsky, Scott Speedman as Boogie, Minnie Driver as The 2^nd Mrs. P and Mark Addy as Detective O'Hearne.

Although there are some great performances here, I felt the film didn’t quite hit the mark. There were a couple of reasons for this; one was that Barney, for all his charm, I didn’t find a particularly likable character. He’s far too selfish and doesn’t seem to understand the consequences of his actions sometimes. The second reason is that the film is just too long, it really starts to drag towards the end and, if, as me, you’re finding it hard to sympathise with the main character, it really doesn’t help. Having said that though, it’s still worth a look, if only for Giamatti’s performance, I thought he was quite excellent in this. And so, if only for Giamatti (and Hoffman’s one-liners)… Recommended.

My score: 7.3/10.

IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (based on 7,799 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1423894/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80/100 (based on 129 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/barneys-version/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Clara 'Chambers' Charnofsky: Oh Barney, you really do wear your heart on your sleeve. Now put it away, it's disgusting to look at.

2nd Mrs. P's Father: Are you saying you were gratuitously violent with suspected felons?
Izzy: Gratuitously? I always got paid, I ain't gonna work for free.

Barney Panofsky: ...and I'm just gonna keep talking here, 'cause I'm afraid that if I stop there's gonna be a pause or a break and you're gonna say 'It's getting late' or 'I should get going', and I'm not ready for that to happen. I don't want that to happen. Ever.
[they pause]
Miriam: There it was. The pause.
Barney Panofsky: Yeah.
Miriam: I'm still here.

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/barneysversion/
Trailer: