Jack Reacher

"The law has limits. He does not."

2012 2h 10m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 7,905

CrimeDramaThrillerAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

One morning in an ordinary town, five people are shot dead in a seemingly random attack. All evidence points to a single suspect: an ex-military sniper who is quickly brought into custody. The interrogation yields one written note: 'Get Jack Reacher!'. Reacher, an enigmatic ex-Army investigator, believes the authorities have the right man but agrees to help the sniper's defense attorney. However, the more Reacher delves into the case, the less clear-cut it appears. So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

“The law has limits. He does not.”

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Cast

Tom Cruise
Jack Reacher
Rosamund Pike
Helen Rodin
Richard Jenkins
D.A. Alex Rodin
David Oyelowo
Det. Emerson
Werner Herzog
Zec Chelovek
Jai Courtney
Charlie
Robert Duvall
Martin Cash
Vladimir Sizov
Vlad

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Robin Richesson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 14 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Jack Reacher Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

265+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, shot by Caleb Deschanel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joe Kraemer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kevin Stitt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Christopher McQuarrie directs. Caleb Deschanel behind the camera. Joe Kraemer scores. Kevin Stitt cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.
3Released 14 years ago.
4Part of the "Jack Reacher Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5265+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, shot by Caleb Deschanel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Joe Kraemer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Kevin Stitt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike and Richard Jenkins carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The law has limits. He does not.".
11IMDB entry: tt0790724 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 22 themes, including "sniper", "coma", "based on novel or book", "detective".
13Released under 33 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Caleb Deschanel
Original score: Joe Kraemer
Editing: Kevin Stitt
Production design: James D. Bissell
Makeup / hair: Winfrey Izear
VFX supervisor: Bill Kunin
Sound: Terry Porter
Stunt coordinator: Paul Jennings
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $218,300,000
Return: 364% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Jack Reacher (2012)

Part of

Jack Reacher Collection

An action crime thriller film series based on novels by author Lee Child based on Jack Reacher. Reacher roams the United States taking odd jobs and investigating suspicious and frequently dangerous situations.

Also by

Christopher McQuarrie

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Kenneth Axel Carlsson2014-12-26
★ 3/10
A man shoots six people in a park, seemingly at random. The evidence is obvious and the police catch him short after. When asked about the murders, all he says (or rather writes) is "Get Jack Reacher". They do, and while Jack thinks he is only here to bury him (whatever that actually means), he soon finds out that the rabbit hole goes a bit further than he originally thought. Now Jack is looking to put together the pieces of a much larger puzzle. This movie has the ring of a simple action movie with a small twist. The twist, actually, is quite obvious if you think about what is happening in the beginning of the movie. I remember seeing the trailer a long time ago, and it painted a picture of a comedy, but this movie is not that. It might have one or two funny fight scenes (and dialogue with Robert Duvall), but it is actually quite dark. This is kinda what saved the movie a bit for me, having judged it beforehand. Tom Cruise is... Tom Cruise. At least in the way that we have seen him protrayed in the most recent years. The silent, cool guy who knows how to handle the problems, and who seems to always be one step ahead of everyone. I am not a big fan of this guy, and therefore, ultimately, not a big fan of Jack Reacher, however, it is slightly better than I thought it would be. And Werner Herzog has a nice little cameo, that movie aficionados will surely enjoy, being the great director that he is. Last words... if you like Tom Cruise, go for it. If you like a nice organized action movie, much like the many Bourne movies... go for it. If you want more than superficial characters and a very straightforward plot, this is not the movie for you.
John Chard2018-12-16
★ 8/10
You think I'm a hero? I am not a hero. And if you're smart, that scares you. Because I have nothing to lose. It got off on the wrong foot, fans of the Lee Child novels were up in arms about the casting of Tom Cruise in the title role. He didn't fit the profile it was said, scorn was poured on the film, quite often by people who hadn't even seen it! So how refreshing to find that since I personally have no affinity to the Child books, and having never read anything by the author, I found a wonderfully old fashioned thriller. Reacher the character is a damn fine creation, an ex military bad ass who doesn't get found unless he wants to get found. He gets involved with jobs that need solving, utilising his special skills to close out the mysteries. Here he pitches up along side defence attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike) when an ex army sniper apparently at random kills five people and then mentions Reacher's name during interrogation. Cue twists and turns, rocks upturned for covert clues and a shady road to be trawled to get to the crux of the matter. Cruise as Reacher is superb, where under the astute directing and writing of Christopher McQuarrie we are left in no doubt this is a cool no nonsense hard man, loved by the ladies and feared by not just the crims, but also the law authorities. None of which is overkilled, it's subtle in execution, McQuarrie doesn't need to turn his film into a blitzkrieg of CGI blunderbuss multiplex pandering. Action is smartly staged, the violence brutal without being course, while the story is delightful in how it gleefully wrong foots the viewers in plot dynamics and sly humour. The deal is closed out via the sterling supporting turns to Cruise, with Pike, Robert Duvall, Werner Herzog and Jai Courtney adding considerably to this splendid Cruise and McQuarrie broth. In spite of divisive reviews and reports, Jack Reacher in filmic form has risen above that to become a success. Hooray! 7.5/10
CinemaSerf2022-08-02
★ 6/10
So five, ostensibly unconnected, people are picked off walking along the street by a sniper. Surprisingly, the police manage to apprehend the culprit pretty quickly but are bemused when he asks them to summon "Jack Reacher" (Tom Cruise) who, as it happens, was already on his way to the city. The defence attorney "Helen" (Rosamund Pike) is trying to elicit some help from "Reacher", but this former criminal investigator wants to nail the man's ass firmly to the slats. When the accused is reduced to a coma after being beaten up on a prison bus, the two start to work in earnest on this seemingly open and shut case and we gradually discover that, well there is a great deal more to discover...! It's way too long, this, and takes the best part of an hour for us to get past the character establishment and who's got a grudge bits, also Pike is really quite sterile with her portrayal of the dogged lawyer - but once Cruise gets into his stride the story starts to pick up quite interestingly with plenty of action, a few twists and an ending that reminded me a bit of "Highlander" (1986). Eye-candyman Jai Courtney is still as wooden as a door post but does enough here, as do Richard Jenkins and the sparingly, but effectively, used Werner Herzog. Cruise has made loads of these films that showcase his talents in high-end action films and this fits neatly into the middle of the pile. Not bad, but I've already forgotten it.