Poster: Jack Reacher

Mr. Cruise is a gifted actor and brings a great deal of talent to the project, one thing he doesn’t bring is size. It’s a fact that one of the things that makes Jack Reacher a interesting character is his size. A huge man at 6″ 4″ and somewhere around 240 lbs, he has a impact simply by walking into a room. I don’t dispute that TC will do a great job portraying his intensity, he will be forceful, aggresive, etc. What he won’t be is intimidating. He may be able to kick your butt and after seeing him in action you might turn the other way but the real Reacher got the same effect by walking into the room. Reacher is gifted with math, he loves coffee, can’t walk away when there is a wrong to be righted (if it involves him at least). He keeps track of time without a watch, has a gifted memory and uses logic to solve all his problems (until he has to use violence which he doesn’t have a problem with). Reacher uses his size to influence without having to use force. A man who stands 6″ taller than you tends to get his way…without raising his voice or his hand. TC can’t do those things. He will give a good performance of someone who is trained in the use of violence, it just won’t be Reacher. Face it without the size this is simply your standard, ex-army MP, who can beat people up. I fear Hollywood will do what they normally do (Point of Impact), they will take a great character, story and standardize it. Make it generic so more people will like it, it will no longer be a Reacher story. Why can’t they simply tell the story we all wanted to see in the first place? No, they will change everything for the focus group until we can no longer recognise our favorite character. I hope I’m wrong, good luck Mr. Cruise.