The film opens with a man driving a van into a parking garage across the Allegheny River from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He pays for the parking with a quarter and then uses a rifle to shoot and kill five people on the river's North Shore Trail from long range before driving off. The police, led by Detective Emerson (David Oyelowo), find the shell casing and the quarter, which has a fingerprint that belongs to James Barr (Joseph Sikora), an ex-US Army sniper. They raid his house and find the van, the rifle, and Barr unconscious. During an interrogation by Emerson and District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins), Barr is offered a choice between life in prison or death penalty, but he writes "Get Jack Reacher" on a notepad.
Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is a drifter and ex-US Army Military Police investigator who sees the news report about Barr and arrives in Pittsburgh. He meets with Barr's defense attorney, Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), who is also the daughter of the DA. Reacher reveals that he knows Barr from his time in the army, when he investigated him for killing four contractors in Iraq. Reacher was unable to prove Barr's guilt, but he promised to come after him if he ever did anything like that again. Reacher agrees to help Helen with the case, but he believes that Barr is guilty and wants to bury him.
Reacher begins to investigate the crime scene and finds evidence that suggests that the shooting was not random, but rather a setup. He also learns that one of the victims was a local construction tycoon who was involved in a shady deal with a Russian gangster named The Zec (Werner Herzog). Reacher suspects that The Zec hired Barr to kill the tycoon, but then framed him for the other murders to cover his tracks. Reacher is pursued by The Zec's henchmen, led by Charlie (Jai Courtney), who try to kill him and Helen several times. Reacher manages to evade them and tracks down an eyewitness named Cash (Robert Duvall), a former Marine who owns a shooting range where Barr practiced.
With Cash's help, Reacher sets up a trap for The Zec and his men at an abandoned quarry. He confronts them and reveals that he has figured out their motive: The Zec wanted to extort money from the tycoon's widow, who inherited his fortune and his shares in a multi-billion dollar project that involved building a stadium on the riverfront. The Zec also reveals that he forced Barr to confess by threatening to harm his family. Reacher offers to trade Barr for The Zec, but The Zec refuses and orders Charlie to kill Reacher. A shootout ensues, in which Reacher kills most of The Zec's men, including Charlie. He then shoots The Zec in the head, killing him. He then goes to the hospital where Barr is recovering from his coma and tells him that he has cleared his name. He also tells him that he still hates him for what he did in Iraq and warns him to stay away from him.
The film ends with Reacher leaving Pittsburgh on a bus, while Helen watches him go.
Jack Reacher is an entertaining and well-made action thriller that showcases Tom Cruise's charisma and skills as an actor and producer. The film has a solid plot, a good cast, and some exciting action sequences. The film also stays faithful to the source material, while making some changes to suit the cinematic medium. Fans of Lee Child's novels and Tom Cruise's movies will enjoy this film.
References:
[Wikipedia]
[IMDb]
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