Lee Child fans. I know what you’re thinking. I’d bet 99% of you are thinking the same thing: Tom Cruise is not Jack Reacher. I happen to agree; I'm pretty sure he’s not even 6 feet tall, let alone 6-foot-5. And oddly, his lack of stature is completely evident in the trailer’s final sequence, though I’m pretty sure that he’s taken lengths to hide his height in prior roles …
The Cruiser may be able to run down buildings (come to think of it, he seems to have extensive running sequences in most of his recent movies), but I have to say I wouldn’t be too worried if I came across him in a dark alley – unlike my perception of Reacher, to whom I’d give a very wide berth. And that’s about more than just height.
Despite the miscasting, the Jack Reacher books are a great series that we hope more people discover, regardless of movie quality or appropriateness of lead actor. Long story short: Lee Child’s series follows the adventures (or misadventures) of Jack Reacher, a former military cop who now wanders the United States as a drifter – one whom trouble seems to find with regularity.
For the first film, Hollywood has (oddly) chosen to adapt the ninth book in the series, One Shot. It’s not a huge issue that they didn’t start with the first, Killing Floor, as the novels are episodic, and One Shot is one of the best. Briefly: a sniper murders five people, and the man they arrest insists he is not the guilty party, despite evidence to the contrary. He asks them to bring in Reacher, but it’s not an issue – Reacher is already on the way, for reasons of his own, driven by his own sense of justice. If you’re new to the series, this is a fine place to begin – and Lee Child is writing some of the best thrillers being published right now.
Getting back to Cruise: not a lot of current leading men are the right height, but the casting agents still could have probably done better. Who do you think would have been better casting? Gerard Butler? Hugh Jackman? Alexander Skarsgard? Jeffrey Dean Morgan? Dwayne Johnson?
Reacher fans, who do you think should have got the part? Let us know and join the conversation....
