Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 35 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 189 Ratings

  • Starring: Richard Jenkins, Rosamund Pike, Tom Cruise, Werner Herzog
  • Summary: When five people are shot dead, a trained military sniper becomes the primary perp. The only chance he has to clear his name rests in the hands of one man: Jack Reacher. Based on the novel "One Shot" by Lee Child.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 35
  2. Negative: 5 out of 35
  1. Reviewed by: Drew Taylor
    Dec 18, 2012
    83
    In terms of pure pop entertainment value, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more smartly constructed, beautifully shot, pulse-pounding movie this holiday season.
  2. Reviewed by: Mark Dinning
    Dec 31, 2012
    80
    Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise deliver on their promise, with a witty, violent take on Reacher that makes up for its lack of height with an abundance of smarts and thrills.
  3. Reviewed by: Peter Bradshaw
    Dec 20, 2012
    60
    Outrageous but entertaining pulp-melodrama thriller.
  4. Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    Dec 20, 2012
    38
    Jack Reacher is a wildly ill-advised miscalculation, with Cruise's virtually unstoppable appeal butting uncomfortably against Reacher's alternately cocky and downright crude cynicism.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 77
  2. Negative: 16 out of 77
  1. This is a superb thriller and one of my favorite films this year. Story and characters are both very compelling and it was great to see how Reacher unraveled the mystery. I don't get the negative responses and suspect most probably have to do with a personal dislike of Tom Cruise or that the movie was not exactly like the books. Regardless, I loved the pacing and thought the action was great and all very realistic. Reacher is also an extremely interesting character to learn about... very intelligent, sarcastic and witty, mysterious, and strong. He's analogous to James Bond and Cruise does a fantastic job here. I very highly recommend this movie. Expand
  2. The only thing worthy in Jack Reacher is watching Tom Cruise being a badass. Other than that is just another decent popcorn movie that will keep you entertained enough a Saturday afternoon in which you have nothing better to do. The plot is mainly exposition-driven and it becomes so convoluted at some point that you won't mind understanding the stakes in it, which aren't very interesting anyway. Rosamund Pike and Robert Duvall are enjoyable to watch, Jai Courtney has a lot of potential as an action star (we'll confirm that in A Good Day To Die Hard) and Werner Herzog is just a one-dimensional Russian stereotype. But well, the flaws don't really matter, Jack Reacher achieves its goal and Cruise reminds us why he is one of the greatest action stars of all time. Expand
  3. The movie was going along pretty good until they had to throw in the gratutious cleavage throughout the whole second half. Her wide eyed constant disbelief look / Alex from SVU voice threw me off too.
    I can't picture Tom Cruise as a menacing tough guy. Sorry, it just didn't work for me.
    Expand
  4. A movie that failed to make me care about the story at all, characters were empty and uninteresting and even thou this movie had a few scenes that were pretty well done i still found myself looking at my watch time and time again hoping this would eighter pick up or just end. Expand

See all 77 User Reviews

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