The Jack Reacher series

[Athena]

The first film did poorly domestically and well internationally, ergo: sequel in a theatre near you October 2016. Anticipate or not; discuss away.

[King of Birds]

I hate everything about this being a film series named "Jack Reacher" and starring Tom Cruise.

Steal the plots, change shit around, just don't call The Twerp "Jack Reacher" because he IS NOT that character in smarts, size and abilities.

[MsNewsradio]

That was my main issue with the first film (and now this one) as well. You want to make an action thriller with Tom Cruise, be my guest, but he is NOT Jack Reacher as written in any aspect. 

[ChelseaNH]

I have no idea what y'all are talking about, and I never will, because you can't make me.

[King of Birds]

@ChelseaNH  Here's a picture of me making you read ALL the books! All 21 plus the six short stories! Muahahahahaha!

[Hanahope]

I will only say that I only heard about the Jack Reacher books because of Tom Cruise's movie, and I subsequently became a big fan of the books, so there's that.  I'm almost finished with the novels, 3 to go, and then I'll do the short stories.

However, I do agre with all that Cruise really isn't Reacher (the size does mean a lot), but I completely understand why Cruise wants to be Reacher.  Reacher is very much a Mary Sue (or whatever they call the male equivalent).  He's almost always right about everything, he wins 99% of his fights (and even a "loss" is brief and doesn't hurt the final outcome), and he gets to bang a lot of women/be the hero.  It very much strokes Cruise's ego.

I won't pay money in the theater to watch the movies, I'll wait for Netflix.

[SimoneS]

I enjoyed the first Jack Reacher movie. I never read the books so I don't have those issues with the movie.

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, SimoneS said:

I enjoyed the first Jack Reacher movie. I never read the books so I don't have those issues with the movie.

Same here. 

[Raja]

6 hours ago, SimoneS said:

I enjoyed the first Jack Reacher movie. I never read the books so I don't have those issues with the movie.

Same here. But then the opposite thing is going on over on the Bosch TV show forum, where Bosch in the source novels which I have read was a Vietnam Tunnel Rat who tend to be the size of Tom Cruise were as Titus Welliver is around 6 ft.

[ChelseaNH]

@King of Birds Pretty sure I've read all the novels, but I might have missed a few short stories.  It's a pity that Sherlock Holmes has already done the fight pre-visualization trick; illustrating that thought process would be one thing that filmmaking could really add to the stories.

[SmithW6079]

I absolutely refuse to see the midget Tom Cruise try to play 6'5" giant Jack Reacher. I've enjoyed the novels previously although I haven't read one in a while.

[Irlandesa]

On 9/2/2016 at 3:00 PM, Hanahope said:

However, I do agre with all that Cruise really isn't Reacher (the size does mean a lot), but I completely understand why Cruise wants to be Reacher.  Reacher is very much a Mary Sue (or whatever they call the male equivalent).  He's almost always right about everything, he wins 99% of his fights (and even a "loss" is brief and doesn't hurt the final outcome), and he gets to bang a lot of women/be the hero.  It very much strokes Cruise's ego.

It has been a long time since I'd seen the first movie but I don't recall him having a love interest or even having sex with a woman in the first which is why I think I am more willing to watch another Reacher movie than read another Reacher book. The books I read were all about showing us how virile he was and how every woman wanted him.  Ugh.

But then I've never gotten too into the idea of what characters should "look" like when it comes to adaptations. People like different things in books and for whatever reason, those kinds of physical descriptions don't stick with me.  I get why they might with others but I can get over them pretty quickly.

[reggiejax]

The first movie was one I decidedly chose to miss in theaters. But one lazy afternoon, I wanted to rent movies and Jack Reacher was the best choice available at the RedBox. So I rented it. And I am glad I did because it has become a favorite. Even if I had hated the rest of the movie I would have still loved it for the fight scene. Of course there are plenty of fight scenes in the movie, but fans instinctively know which one I am talking about, because it is that great of a scene. Plus, it was my introduction to Rosamund Pike. Of course Pike is apparently not in the new movie, but we can't have everything, can we?

I have not read any of the books, but if the author can wholeheartedly support the choice of the diminutive Cruise to play the behemoth Reacher, which he does, then I certainly don't have a problem with it. I can understand if others do, but the way I see it, if Hollywood was strict with casting in this way, a lot of parts would have been played by very different actors. I mean Forrest Gump was a Reacher like character in size in the novel, and Hanks most certainly didn't fit the bill at all. Suffice it to say, Michael Keaton would never have been cast as Batman if they were being strict on physicality. Besides, except for height, Cruise fits the bill in every other way. Cruise may not be as big as Reacher, but he hardly strains credibility when whippijng ass. He is in outstanding shape, and his fight scenes in the film are very believable. Or as believable as can be when the character is a guy who ALWAYS whips ass. 

So I am definitely going to be in line on opening day for the new movie, 

[johntfs]

Jack Reacher is essentially a bully who lives to destroy other bullies.  Tom Cruise channels his essence perfectly.  It's a little like the difference between Sherlock and Elementary.  Sherlock got all the canon trappings of the Sherlock Holmes stories (Baker Street, John Watson, etc) but Elementary got the character's soul.