# Did it bother you that Tom Cruise played Jack Reacher?



## Martin OHearn (Feb 9, 2012)

If you haven't yet gotten around to Lee Child's series, I'll explain that the character is almost a foot taller than the actor. Controversy ensued as soon as the casting news leaked, and it continues on the Internet Movie Database, among other fan gathering places.

I've just watched the movie, and I'm afraid it didn't bother me to see Cruise in the role. I'd already seen Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, Sean Connery as James Bond, and Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. None of them fits the authors' descriptions all that well.

Does it matter to you when an actor isn't the exact twin of the character?


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I think he seemed the exact opposite which did cause me some problems, but I'm not a giant fan of the Reacher series or Cruise so it wasn't that great. 

I think it is a problem though. When the physical description is a big part of the character it is annoying when Hollywood does their thing.

Imagine Gilbert Godfried as Conan....

The bigger problem though is Tom Cruise who is only capable of playing Tom Cruise. Although I did see Oblivion this week, and there were a few points when he almost seemed like his character and not Tom Cruise.


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## Robena (Jan 19, 2013)

I do enjoy watching a movie after having read the book, when casting does a good job of the likeness of the main characters. 
However, I think when we read and create the image we imagine it isn't always how the author saw the character. Sometimes I get an idea about a main character and I'm halfway through the book and there is mention of black curly hair and I'd thought the heroine was a redhead. Then I go, wait a minute, and have to backtrack and yeah, I discover the author had it right.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I actually really liked the movie. I also never had any issues with Tom Cruise and I thought he did a great job. I liked him in everything I watched so far. I even liked him in Valkyrie. Just watched Oblivion recently and I think it might have been his best work since 4th of July. 

I don't need the actor to be anything but convey the characters. I don't ever have any specific people in mind when I read, so for me it can morph into a lot of things. All I care about is can they pull it off and give me the essence of the character. And the essence is more than just measuring the inches. 
I did not even notice in the Jack Reacher movie that the character was not 6 foot tall. He seemed that way to me because of everything in the movie, acting, setting, camera. 

For those that tend to have specific images of the characters they like, its always going to be difficult. Every person will have a different image, can't possible be satisfied by one actor or actress. 

I also don't need a movie or TV show to follow every word of the book. They are such different mediums that I look at them as a different take on the same story in a way. I do not experience a book the same way I experience a movie.


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## bhazelgrove (Jul 16, 2013)

I did feel Tom was a little small for Jack Reacher. But I have felt that way about him in other roles as well. The book was better than the movie and I don't know if a bigger actor would have changed that. I saw the author on a talk show and he just couldn't smile enough at having Cruise as Jack Reacher.


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## Martin OHearn (Feb 9, 2012)

Lee Child has a Stan Lee-style cameo in "Jack Reacher," one I missed as I watched but caught in the credits; he's the desk sergeant who shrugs a "yes" at Reacher's statement about the three things that cops do.


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## jaimee83 (Sep 2, 2009)

I held my tongue until I saw the movie, Tom, about a foot smaller than Jack did pretty well.  I had to laugh when he walked into the bar and was a head taller than everyone else.  The Rock would have been great but I see Jack as kind of pasty white.  All in all he did alright but I'd like to see more thought put into the next Reacher if there is one and I hope there is.


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## Thomas Pluck (Nov 10, 2011)

I'll admit that I joked about it upon hearing the announcement-
"He's gotta reach for everything!"
But upon seeing the movie, it felt like a Reacher novel. He was believable, and while not my first choice- admittedly I imagined John Cena the wrestler, acting skills notwithstanding- he did a fine job.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I was thinking Liam Neeson


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

I hadn't read any of the books so it didn't bother me.  I thought he did a good job and really enjoyed the movie. Made me want to read the books now.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

I like Tom Cruise, despite his off-screen antics. I also have yet to read any of the books, though the movie has gotten them on my radar. Needless to say, I liked the movie.

Hey, if Ben Affleck can play Batman, then why not Cruise as Jack Reacher? ;-)


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

I do not watch every film Tom Cruise acts in. He did a fine job at the role of Jack Reacher and hope that a sequel is made.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

No.  Didn't bother me.

I don't much care for Tom Cruise -- so I tend to not see his movies.

I've never read a Reacher novel.


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## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

I thought he was fine. Reacher's sort of a glass you have to fill up anyway (imho).


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

I'm not going to rush out and watch the movie. I thing Tom Cruise was a lousy choice for the role, pretty much the last person I would have cast. Persoanlly, I would have gone with an unknown actor, someone who looked the part some. There's a softness to TC's face that just wouldn't convince, regardless of the other issues with his look.


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## Mark Young (Dec 13, 2010)

Tom Cruise is not Jack Reacher. A total miscast character.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I thought Cruise was miscast, and I come down on the fan side, having seen most of his movies, but the thing that made me not see the movie was the preview.  It didn't seem like the character as written for the film had much in common with Reacher except the name. The comments here encourage me to watch it on cable.....

Betsy


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## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

I haven't read the novels yet, so I won't criticize the casting. I enjoyed the movie, and I plan to read the books because of it.


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## willswardstrom (Sep 20, 2013)

With most books, I really can separate myself from the text when it's translated to the screen, so I didn't have a problem with Cruise as Reacher. He still had the attitude I was looking for. My daughter was reading the Percy Jackson books and then we watched the movies and she was shocked by some of the details they had changed, but I had to explain that movies are often different than the books.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

willswardstrom said:


> With most books, I really can separate myself from the text when it's translated to the screen, so I didn't have a problem with Cruise as Reacher. He still had the attitude I was looking for. My daughter was reading the Percy Jackson books and then we watched the movies and she was shocked by some of the details they had changed, but I had to explain that movies are often different than the books.


True, but that doesn't mean they can't suck too and I thought the the Jackson movie really sucked. (The book wasn't that great either, but better than the movie)


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## spooks101 (Aug 31, 2013)

I have to admit, Tom did do a good Jack Reacher despite the obvious height difference.  He had the 'violence' down to a tee and I thought he did the character justice.  True, I was not expecting to be saying that.  Reacher, he a big man!  But Tom did good.  Plus it helped that the rest of the cast knew what they were doing as well.  A good watch.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I waasn't crazy about the idea of Tom Cruise as Reacher, despite being a Cruise fan (I ignore his personal life).  But as you said, Frank, the preview made the movie look completely different from a Reacher book, so I lost interest once I saw the preview.  However, this thread made me interested in the movie, and since it was one of the gazillion movies on my eight hour flight back from London on Friday, I watched it.  And liked it.  

I agree, I thought Cruise got the temperament and aggressiveness of Reacher right.  I hated the actress who played the lawyer--I thought she was terrible (can't remember her name right now).  But I'm planning on seeing the next one in the movie theatre.

Betsy


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

No, it didn't bother me. Cruise was doing his job, reliably and professionally, as always. What bothered me was the rather implausible plot (borrowed from Agatha Christie??) and all sorts of cliché, but I kind of expected that. I thought Rosamund Pike, as much as I like her, was miscast as a lawyer. Werner Herzog was a fun to watch as a campy villain. Overall, it was a rather enjoyable movie, nothing much to remember.


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## TJBlake (Apr 4, 2013)

It did not bother me what so ever. 

With a film it always tweaks and changes novels, not just the characters but with many aspects. They even sometimes change the story a little so that it actually fits into the film and they can make a film that is less then an average 2 hour film. 
Choosing an actor who 'doesn't fit the role' is no big deal. I think that it's acceptable because then the actor can put their own twist onto the character. 
As you say, Bogart as Sam Spade, Connery as Bond and Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes all did well in my opinion, Especially Rob Downey, he was brilliant in Sherlock Holmes and those films are absolutely brilliant. 

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher works for me because I enjoyed the film


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## ensisk (Oct 2, 2013)

Seems like I remember Lee Chile responding that he thought Cruise was a good choice because he had the presence, and he felt that was more important. I haven't read the books, but from what I read I can definitely understand the disconnect. I didn't enjoy the movie though. My biggest problem was that it was marketed as a dumb action movie and was actually a really intelligent thriller/mystery. If I hadn't looked up the book series to find out what it was about (and paid attention to some of the reviews), I would have missed out.


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## rjspears (Sep 25, 2011)

I had no issues with Cruise.  Then again, I haven't read any of the Reacher books.  Cruise is a movie star and has all that charisma to bring to the project.  I can see why they went with him.

--
R.J. Spears


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

The first Reacher tale, Killing Floor, is the Audible Daily Deal today.
Killing Floor

Betsy


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## Tstarnes (Sep 25, 2013)

Before I watched the movie I was pretty displeased with the casting...after seeing I am ok with it.

Cruise has the wrong stature sure but he hit the attitude of Reacher just right and totally worked in the role.  I liked him.


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## FloridaMom (Oct 4, 2013)

Thought it was pretty good!


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

The movie wasn't half bad, although a bit 'by the numbers' in places ... the obligatory car chase the wrong way down a traffic tunnel, and so forth.

And I was fine with Cruise -- he always does better than people give him credit for. Remember the huge broohaha when he was cast to play Lestat? And he was fine then too.

But I simply didn't like the way Jack Reacher was written for the screen ... almost like the perfect 'tough guy,' with no flaws or weaknesses at all. That isn't the Reacher from the (massively variable) books.


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

The studio needs a NAME on screen to put butts in the seats.
They COULD find an unknown who IS the height of the character but if he can't act....well, who'd see it?

Its always a tough balance to maintain- translating a book series to the screen.
One important ingredient is having a star on the screen. They may have actually WANTED a similar popular actor who may have done a better job than Cruise but he was unavailable in the time VS what the studio needed him for ( contracts on potential franchises like this have time limits-- so a studio has only so much time to crunch out three films so they can make back their investment and start a money making franchise)

To date.... Jack Reacher made 20 million ( which I think is domestic and not world-- not really good numbers for Cruise film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Reacher_%28film%29

If they decide to do a second film they may decide on a smaller budget- tough to do and still pay Tom his full standard check.

Another factor is he is currently prepping a sci fi film as well as the fifth Mission Impossible. So if he wants to do a second Reacher.... we may not see it until 2016 at best. BY then fan's will have moved on ( and Child may very well have cranked out a few more new Reacher novels too_)

They MIGHT do another one to test the waters but if it truly only made a total of 200 mill I would say chances are slim.

In that case they may wait a few years and reboot the whole thing with the actor they may have really wanted in the first place who might fulfill the fan's desires. ( Not that that IS what happened....but it might be)
And it might work...

Look at the Jack Ryan series
Alec Baldwin did Red October. Huge hit.
Then Harrison Ford took over and did two. Successful in their own right but he moved on.
Then Ben Affleck took a turn. While it made money- it isn't enough to continue.
And now they have Chris Pine trying to re jack the whole thing.
So that's 4 actors and 5 films- since Red October released in 1990.
I think the studio dropped the ball by not committing to one actor and trying to put a solid stamp on the film series. Or perhaps the actors themselves- for whatever reasons- decided to move on. IN Hollywood anything is possible. Heck- if it were me ( and I COULD act and had the looks) I'd be happy to hammer out 4 or 5 and get typecast and retire and see the world and enjoy my life. But many actors prefer to do a variety of roles in fear of GETTING typed despite the potential for financial security.
Here is a break down for you curious fans
Its pretty interesting actually
Good luck to Chris Pine- the trailer looks pretty good too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_%28film_series%29

And actually you can see a pattern.
This genre does better in the USA than overseas. (I include the Reacher film which only made 200 mill woprldwide) So the studio can SEE that these films will only average 200 million total. So they have to keep the budgets under 100 mill. and hope to find the right actor the fans like and hammer out 3 or 5 films.

Then again the other problem is can they do this before running out of material book wide.
The Bond films ran into that problem but then that is a thread all on its own.

And for the record- the Cruise trailer did not impress me.
DVD is at the library and I do plan to see it one day though I prefer Tom in the Mission Impossible franchise though I like the Child books- the few I have read.

As for the fans who are in distress about it all I feel their pain. I'd like to see a decent Dirk Pitt series but Cussler refuses to hand over the rights to the books. He got burned twice and swears as long as he is alive there'll be no Dirk Pitt movies.


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