Thursday, December 13, 2012

My first movie review, Jack Reacher.


A couple of years ago I won tickets to an advanced screening of Iron Man 2 through a radio contest. Upon winning I had to register with this website to claim the prize and print the tickets. It was a few weeks later that I started getting e-mails from that site, offering me tickets to advanced screenings of other movies, completely free of charge. Since then I have seen several movies for free, days (sometimes weeks or even months) before they officially release. I’ve decided to start blogging occasionally about these movies offering my reviews on them. Tonight I attended yet another pre-screening and decided to follow it up with my first review. I'd love to hear any suggestions on what sort of information I should add/takeaway from the review or any other suggestions you may have. Also, no worries, my reviews are completely spoiler free.


The Movie:
Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Release Date: December 21st.

Official Movie Synopsis:
When a gunman takes five lives with six shots, all evidence points to the suspect in custody. On interrogation, the suspect offers up a single note: "Get Jack Reacher!" So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

What to expect:
This movie produced by, and starring Tom Cruise, was a cut and dry action flick. Do you like car chases? Fight scenes? Lots of gun fire?  If so, this is your kind of movie. It’s reminiscent of the 80’s action movies of old, One “I don’t play by the rules” badass, searching for answers, and beating up half-wit bad guys along the way. If you’re not into that sort of thing, and suspension of disbelief doesn’t come easily for you, maybe you should pass this one by. The dialogue is spoof-worthy at points, and delivered with soap operaesque dramatic flair.

Negatives:
My biggest problem with the movie was character inconsistency. A lot of time is spent building characters and explaining their personalities and histories to make certain scenes more believable, but the second something needs to happen to help the plot, that personality trait or part of their history is no longer relevant. Aside from that, the cheesy dialogue is my biggest gripe.

Positives:
Unlike many action movies that I would compare this one too, the plot is not entirely predictable. Some avid movie goers may figure the movie out moments before it unfolds, but you don’t go into the movie expecting the exact same ending you get. Also to my surprise, the movie had a few laugh out loud funny moments, lightening the mood from the dark and serious tone it sets early on.

My Thoughts:
Unless you’re a die hard Tom Cruise fan, or a sucker for stereotypical action movies, I’d say this movie is best saved for Redbox or Netflix. 

4 comments:

  1. Hello there,

    I followed the link you posted on the 20sb forum and I thought you might like feedback.

    The review is great! Down-to-earth and structured for people who want to quickly know if this is worth it.

    My only con is that I think you should flesh out your opinions with some examples. I'm not saying spoil pivotal moments or funny scenes which are funny once and stale afterwards, but there is an artful way of doing so without ruining it for the prospective moviegoer. In fact, you could add some comedic flair to your review by citing some of the cheesy dialogue. It would at least give your readers a sense of how they would tolerate it.

    Good job and I look forward to reading more :)
    Lia
    www.yourpredefinedtaste.blogspot.com

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  2. Thanks for the feedback Lia. I will keep it in mind for future reviews. I'm glad to hear it.

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  3. Neat idea for a blog. Right when I saw the preview for this movie I said I would have gone to see it...if it didn't have Tom Cruise as the main character. I just felt like he wasn't bad ass enough to be believable in that role. So this post affirms my suspicions...def not going to see it!

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    1. I'm glad I could influence someones decision. Lol.

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