Alex Cross (15)

Alex Cross is the second recent new release based upon a novel serialization, following on from the blockbuster Jack Reacher. But this film is very different on many levels, although it deals with a murderer and a hard to crack case which ultimately ends up with a series of additional murders as the cast falls away.

There are two main provocateurs in this story. The lead detective, Alex Cross played by Tyler Perry, an upstanding, ready for promotion to the FBI, type of guy is suddenly faced with a vicious criminal who he must capture before he kills again. Despite his amazing intuition, that at times extracts information from crime scenes which seems almost impossible to deduce, he flaps around as people die and his weaknesses are exposed. Perry struggles with the role never quite seeming comfortable, at times appearing to be between emotions, as if he might smile at the wrong moment.

The assassin, stupidly called Picasso, played by a very poor Matthew Fox of Lost fame, ruthlessly picks off his victims and is soon taunting Alex Cross who has the supposed cheek of tracking him down.  Fox has heavily hammed up the villain adding twitching, manic shaving and an ultra lean looking body frame which we see him punishing with exercise. This skewed image of a broken man does not sit well especially with the good guy we have come to know from the Lost series. This appears to be a role he has embraced as a new challenge, something different, but in the end it comes off as a badly chosen script.

We also meet the dynamic Rachel Nichols and the lack luster Edward Burns as detectives and they try and tug at the storyline but have minimal impact. Burns is particularly weak and Nichols more a tokenistic victim and love interest.

The main problem with Alex Cross is that the two lead figures are poorly cast and the film suffers because of this. Throw in the expectations of those who have read the books and there is trouble ahead. If you enjoy this type of thriller you might find some salvation in a chase that does have a few twists but it is best to go into this film with low expectations.

34/100

Jack Reacher (12A)

The film Jack Reacher puts an ex-military, highly trained, decorated, homicide investigator into what would, on the surface, be an open and shut case. A military sniper has randomly shot five people dead. The man’s finger print has been found at the scene and he has previous history. It’s this past which is Jack Reacher’s, played by the almost legendary status Tom Cruise, connection and he turns up out of the blue to assist the now beaten and comatose suspect.

The character who enables Jack Reacher with some authority and drags him into the plot is defence lawyer Helen Rodin played by the elegant Rosamund Pike (Surrogates). Pike’s natural intensity suites the storyline well and she seems more than capable of facing up to the intimidating Cruise. In fact their good on screen chemistry keeps an energy running through the film which keeps you guessing at how far their relationship will develop.

The film has two distinct halves. Key information is revealed at the midpoint which changes the perspective and the course of the plot. The first half perceivably moves slowly at times and the viewer is probably right to question why we need to know certain facts about the victims but holding on to the trust in the writer come director, Christopher McQuarrie, is worth it. All comes to a crashing conclusion which enables Cruise to switch on his action gene. 

Perhaps the weakness in the film is the villain known as The Zec, played by Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn), who comes across as a bad stereotype, with no fingers, and at one point steps from the shadows to explain some gruesome act. He proclaims he is everything bad and is more comic book than thriller novel. It’s a shame because his henchman Charlie, played excellently by rising star Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard), suffers by association.

Jack Reacher is a Tom Cruise production. It is about the actor and his mega superstardom, and people try and point this out as a negative but the fact is the film is very entertaining and Tom Cruise, who also does many of his own stunt scenes, is once again highly effective.

73/100