This truly is the age of ‘Bourne’, because let’s look at it from this standpoint – Jason Bourne was an ex-military trained assassin who didn’t want to continue doing what he was doing, because he was trying to figure out who he was, while trying to clear his name and do what was right. And that was to expose the operations that had been leading to a bigger conspiracy. Albeit, the series was based on books written by Robert Ludlum years ago, the movies were captivating, and it sparked off a few movies that looked to be in the same breath: Don Cheadle in Traitor, Angelina Jolie in Salt, Zoe Saldana in Columbiana, Liam Neeson in Taken (different circumstances, but the style of Bourne is evident), and I’m sure there are countless others, but those were the ones that came to mind, because they have been heralded as ‘Bourne-esque’ movies.

Jack Reacher is also based on a book series, and if it wasn’t for local public transportation advertising, I would have never known that. Ex-Military, disappeared off the grid, but his name comes up and people are asking questions. People want to know where he is and his involvement with a mass murder. Tom Cruise came into this role with years of Mission: Impossible under his belt, so a renegade bad-boy/good-guy role seemed fitting for him. The movie was nothing short of action and suspense, and the story was straight to the point when you start to see it curve into being yet another conspiracy cover-up for a corporation.

There were elements in this movie that you could tie in to the movie Shooter with Mark Wahlberg, because of the military similarities, and cover-ups for corporations from people who work on the inside. It’s a movie that I’ve seen before, so it wasn’t anything that could stand out on its own in terms of being ‘Bourne’ status, but it holds its own. No one really provided overall great acting, but Tom Cruise doesn’t disappoint with his action junkie roles. Car chase scenes, fight scenes, shooting scenes, and a sarcastic charm to the role are what made it memorable for the movie. Robert Duvalle added some necessary humour to it all too, so it was a good time.

This movie definitely felt its length, because there were parts where it just dragged along, but just as you had lost concentration, it pulled you back in with the suspense and humour of it all. Not a great movie, but it was good. It’s one of those movies that you say that you saw it, and you just move on. Nothing more than that. This is a good movie for the season, and it was a great way to end 2012 and bring in the New Year. But, for now, this is my opinion; this is my review

That’s My Word & It STiXX