Jack Reacher Parent Guide
This mysterious protagonist is one hero many families will hesitate to introduce to their young teens and children.
Parent Movie Review
Though movies are filmed months in advance of their release, the content is sometimes eerily current. In the opening scenes of Jack Reacher, a sniper trains his gun sights on innocent citizens walking along a sunny riverside path. One of them is a six-year-old girl. Though no one deserves to be the victim of a random attack, the depiction is particularly disturbing considering the film opens only a week after a gunman shot and killed 20 first graders in a Connecticut elementary school.
Other than this false start, Jack Reacher appears to be a move to make Tom Cruise into the next Hollywood franchise after the fashion of Jason Bourne, Alex Cross or Jack Ryan. As a result, the early part of the movie is spent introducing the ghostly character of Jack Reacher (Cruise), a former military investigator who took himself off the grid after returning home from military duty. Without a driver’s license, credit card, last known address or luggage, he moves below the radar until someone needs his help.
When trained sniper James Barr (Joseph Kikora) is accused of the aforementioned murders of the unsuspecting civilians, he requests Jack’s help before fellow prisoners beat him into a comatose state. Somehow Jack gets the word and shows up at the prosecuting office of District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins) only to discover that Rodin’s daughter Helen (Rosamund Pike) is defending Barr.
However Jack isn’t there to help Barr. Rather he’d like to see him suffer for the former murder of four men in a war zone. Working with the limited cooperation of police investigator Emerson (David Oyelowo), Jack starts his own review of the evidence and soon begins to question Barr’s guilt. Working with the wide-eyed Helen, Jack uncovers an even darker conspiracy behind the deaths.
At that point it seems this possible franchise might take after a John Grisham plot where intrigue and subterfuge drive the story. Unfortunately that only lasts long enough for a couple of guys with a baseball bat and crowbar to attack the hero. (Strangely, these two goons resemble The Three Stooges more than serious thugs but that doesn’t keep the rest of the film’s unnecessary violence from spiraling out of control.) Jack subdues his attackers with a thumb to the eye or repeated strikes to the groin. He also doesn’t hesitate to break a man’s hand or give a well-placed heel to the head. But his assaults are less gruesome than the leader of the criminals (Werner Herzog) who forces one of his men to chew off his own fingers. When he fails to do so, he is shot in the back of the head.
Sadly, the five victims at the first of the movie aren’t the only ones targeted. As Jack delves deeper into the underlying criminal activities, more people die as a threat to the military investigator. Pushing the limits of violence in a PG-13 movie, the filmmakers scale back on some other content, that includes mostly mild profanities, one strong sexual expletive and a crude term along with a brief backside shot of a woman in a thong and some sexually suggestive dialogue.
Like The Lone Ranger or Superman who inexplicably show up to save the day, Jack Reacher appears to have the same sense of timing. Although he is motivated to ensure justice is satisfied, he isn’t opposed to meting it out himself. Regrettably his vigilante approach to punishment likely won’t sit well with law officers in the future.
With plenty of unfinished business (like a kiss for the female lawyer), this script based on a book by Lee Child leaves little question that Jack Reacher will be back for another adventure. However, this mysterious protagonist is one hero many families will hesitate to introduce to their young teens and children.
Note: The working title for this movie was One Shot.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Starring Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall, Jai Courtney. Running time: 130 minutes. Theatrical release December 20, 2012. Updated July 17, 2017About author
Jack Reacher
Rating & Content Info
Why is Jack Reacher rated PG-13? Jack Reacher is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence, language and some drug material.
Violence: While depictions of blood are limited to pools surrounding the dead shooting victims, this movie pushes the limit of a PG-13 rating with repeated hand-to-hand fights (often resulting in broken bones), strikes to the groin, the use of baseball bats and other implements to inflict pain and gun use. A man trains his sights on several people including a 6-year-old child before killing five of them. A man is beaten into a comatose state and suffers severe facial and head injuries. A group of men gang up on a single man. A character talks about killing a man and distributing his body parts. A man is forced to attempt to chew off his fingers. Numerous characters are shot at close range. A character is suffocated and the body disposed of in a garbage container. Characters engage in a high-speed chase that involves crashing their cars. A character is tasered and kidnapped. A man threatens to beat another to death and “drink his blood from a boot”. A character is hit in the head with a rock. Characters use a knife during a fight. A man verbally abuses a woman on a bus.
Sexual Content: A woman wearing only a thong is shown from the backside. A man’s bare chest is shown. A girl accuses a man of calling her a whore and attempts to lure him into a fight. Some sexual dialogue follows. A woman mistakenly believes a man is inviting her to bed. A professional woman wears a low cut shirt.
Language: The script contains frequent mild profanities and terms of Deity along with some crude terms, sexual comments and one strong sexual expletive.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters are shown with drinks in a bar setting. A woman, sitting beside of table of drug paraphernalia, appears to be in a drug-induced state. Comments are made about a man who makes illegal drugs. A woman drinks a beer.
Page last updated July 17, 2017
Jack Reacher Parents' Guide
Why does Cash, the gun range owner, take down James Farr’s targets? Why does he fear the arrival of police? What does he believe about the constitutional right to bear arms? Would a gun law prevent criminals from obtaining weapons? What issues other than gun ownership need to be addressed in preventing needless deaths? Do movies like Jack Reacher contribute to gun violence?
What does Sandy mean when she justifies her actions by saying that’s “what girls like me do”? Why does she allow herself to be used by men? What would it take to change her view of herself?
The Lone Ranger had a strict moral code he abided by. It reads as follows:
“I believe…
• that to have a friend, a man must be one.
• that all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.
• that God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.
• in being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.
• that a man should make the most of what equipment he has.
• that ‘this government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ shall live always.
• that men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.
• that sooner or later…somewhere…somehow…we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.
• that all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.
• in my Creator, my country, my fellow man.”
(“The Lone Ranger: Justice from Outside the Law”. Retrieved September 26, 2010.)
How does that compare with the code Jack Reacher appears to adhere to?
This movie is based on a novel from a series of books featuring Jack Reacher, that were penned by Lee Child.
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Jack Reacher movie is May 7, 2013. Here are some details…
Home Video Notes: Jack Reacher
Release Date: 7 May 2013
Jack Reacher releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) with the following extras:
- Commentary by Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie
- Commentary by composer Joe Kraemer
- When the Man Comes Around
- You Do Not Mess with Jack Reacher: Combat & Weapons
- The Reacher Phenomenon
Related home video titles:
A former military hero gets caught up in a crime in The Manchurian Candidate. Tom Cruise plays another one-man-army character in the Mission Impossible franchise.