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Jack Reacher – Action Thriller Novel Hero to Movie Hero?

I am very catholic in my reading interests, factual and fiction. Among the fictional genres, I like to read for escapism are action thrillers.
One of my favourites is the Jack Reacher novels. Reacher was created by British author Lee Child, who had enough of writing TV scripts and turned to full-time book writing. The character Lee created in Jack Reacher became a big hit with excellent critical reviews. The novels have become best sellers in many countries certainly US and UK!

Reacher is described as being 50, solitary, taciturn in manner, he is very rugged, 6′ 5″ tall (1.96m) with a 50-inch chest, and weighing between 210 and 250 pounds (100–115 kg). He has ice-blue eyes and dirty blond hair. He has very little body fat, and his muscular physique is completely natural. Jack is very strong and uses his very large hands for martial arts or variations of – depending on the combat situation and he prefers not to use guns unless necessary.

Jack admits to being an indifferent below-average driver driving rarely himself, hence his preference for soliciting rides.
Jack has a broken nose, is mainly unshaved with dark blond hair, small scars on his face and body. Jack was a Major in the US Military Police, possessing an intelligent,  observant &  sharp mind ideal for an investigator. This cleverness belied his brutish looks as many foes found out to their cost!

Jack can be merciless and will break limbs and kill if forced to, the bad guys get what they deserve.
After leaving the army (he was downsized as he says with cutbacks to the US military), Jack was dumped into civilian life. He decided to become a nomad and wander across America. He prefers to live cheaply and using  hitchhiking , bus or train. He goes where the mood takes him, sometimes with no real planning, he revels in the absolute freedom after the constrictions and control of army life.  Jack has no luggage only the clothes he wears, he buys cheap clothes en route at some of his various stop-overs and throws the old clothes away.
He only carries a fold-up toothbrush, a wallet containing little cash, and an ATM, to withdraw money supplied through his army pension when needed. He has no mobile(cell) phone and does not wear a watch. Jack has the unusual ability to mentally know accurately what the time is, day or night, even able to wake himself up at the correct time without an alarm.
Jack’s adventures mainly occur on his travels;  he may wander into a situation, or if he is asked for help by strangers he meets,  former army colleagues and friends. Jack is like a kind of Good Samaritan and will help strangers too if he sees they are in trouble. At the conclusion of an adventure, he drifts into and out of the lives of those he helps, quietly slipping away to be on the road again.

Jack’s character is enduring, enigmatic even endearing at times, complex too and I really enjoy reading the novels, I have the latest  ‘A Wanted Man.
It was only time before Jack would become a movie hero too. Many fans eagerly waited to see who could play and portray him, keeping faith with the books.
You can imagine the surprise and unenthusiastic welcome, bordering on outrage, when it was announced that Tom Cruise was chosen to play the eponymous Reacher!

If ever anyone is unsuitable to play a famous literary creation this must be it!!!  It would be like asking Sylvester Stallone or Arnie Schwarzenegger to play Sherlock Holmes in a movie!

Hmmm. Tom is barely 5’7″ (170Cm), weighs 148 pounds, 67 kgs. no book Reacher facial hair or broken nose and has black hair, the only similarity are their ages and eye colour!

The appeal and popularity of Reacher is his intimidating larger than life persona,  physique, character, and presence.
These shine through and help make the novels the immense success they are.
Although it is admirable that Cruise does a lot of hs own action stunts, he simply does not have the requisite qualities or physical attributes to play the Reacher of the novels.
This movie may become just another Tom Cruise ‘Mission Impossible’  type action movie, with little substance that is true to the novels or the physique & character of Reacher himself.  The movie may satisfy generic action hero fans, but disappoint the die-hard and general fans who pick the books to read.

After seeing a trailer of the Jack Reacher movie due out in December 2012, I felt disappointed and will not waste my time or money going to the cinema to see it.

Many think author Lee Child sold out and should have insisted on a more suitable actor, even a little-known actor could have made the role his own and established the character. I am sure the book fans would not mind any actor playing the role as long as he met the physical criteria and could convey the insularity,  broodiness, latent energy, modern-day knight of the road, the pugilistic demeanor of the Reacher in the novels.

As a part analogy being a similarly tall, rugged, and brooding knight of the road (with the horse, not vehicle!) character, with few words spoken,  Clint Eastwood was largely unknown when chosen for the enigmatic and mysterious  ‘Cowboy with No Name’ movies and others such as  High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider. He fitted the characters perfectly and made the roles world famous.

Recently, Lee Child defended the choice of Cruise, saying that Reacher’s physical attributes in the novel could be regarded as a metaphor for his personality as portrayed by Cruise in the movie. Also, he had to find the best buyer for the movie rights and did not have the creative control.

JK Rowling had creative control on control in the making of the Harry Potter movies and insisted that the actors matched the characters of the novels. That is one reason the H.P. movies were super successful and massive hits as well as the novels.

I am sure that if  Child had insisted or looked around more movie producers, he could have negotiated greater creative control.

Until the Reacher movie is out general judgment awaits!

Jack Reacher novels