Today's Hot Trailer: Tom Cruise Gets Tough in Jack Reacher
Posted 10.18.12 by Ryan
"You think I'm a hero? I am not a hero."
The first teaser trailer for the upcoming Jack Reacher had plenty for fans of the Lee Child novel series on which the movie is based: talk of a former military policeman who plays by his own rules, a bluesy score (Reacher's favorite kind of music), and Reacher's signature cool-headed demeanor, even when fighting off a group of men. What they missed was the 6'5" and 250 pound anti-hero that was described in the books, instead getting the, uh, slightly more diminutive Tom Cruise. Paramount is potentially looking at Jack Reacher to become a franchise, but Cruise's lack of physical similarities has been a sticking point for Reacher fans, whom the studio is hoping to eventually win over. Child, meanwhile, has given the casting of Cruise his blessing, and, in a recent interview with Playboy (via The Playlist), revealed why he felt Cruise was a good choice for the character.
Trailers that play by their own rulesSaturdays 10:00a ET / 7:00a PT
When you transfer a book to the screen, something’s going to give. It seems to me there are three essential things about Reacher. First, he’s smart. Second, he’s still and quiet yet menacing. Third, he’s huge. It was always likely we were going to lose one of those characteristics. The question was which. For a long time we were fixated on his physique. We had to have a big guy. But we got nowhere. There were no actors big enough who could do even one of the other things. Then it came as an epiphany. Give up the physique and concentrate on Reacher’s smartness and quietness.
While that seems like a logical decision, Childs knows that it may not be enough for the more ardent Reacher fans.
Readers feel they have some incredibly intimate possession. Reacher is theirs alone. Now suddenly this will be blown open. They get defensive. They think, I don’t want this taken away from me. This is my private thing, and the whole world is going to see it. The nature of the relationship has changed. People feel hostile toward someone else’s interpretation of a book. Their default position is opposition. I say to them, “See the movie, and then we’ll talk about it.” My guess is that out of every 100 book lovers, 75 will say, “That was really good.” And 25 will hate it. There’s just nothing you can do about that.
With a new trailer arriving online, fans can now tale another look at the movie and see if they can move past some of the perceived, well, shortcomings.
Adapted and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (The Way of the Gun), Jack Reacher co-stars Robert Duvall (Days of Thunder), Richard Jenkins (Let Me In) and David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Next Showing: Jack Reacher opens December 21st