The story takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a lone shooter with a scoped rifle takes his time picking out his victims on the other side of the river at the PNC Park.  Women, children, men are all in his scope when suddenly he starts to take his shots.  Five people drop to the ground that day and the director decides not only to show the audience a bit of who they were in their personal lives but also those last seconds that they were running for their lives praying that that moment is not the last time they’re going to take a breath.  Unfortunately it was which made it hard to watch especially after seeing that they were mothers, daughters, husbands, wives, similar in so many ways to today’s reality making it ever so easy it seems for anyone with a gun to kill from a distance.
When clues are left behind the District Attorney Alex Rodin (Richard Jenkins) and Detective Emerson (David Oyelowo) are on the case to find the shooter and bring him to justice.  One problem, they capture the wrong man, James Barr (Joseph Sikora), an ex-military gunman with a sordid past.  Barr asks for one thing, one person, the man not to help but rather bury him, Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise), a man with extensive military background and a clean record but to most a ghost since he disappeared two years ago unable to be located by anyone.  That is until he hears of Barr’s dilemma on the news and takes it upon himself to show up at the D.A’s office where he meets up with the attorney defending Barr, Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), an attractive blonde that happens to be the daughter of the D.A. 
Soon thereafter Helen Rodin and Reacher end up working together on Barr’s case, trying to prove his innocence.  Little does Helen know at first that this case is a bit more complicated than she ever expected it to be since it turns out there is much more at stake and several other players involved in the game.  A game full of reasons that ultimately lead to a closed case but not before Reacher deals with several fist fights, car chases, gun fights and miles of investigation that at one point lead him to Ohio where he meets Cash (Robert Duvall) who shines a very bright light on just who Archer versus LeBendeur is and the corruption that is constantly staring Reacher in the face on a daily basis.
The film is well directed giving the audience a first-hand look inside the scope of a killer who has one motive in his sights which is to kill and not care who gets in the way.  It is truly the writing though that is the winner here since much of the dialogue within the story mainly with Reacher is intriguing yet whimsical and witty making the audience roar with laughter at times then slip right back into the suspense of the story.  Cruise does a nice job with his character but at times seems to act a bit stiff and mechanical acting like he is trying to remember his lines or else in need of a bathroom break.  Pike is easy on the eyes but it is her eyes in the film that seem to make her appear a bit over-dramatic and uncertain making her character appear more weak than strong.  Duvall can do no wrong and once again he proves his worth to this story as he brings in a burst of life in the story where needed.  Jenkins is not a huge role here but once again proves he can play well with others.  Jai Courtney the actual shooter in this story is a bit easy on the eyes sure to captivate the female audience overall likeable on the screen.  The Zec (Werner Herzog) who plays a bad guy out to destroy Reacher hits his mark but appears a bit sluggish and odd yet believable.  As for Oyelowo he seems to be a bit of a pawn within the story not being able to truly bring enough guts and strength to his character.  Sandy (Alexia Fast) is a bit of a throwback to the seventies but albeit a character that helps the writers and Cruise shine in several scenes.  In the end the film is not up to Cruise’s “Ghost Protocol” role but he does the story justice although if the powers that be shaved off at least 20 minutes from this story it may have made it a bit more enticing for all to see otherwise I’d have to give it two paws out of four as being a mediocre attempt to bring the Jack Reacher character to the big screen.  I’m Jon Patch.