TOM CRUISE BACKS A WINNER WITH JACK REACHER

UNLIKE many journalists, I have a soft spot for Tom Cruise. I don't judge him on his religious beliefs or his relationship with Katie Holmes - I just see a bloke whose kids from his marriage to Nicole Kidman adore him, who lives his own life and who brings joy to millions as one of the world's best actors.
      But, of course, I have noted the bad publicity Cruise has amassed of late and I was interested to see if he would cop another load of flak after taking on the role of Jack Reacher in his latest movie outing.
      I myself love Lee Child's books about the Yankee loner who drifts from town to town and invariably ends up sorting out the bad guys.
      But there was a real unease about the casting of Cruise, who is 5 and a half feet, in the role of Reacher, who is 6 and a half feet - and twice the physical build.
      Cruise and his studio had invested $10million buying into the Reacher franchise - a gamble...but one that I have to say has paid off.
      Cruise is brilliant as Reacher. Forget the size difference - you don't notice thanks to clever camera angles and the lean shape Cruise is in for a bloke of 50.
      He conveys the essence of the character and I reckon Cruise has made probably the cleverest move of his career - and the best film too.
      From being a bloke on the verge of becoming yesterday's man, Cruise's investment has now opened up a future that he could surely only have dreamed of.
     The future is his as he now has the whole back catalogue of Reacher books to bring to the big screen - in one clever swoop he has established a future for himself that you wouldn't have thought possible at the height of his break-up from Holmes earlier this year.
      Cruise is Reacher - he has pulled it off against the odds - and for that brave plunge into the unknown, which could have ended his career, he deserves a bit of credit.
       But don't just believe me - go and see the film for yourselves...

FRANK WORRALL