Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

[00:00:01] Blank Check with Griffin and David, Blank Check with Griffin

[00:00:07] What to say or to expect?

[00:00:13] All you need to know is that the name of the show is Blank Check

[00:00:20] You think I'm a hero? I'm not a hero. I'm a drifter with nothing to lose.

[00:00:24] Now you killed that girl to put me in a frame.

[00:00:26] I mean to beat you to death and drink your blood from a boot.

[00:00:28] Now this is how it's gonna work.

[00:00:29] You're gonna give me the address, and I'll be along when I'm damn good and ready.

[00:00:33] She doesn't answer the phone when I call this number.

[00:00:35] If I even think you've heard her, I disappear.

[00:00:37] And if you're smart, that scares you because I'm in your blind spot and I have nothing better to podcast.

[00:00:42] Nothing better to podcast.

[00:00:44] Hello everybody. My name is Griffin Newman.

[00:00:47] My name is David Sim.

[00:00:49] This is a podcast called Blank Check with Griffin and David.

[00:00:57] I don't know what this is that you're doing. What's this?

[00:00:59] We are hashtag the two friends.

[00:01:00] Yes!

[00:01:01] We're two friends. We host a podcast together.

[00:01:02] What's the premise of this podcast?

[00:01:04] We like looking at careers.

[00:01:07] Some people look at the micro, we look at the macro baby.

[00:01:10] We like charting.

[00:01:11] Yeah.

[00:01:12] And this weird conundrum. What happens when you're in Hollywood?

[00:01:15] You got some heat. You got some power.

[00:01:17] You know you're no longer begging for scraps.

[00:01:19] You have the ability to make things happen.

[00:01:22] What's happening right now?

[00:01:24] You get a blank check.

[00:01:25] Sure.

[00:01:26] Sometimes that check bounces.

[00:01:27] Sometimes it clears baby.

[00:01:28] Okay.

[00:01:29] We mostly do mini-series.

[00:01:31] But once in a while.

[00:01:32] We do a one-off.

[00:01:33] Once in a while something sparks our interest.

[00:01:35] Right.

[00:01:36] And there's a combination of factors.

[00:01:38] You know?

[00:01:39] Yeah.

[00:01:40] A, a movie comes out that we just can't help but talk about.

[00:01:43] Okay.

[00:01:44] Yeah.

[00:01:45] Right.

[00:01:46] We see the movie and we're like, ah!

[00:01:47] Ah!

[00:01:48] And you and I just feel like this ties together to some themes that we've been talking

[00:01:51] about other episodes.

[00:01:52] We got to fucking talk about this movie.

[00:01:53] Right.

[00:01:54] Part two is we've been told that our ratings are good when we do one-offs about

[00:01:58] films currently in theaters.

[00:01:59] That's true.

[00:02:00] People like to see movies that are in theaters rather than unavailable on all streaming platforms

[00:02:05] or even on Blu-ray and DVD like The Abyss.

[00:02:08] Subtweet The Abyss.

[00:02:10] We don't try to abuse that but it's, you know, we try to mix it up a little bit,

[00:02:13] try to throw one of these in every once in a while, right?

[00:02:15] Yeah.

[00:02:16] And part three is sometimes we have scheduling issues and we have a hard time lucking

[00:02:18] down the guests we want for the episode on the right day because everyone's schedules

[00:02:21] are crazy and we don't want to go a week without doing an episode.

[00:02:25] Of course.

[00:02:26] So that means today we're here to talk about a very important movie.

[00:02:30] Don't you're, I feel like we were always going to do this.

[00:02:32] I tweeted it you months ago saying we got to do this.

[00:02:35] Well I had told you years ago that this movie should be seen.

[00:02:39] And I was like, huh, I don't know man.

[00:02:41] And then I, you know, I got around to it.

[00:02:43] Then you tweeted me and you were like why didn't you tell me to see this movie?

[00:02:45] This is my favorite movie of all time.

[00:02:46] It's the best movie ever made.

[00:02:47] Yeah, I agree.

[00:02:48] I've been telling you that for fucking years.

[00:02:49] Well, okay, I got around to it.

[00:02:51] So you finally got around to it on the eve of its sequel.

[00:02:54] Yeah, probably.

[00:02:55] I watched a couple months ago.

[00:02:56] And you and I, yeah, I think like a month or two ago.

[00:02:59] And we were like, we should do something for this franchise,

[00:03:01] especially after seeing the second one.

[00:03:03] You and I went to an advanced screening of the second one.

[00:03:05] We did.

[00:03:06] We haven't said the name yet.

[00:03:07] No.

[00:03:08] And people will know because it's a podcast

[00:03:11] and it's in the title of the episode that downloaded.

[00:03:13] The day we're recording this episode, the movie's coming out.

[00:03:17] Yes, it comes out this evening, I guess.

[00:03:19] Yes, it comes out right now.

[00:03:20] Yeah.

[00:03:21] This will drop on the Monday after when we know the box office

[00:03:24] results.

[00:03:25] Yeah, it'll make 25 million.

[00:03:26] I think it'll make less.

[00:03:27] I think it'll make 17.

[00:03:28] Yeah, of course.

[00:03:29] It's only open to 15.

[00:03:30] Right, but it was a very nice.

[00:03:31] But that 5.2 multiple is a Christmas corridor.

[00:03:33] Yeah, and you know, it was a nice little word of mouth,

[00:03:36] you know, a dad movie.

[00:03:37] Yeah, it ended up at 80 domestic and I think like 250 worldwide.

[00:03:40] Not huge numbers.

[00:03:42] Not something that would automatically lead to a sequel.

[00:03:44] Fine.

[00:03:45] But I think an interesting phenomenon here is that

[00:03:47] the star of this franchise really wants to make it a franchise.

[00:03:50] I guess so.

[00:03:51] I think, and we were talking about this

[00:03:53] and I'm sure we will talk about this.

[00:03:55] He sees longevity in this for him.

[00:03:58] Oh, we're going to talk about this.

[00:04:00] But the story, the narrative we're telling

[00:04:02] in this very special one-off episode is how Tom

[00:04:06] keeps trying to make reach happen.

[00:04:09] Ladies and gentlemen, enough suspense.

[00:04:12] Yep.

[00:04:13] You've already read the title of the episode.

[00:04:14] Yep.

[00:04:15] You of course now are listening to...

[00:04:17] We don't actually...

[00:04:18] Jack Reachcast.

[00:04:19] Okay, there we go.

[00:04:20] Never pod home.

[00:04:21] Never pod back.

[00:04:22] Never go pod.

[00:04:24] We're going to have to figure that out.

[00:04:26] I was about to say we actually didn't talk about

[00:04:27] with the title of the episode.

[00:04:28] Jack Reachcast colon.

[00:04:29] We agree on that?

[00:04:30] Jack Reachcast colon.

[00:04:32] Never pod back.

[00:04:34] Never pod back.

[00:04:35] Never pod back.

[00:04:37] Yes, that's what we should do.

[00:04:38] Jack Reachcast.

[00:04:39] Never pod back.

[00:04:40] Great.

[00:04:41] So we swapped pod and cast, we inverted them.

[00:04:44] Sometimes you gotta.

[00:04:45] Sometimes you gotta invert.

[00:04:46] And that's what we're doing today.

[00:04:48] We're inverting this format of our show.

[00:04:51] I don't know, whatever.

[00:04:52] Here we are.

[00:04:53] We're talking about Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher

[00:04:56] Never Go Back.

[00:04:57] We're going to talk about the series of Jack Reacher.

[00:05:00] We might spoil Jack Reacher Never Go Back a little bit.

[00:05:03] But look, you've had a whole weekend.

[00:05:05] So if you got to get to Jack Reacher

[00:05:08] Never Go Back, please do that

[00:05:10] and then listen to this podcast.

[00:05:12] But what we'll mostly be talking about,

[00:05:14] Reacher 1, I don't know.

[00:05:15] We'll talk about it all.

[00:05:16] We're going to talk about it all.

[00:05:17] No, this overlaps with some, you know,

[00:05:19] themes that have been going on recently in the podcast.

[00:05:21] In our Cameron Curb mini series,

[00:05:22] we talked about old TC a lot.

[00:05:24] TC 14?

[00:05:26] Tom Cruise 14.

[00:05:30] Yeah, we've talked about Tommy Cruise.

[00:05:32] We like Tommy Cruise as a fascinating case study

[00:05:34] in our blank check sort of uvra.

[00:05:36] Right.

[00:05:37] And he is kind of a blank check actor.

[00:05:39] Absolutely.

[00:05:40] It's Tom Cruise production, as it announced.

[00:05:42] And he's kind of an out tour of all his movies

[00:05:44] because his persona is so big.

[00:05:46] And so under his control.

[00:05:48] He hires the directors.

[00:05:50] He very much manages his brand and his narrative.

[00:05:52] For 20 years now, Mission Impossible,

[00:05:55] which was the first Cruise Wagner production.

[00:05:57] Now it's just Tom Cruise production.

[00:05:59] That was the first time he was sort of overseeing

[00:06:01] everything and that's just been the norm for him ever since.

[00:06:03] And the key thing is between, you know,

[00:06:06] Top Gun, which is the thing that elevated him to A-Wagen.

[00:06:09] Made him a big superstar.

[00:06:11] Right, like Risky Business made him a star.

[00:06:13] No, sure, but...

[00:06:14] Top Gun made him a superstar.

[00:06:15] Thumbs up.

[00:06:16] And now he's got the blank check.

[00:06:17] He, between that film and...

[00:06:20] Take a look at his little...

[00:06:22] And Mission Impossible, I would argue,

[00:06:24] with very few exceptions,

[00:06:26] went about trying to work with

[00:06:28] all the best living American director.

[00:06:30] Caller Mone Scorsese.

[00:06:32] Who directed Cocktail?

[00:06:33] Cocktail was the exception.

[00:06:34] Cocktail is the exception.

[00:06:35] I said we're very few.

[00:06:36] Rain Man Barry Levenson.

[00:06:37] Born on 4th of July Oliver Stone.

[00:06:38] Who directed Days of Thunder?

[00:06:39] That doesn't count.

[00:06:40] Who directed Days of Thunder?

[00:06:41] Tony Scott, he brought it back home.

[00:06:42] Tony Scott, yeah, that's fine.

[00:06:43] Far and Away, Ron Howard,

[00:06:44] few good Med Rob Reiner.

[00:06:45] The firm is...

[00:06:46] Sydney Pollock?

[00:06:47] Pollock, exactly.

[00:06:48] Interview with the vampire, Neil Jordan.

[00:06:50] Like he's making a lot of Oscar plays.

[00:06:52] He's making a lot of serious movies.

[00:06:54] But these are a lot of like...

[00:06:55] He's tossing in a couple fun ones

[00:06:56] for the fans.

[00:06:58] These are heavy hitters of the 80s and 90s.

[00:07:00] And he's sort of going through them

[00:07:01] and trying to, I think, figure out.

[00:07:02] And he's working with also other huge movie stars.

[00:07:05] He's working with Paul Newman.

[00:07:07] He's working with Dustin Hoffman.

[00:07:08] He's working with Jack Nicholson, you know?

[00:07:11] Often, almost always kind of...

[00:07:13] Almost playing a supporting role to them

[00:07:14] in terms of like...

[00:07:15] Which is interesting.

[00:07:16] He's often taking the less interesting role,

[00:07:18] doing a decent job usually.

[00:07:20] He's kind of being the straight man

[00:07:21] or the kid or the project.

[00:07:22] Yeah.

[00:07:23] I mean apart from born on 4th of July,

[00:07:25] which is a real sort of bravera,

[00:07:28] like give me an Oscar,

[00:07:29] pay attention to me performance.

[00:07:31] And is both his first Oscar nomination

[00:07:32] and at the time,

[00:07:34] the youngest person ever to be nominated

[00:07:37] for Best Actor at the Oscar.

[00:07:38] Is that true?

[00:07:39] Yeah, which is crazy.

[00:07:40] That seems insane, but it's 100% true.

[00:07:42] How old was he?

[00:07:43] 29?

[00:07:44] Yeah.

[00:07:45] They do favor, you know,

[00:07:46] they go older with the actors

[00:07:47] than they do with actors.

[00:07:48] But now like Eddie Redmayne won,

[00:07:49] he was like 27 or something.

[00:07:51] No, he's not.

[00:07:52] Eddie Redmayne's older than you think he is.

[00:07:53] He's like 33.

[00:07:54] I thought he was the youngest one

[00:07:56] or ever when he won.

[00:07:57] No, it's still Adrian Brody

[00:07:58] who was 29 when he won.

[00:07:59] Oh yeah, fair enough.

[00:08:00] Okay.

[00:08:01] Eddie Redmayne was like 33 when he won.

[00:08:02] Eddie Redmayne just...

[00:08:03] Right, which means he's now 34.

[00:08:05] But he seems like he's 12.

[00:08:07] Right, okay.

[00:08:08] Whereas for Best Actress,

[00:08:10] it's Juan Tomei Wallace who was 6 when he won.

[00:08:13] Well that's nominee, right.

[00:08:14] Anyway.

[00:08:15] I'm saying Tom Cruise was the youngest

[00:08:16] nominee ever and he was 29.

[00:08:18] There's a big difference between

[00:08:19] Best Actor and Best Actor.

[00:08:20] Sure, sure.

[00:08:21] I need to look this up

[00:08:22] because you're confusing me.

[00:08:23] And I mean, because I'm interested.

[00:08:25] Throw out too many stats who can choose.

[00:08:26] You are, you're throwing out one.

[00:08:27] Okay.

[00:08:28] It's early.

[00:08:29] We don't usually record this early.

[00:08:31] But Tom Cruise, the narrative of Tom Cruise,

[00:08:35] we've been talking about a lot, right?

[00:08:37] And I think this Jack Reacher franchise,

[00:08:39] this budding franchise, you know,

[00:08:41] is very emblematic of the sort of

[00:08:44] weird space he's in right now.

[00:08:46] The sort of crossroads he's at in his career.

[00:08:49] The other thing this overlaps with is

[00:08:51] we talked a lot about in our Bender Siege 2

[00:08:53] dark podcast episode.

[00:08:55] That it was representative of a movie

[00:08:57] that kind of doesn't really exist anymore.

[00:08:59] And especially not at that level.

[00:09:01] And the equivalent is like the Jason Statham

[00:09:02] movies, which are a lot cheaper, you know?

[00:09:05] You're way off in the set.

[00:09:06] I don't know where you got this stat from,

[00:09:08] but it's not true.

[00:09:09] You just, it's not true.

[00:09:10] How old was Tom Cruise?

[00:09:11] Oh, I don't know, but he doesn't even make

[00:09:13] the top 10 of youngest nominee.

[00:09:14] At the time?

[00:09:15] Yeah, at the time.

[00:09:16] I mean, there's a couple newer entries in here.

[00:09:18] Maybe he'd make the top 10.

[00:09:19] Who's the youngest of all time?

[00:09:20] Jackie Cooper for Skippy in 1930.

[00:09:23] He was nine years old.

[00:09:25] So where did I hear this fucking stat?

[00:09:26] I have no idea.

[00:09:27] Mickey Rooney got two nominations when he was a teenager.

[00:09:30] John Travolta, 24 years old for Saturday Night Fever

[00:09:33] is your youngest like kind of non-old fashioned Oscar nominee.

[00:09:38] James Dean got two nominations before he died.

[00:09:40] Where did I hear this fucking bullshit?

[00:09:41] Ryan Gosling, Orson Welles for Citizen Kane

[00:09:43] was only 26 years old.

[00:09:45] Heath Ledger was only 26 years old.

[00:09:47] So this is insane.

[00:09:48] I'm sorry that was me.

[00:09:49] I said that to you.

[00:09:50] Oh yeah, thanks.

[00:09:51] Wait a second.

[00:09:52] Just for a second.

[00:09:53] Heath Ledger was only 26

[00:09:54] when he made Brooke Beck Mountain.

[00:09:55] That's crazy.

[00:09:56] Fuck that.

[00:09:57] It sucks that he's dead.

[00:09:58] Okay.

[00:09:59] That guy was a great actor.

[00:10:00] I don't know where you got that from,

[00:10:01] but when you said it,

[00:10:02] it just tripped like a huge-

[00:10:03] I'll tell you who I got it from.

[00:10:04] I got it from our fucking producer.

[00:10:06] Oh, do you want to introduce him?

[00:10:07] Producer Ben?

[00:10:08] Yeah.

[00:10:09] The Ben Deucer?

[00:10:10] That's the men.

[00:10:11] Producer Ben?

[00:10:12] The men.

[00:10:13] The poet laureate?

[00:10:14] The haze?

[00:10:15] Mr. Hosidiff?

[00:10:16] Mr. Positive?

[00:10:17] Wow, okay.

[00:10:18] Birthday Benny?

[00:10:19] Sure.

[00:10:20] The tiebreaker?

[00:10:21] The fuckmaster?

[00:10:22] Hello, Fennel?

[00:10:23] Yeah.

[00:10:24] Our finest film critic?

[00:10:25] White Hop Benny?

[00:10:26] God, you're yelling a lot.

[00:10:27] What was the one we came up with last week?

[00:10:29] Soak in wet Benny?

[00:10:30] I don't remember.

[00:10:31] Look, if it doesn't-

[00:10:33] It's been a couple of weeks since we recorded it.

[00:10:35] If it doesn't catch in our brains

[00:10:37] and the fans don't tweet it at us a lot,

[00:10:39] I feel like it hasn't survived Darwinism, right?

[00:10:42] Like, it just didn't make it.

[00:10:43] I agree.

[00:10:44] Something like wet Ben, I remember that.

[00:10:45] We can't make these catchphrases.

[00:10:46] I mean, these nicknames happen.

[00:10:48] They were all organically created.

[00:10:50] Oh, but here's one we came up with

[00:10:51] on our Terminator 2 episode

[00:10:52] that has stocked dirt bikes.

[00:10:54] Dirt bike, Ben.

[00:10:55] Oh, God.

[00:10:56] That is pretty good.

[00:10:58] I feel like we didn't delve into it

[00:11:00] in the Terminator 2 episode enough

[00:11:01] just how obviously Ben was

[00:11:03] young John Connor in the 90s.

[00:11:05] And so kind of he is.

[00:11:06] And so kind of he is.

[00:11:07] But like, it's- yeah, dirt bike,

[00:11:09] you know, listening to Public Enemy.

[00:11:10] What else were you doing?

[00:11:11] You were swiping candy bars from the,

[00:11:13] you know, Wawa.

[00:11:14] I don't know, Ben, come on.

[00:11:15] Yeah, shoplifting.

[00:11:16] I had a slingshot.

[00:11:18] Cool stuff.

[00:11:19] Yeah, he was a mix between Bart Simpson

[00:11:21] and John Connor.

[00:11:22] Yeah, well, John Connor and Bart Simpson

[00:11:25] they're inextricably linked.

[00:11:26] I looked up to both of them.

[00:11:28] Ben, what did you do with your slingshot?

[00:11:30] Why would you have a slingshot?

[00:11:32] You'd shoot Butterfinger babies at people.

[00:11:34] Yeah, no, it's not good.

[00:11:36] Oh, no.

[00:11:37] Really?

[00:11:38] What did you do?

[00:11:39] Did you like shoot at cars

[00:11:40] like on the highway or something?

[00:11:42] Yeah, I mean we would shoot rocks

[00:11:44] onto the highway.

[00:11:46] And yeah, you know,

[00:11:49] we would shoot rocks at each other.

[00:11:51] Sometimes just have fun.

[00:11:54] Oh, my God.

[00:11:56] You know, it's pretty dangerous stuff.

[00:11:58] I'm still here though, baby.

[00:12:00] You're still here.

[00:12:01] That is true.

[00:12:02] Here's what's not true.

[00:12:03] You are not Professor Crespi.

[00:12:05] Never.

[00:12:06] And people keep on saying,

[00:12:07] God, it's tough because the audio is so

[00:12:09] crisp and I go don't.

[00:12:11] And then last week,

[00:12:12] we did our crazy fucking time jump

[00:12:16] head fuck.

[00:12:18] Oh, yeah.

[00:12:19] We did our performance, you mean it for the Abyss?

[00:12:21] No way.

[00:12:22] What are you talking about?

[00:12:23] Yeah, no, for Terminator 2 where we acted like...

[00:12:25] Oh, yeah, right, right.

[00:12:26] Oh, no, it was for the Abyss

[00:12:27] we acted like we hadn't already.

[00:12:29] Well, I'm going to save the nickname.

[00:12:31] But people said God, Ben's performance

[00:12:33] was so crisp in that.

[00:12:35] And it was like, don't even...

[00:12:37] Okay, fine.

[00:12:38] Don't!

[00:12:39] Yeah, then he had...

[00:12:40] Jesus, this is so...

[00:12:41] He's graduated certain titles over the series.

[00:12:43] Many series.

[00:12:44] Bruce Ben Knove.

[00:12:46] Ben.

[00:12:47] Ben Seyit.

[00:12:48] Ben Aishamalan.

[00:12:50] He is, say, Benny...

[00:12:52] Say Benny thing.

[00:12:53] I like it a lot.

[00:12:54] Democracy reversed.

[00:12:55] Rigged!

[00:12:56] Rigged!

[00:12:57] But yeah, in the Abyss we pretended

[00:12:59] we hadn't reversed it yet.

[00:13:00] Right.

[00:13:01] Because it had to come before.

[00:13:02] Right.

[00:13:03] Listen back to our wonderful archive

[00:13:04] if you like any of this bullshit we're doing.

[00:13:06] I can't imagine why.

[00:13:07] Everyone loves it.

[00:13:08] Jack...

[00:13:09] I already forgot.

[00:13:11] Jack Castor?

[00:13:12] Jack Reachcast.

[00:13:13] Jack Reachcast.

[00:13:14] Jack Reachcast.

[00:13:15] Never pod back.

[00:13:16] Here we are.

[00:13:17] We're going to talk about these movies

[00:13:19] that I feel like even to this day

[00:13:21] are, especially the first one,

[00:13:23] is just kind of largely dismissed, right?

[00:13:25] It has its fans.

[00:13:26] Yeah, it's the equivalent of an under siege movie

[00:13:29] in that it was a studio $60 million big A-list star.

[00:13:33] It was just more unusual because it came in 2012

[00:13:36] when there's just less of those around,

[00:13:38] especially starting people like Tom Cruise.

[00:13:40] And everyone at the time was like,

[00:13:41] what the fuck is this movie?

[00:13:42] Like this feels like, because Tom Cruise,

[00:13:44] when he picks a movie it always sort of feels like an event.

[00:13:47] Whether it's good or bad,

[00:13:49] he makes these strategic choices where it's like,

[00:13:52] you're going to get an annual Tom Cruise movie

[00:13:54] and it's going to mean something.

[00:13:55] And Jack Reachor kind of felt like a toss off on its face.

[00:13:58] Right.

[00:13:59] You know it was just Tom Cruise with a leather jacket

[00:14:01] in the car?

[00:14:02] What is this movie?

[00:14:03] And I remember there were my friend Alan Saponwall

[00:14:07] who's a TV critic for HipHicks.

[00:14:10] Great Alan Saponwall.

[00:14:12] Loves the Jack Reachor book, right?

[00:14:15] Yeah, go ahead and open your bagel, bastard.

[00:14:18] Wait, you mean this bagel?

[00:14:20] Yeah.

[00:14:21] You mean the bagel dooser?

[00:14:22] Producer bagel?

[00:14:23] No, no.

[00:14:24] Produer bagel?

[00:14:25] All right, stop.

[00:14:26] Jack Reachor.

[00:14:27] I had to wait until certain tells were this.

[00:14:29] And I heard this not to...

[00:14:31] Hi, little bagel.

[00:14:32] Can you just...

[00:14:33] Say bagel thing.

[00:14:34] Dirt bike bagel.

[00:14:36] Go on.

[00:14:37] I heard it from him and I think I heard it from a couple other fans of the books.

[00:14:41] Tom Cruise, he's all wrong for Jack Reachor.

[00:14:44] Jack Reachor is supposed to be like 6'5",

[00:14:46] like this kind of hulking guy.

[00:14:47] Like he's supposed to be huge and really imposing.

[00:14:50] He's supposed to be a physical threat.

[00:14:51] Like if you saw him you would be scared.

[00:14:53] Exactly.

[00:14:54] And the shadow sort of like, you know, precedes him.

[00:14:56] And I remember the trailer for Jack Reachor dropped

[00:14:58] and it's just that scene in the first movie where

[00:15:01] he's about to fight all the guys

[00:15:03] and he's like, just to be clear,

[00:15:05] you wanted this.

[00:15:06] You know?

[00:15:07] And it's one of those, it's kind of like a take-in or...

[00:15:09] I mean, well we should talk about that.

[00:15:11] This is in sort of that broad genre of like

[00:15:13] don't fuck with him movies, right?

[00:15:14] But I mean, it just seems so silly in the trailer.

[00:15:16] You're like, look, I get that Tom Cruise is an action star.

[00:15:19] I mean, but come on, like they're not going to be scared of Tom Cruise.

[00:15:23] Like this is silly.

[00:15:24] Well, but to back up a little bit,

[00:15:26] there are 20 Jack Reachor books, right?

[00:15:28] I think 21.

[00:15:29] Really?

[00:15:30] I think 21 maybe just came out to coincide with the release of this.

[00:15:33] Yeah, maybe let me...

[00:15:34] There's a new one that just came out, I know.

[00:15:36] I love the titles and we find the book series.

[00:15:38] Yeah, but they're a series of like,

[00:15:40] you know, essentially like airport paperbacks.

[00:15:43] 21, which is called Night School,

[00:15:45] is coming out next month.

[00:15:46] So yes, there have been 20.

[00:15:48] The last one was called Make Me.

[00:15:54] Jack Reachor, Make Me.

[00:15:55] Make Me.

[00:15:56] They are essentially though, like they're like,

[00:15:58] you know, airplane, like, you know,

[00:16:00] beach read kind of like...

[00:16:02] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:16:03] Yeah, it's an uncle's and grandpa's.

[00:16:05] Much like James Patterson or, you know, Sue Grafton.

[00:16:08] You know, they kind of...

[00:16:09] They pump them out maybe once a year.

[00:16:11] It's just, yeah, it's at a once a year.

[00:16:13] Now it's at a twice a year pace almost.

[00:16:15] Right.

[00:16:16] So it's a way up once a year.

[00:16:17] But this is the character Lee Child has found.

[00:16:18] Absolutely.

[00:16:19] He's kind of like his Sherlock Holmes.

[00:16:21] You know, it says a guy you just want to place

[00:16:23] in different situations, in different cases.

[00:16:25] And he's got his sort of milieu

[00:16:26] in his world that he lives in.

[00:16:28] The physical presence is a big part of the book.

[00:16:30] Yeah, one of the most...

[00:16:31] The oddest things about it is that Lee Child is a British author.

[00:16:34] Oh, that's very odd.

[00:16:35] And for some reason decided with this year...

[00:16:37] He's written other things I think to like...

[00:16:39] He wanted like this character to be American.

[00:16:41] He wanted him to be a former military policeman.

[00:16:43] Right.

[00:16:44] And like he wanted to write about like the Midwest

[00:16:46] and the, you know, the sort of small town

[00:16:48] kind of vibe in the U.S.

[00:16:50] I don't know.

[00:16:51] So there's a weird sort of fetishization there.

[00:16:53] But it also is weird that like most people

[00:16:55] don't even know how a military policeman works.

[00:16:58] And Lee Child's like, nah, nah, nah.

[00:17:00] Former military policeman.

[00:17:01] Yeah, right.

[00:17:02] Like he's working outside of jurisdiction.

[00:17:04] That's what I love about these movies.

[00:17:05] Me too.

[00:17:06] I mean, because it...

[00:17:07] Like I don't know how fucking...

[00:17:08] I mean, it's like...

[00:17:09] Makes no sense.

[00:17:10] I was trying to explain this to someone.

[00:17:11] Crime is committed within the, you know,

[00:17:13] Amdurans of the U.S. Army.

[00:17:15] Then sure, like the military cops investigate

[00:17:18] and then there's like Jags who are like military lawyers

[00:17:21] and they go to like court marshals and stuff.

[00:17:23] But like nobody...

[00:17:24] It doesn't matter.

[00:17:25] It's what's fun about it, right?

[00:17:26] Yes.

[00:17:27] Like do whatever he wants probably and we're just like,

[00:17:29] yeah, it's probably how military cops work, right?

[00:17:31] I don't know.

[00:17:32] And both of these movies can...

[00:17:33] And you can move around.

[00:17:34] Yes, that's true.

[00:17:35] Military bases all over America, right?

[00:17:37] But those are these movies.

[00:17:38] Both of these movies concern cases where the people

[00:17:41] at the center of them are not on active duty.

[00:17:45] Like he doesn't solve cases of things

[00:17:47] that happen on the battlefield.

[00:17:48] No.

[00:17:49] It's like vets doing shit.

[00:17:50] Often.

[00:17:51] Yes.

[00:17:52] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:17:53] Lee Child, you know, I guess...

[00:17:55] US Army Military Police Corps.

[00:17:57] Police Corps.

[00:17:58] That is what they are called.

[00:17:59] I think people had tried to make Jack Reacher films

[00:18:01] for a little while just because of something that's

[00:18:03] successful and it goes on for that long,

[00:18:04] there's always sort of interest.

[00:18:06] Absolutely.

[00:18:07] And I mean, we've seen it before like the long running

[00:18:10] James Patterson series where it was Morgan Freeman

[00:18:13] and then they...

[00:18:15] The Alex Cross movies.

[00:18:16] Don't cross Alex Cross.

[00:18:17] And then they tried to reboot it with Tyler Perry.

[00:18:19] Don't cross Alex Cross.

[00:18:20] But that didn't work.

[00:18:21] Right.

[00:18:22] I'm trying to think of other recent examples of this.

[00:18:25] Well, these detective novels often weirdly don't

[00:18:28] translate.

[00:18:29] It's odd.

[00:18:30] Yeah.

[00:18:31] I think it's hard to make the characters as iconic

[00:18:37] as they are in the series.

[00:18:40] Sure.

[00:18:41] You know, because like the iconic part is sort of

[00:18:44] the structure and like the format of the books.

[00:18:47] And the characters is able to...

[00:18:49] You know, they sort of...

[00:18:50] This works better in TV.

[00:18:52] Yes, 100%.

[00:18:53] They're procedural.

[00:18:54] That's what you're saying.

[00:18:55] And you're right.

[00:18:56] Because there's a repetitive nature to it.

[00:18:58] Absolutely.

[00:18:59] Tom Cruise takes a liking and is like,

[00:19:00] I want to do Jack Reacher.

[00:19:01] That's my new franchise.

[00:19:02] That's my new franchise.

[00:19:03] That's how it works for Tom Cruise.

[00:19:04] Even in his diminished stardom,

[00:19:06] which I would argue he's a little bit of a diminished

[00:19:09] star, you know, he wants to make something

[00:19:12] that's going to happen.

[00:19:13] Right.

[00:19:14] Now, as a counterpoint, Clive Cussler wrote Sahara,

[00:19:17] right?

[00:19:18] He freaked out, right?

[00:19:20] He sells the rights.

[00:19:21] They hire Matthew McConaughey.

[00:19:22] He sues the studio that makes Sahara.

[00:19:25] Yeah.

[00:19:26] Because he's like, this character is important to me.

[00:19:27] He's somewhat autobiographical.

[00:19:29] Yeah.

[00:19:30] He literally like, how dare you cast Matthew McConaughey?

[00:19:32] Like you're ruining my character.

[00:19:33] Yes, 100%.

[00:19:34] People won't buy the books now because of his stupid face.

[00:19:37] Right.

[00:19:38] That was when Matthew McConaughey was at his career bottom.

[00:19:40] He was a little, right.

[00:19:42] You one would expect that Lee Child would have a similar

[00:19:45] response to Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher because he's

[00:19:48] physically so different.

[00:19:49] Right, no.

[00:19:50] Totally defended it.

[00:19:51] I don't at all loved it.

[00:19:52] He's like, it doesn't matter that he's tall.

[00:19:53] Now he's short.

[00:19:54] Who cares?

[00:19:55] Right.

[00:19:56] Like yeah.

[00:19:57] But he also said, yeah, but he said, right, because you

[00:19:59] can never use the S word with Tom Cruise.

[00:20:00] You can't, right, right, right, right, right.

[00:20:01] But he sort of said like, look, there are a lot of elements

[00:20:03] to the character.

[00:20:04] You know, a big part is the focus and just sort of

[00:20:06] like his precision and that's the thing that Tom Cruise

[00:20:08] embodies really well.

[00:20:09] Sure.

[00:20:10] And he goes, the size thing is kind of irrelevant.

[00:20:11] When you're writing a book, you write whatever the fuck

[00:20:13] you want.

[00:20:14] Right.

[00:20:15] Not wrong.

[00:20:16] Right.

[00:20:17] But the interesting thing is he said like, you know, there's

[00:20:18] no one who actually fits the physical specifications of

[00:20:20] what I described in the book.

[00:20:21] That's not a real person.

[00:20:22] Yeah, exactly.

[00:20:23] I can name you two actors right off the top of my head.

[00:20:25] Like logically Jack Reacher would be Liam Neeson or Michael

[00:20:28] Shannon.

[00:20:29] Uh.

[00:20:30] Are both built like the Jack Reacher described in the

[00:20:33] books?

[00:20:34] I guess so.

[00:20:35] Shannon I guess, yeah.

[00:20:36] Shannon actually might be incredible.

[00:20:37] I think both of them would kill it.

[00:20:39] But obviously, you know.

[00:20:40] I think both of them would fucking kill it.

[00:20:41] I'm not saying TC doesn't kill it.

[00:20:43] But I'm saying there are two guys who were Academy Award

[00:20:46] nominated actors, one of whom is a well established action

[00:20:49] star with his own franchise who totally fits the

[00:20:53] specifications of what Jack Reacher is.

[00:20:55] But they were like, not Tom wants to do it.

[00:20:57] Right.

[00:20:58] Which is fascinating.

[00:20:59] Now he makes this film, the first film in between

[00:21:01] Mission Impossible 4 and 5.

[00:21:04] Uh, yeah.

[00:21:05] That is Mission Impossible 4 had come out the previous

[00:21:08] year.

[00:21:09] 2012 is not a great year because Rock of Ages also

[00:21:11] comes out that year.

[00:21:12] Yeah, he has a bad year.

[00:21:14] That's the noise I made thinking about Rock of Ages.

[00:21:17] He hadn't had a home run for a couple of years leading

[00:21:20] up to Ghost Protocol.

[00:21:21] Ghost Protocol is a huge hit but before then it was

[00:21:23] Night and Day and Valkyrie and Lions for Lambs,

[00:21:26] which were all relative versions of Bombs.

[00:21:29] I think Night and Day did fine.

[00:21:31] Uh, you know, it didn't make enough money.

[00:21:34] But it's like a single or double.

[00:21:36] A single and two doubles.

[00:21:38] Uh, Valkyrie actually weirdly did well.

[00:21:41] He did well.

[00:21:42] $85 million for a movie nobody liked or saw and that's

[00:21:45] where he meets Christopher McQuarrie.

[00:21:47] Yes, well that's the key thing that happened there

[00:21:49] but also Valkyrie was the first Tom Cruise leading

[00:21:52] vehicle to not make $100 million in like 15 years.

[00:21:56] 20 years.

[00:21:57] Yeah.

[00:21:58] You know, so it like did pretty well but it was

[00:21:59] still like ooh, it blooms off the rose a little bit.

[00:22:01] Yeah.

[00:22:02] Teams up with Christopher McQuarrie on that who was

[00:22:04] you know, a long time collaborator.

[00:22:06] Right.

[00:22:07] But that's like he wanted to work with Bryan Singer.

[00:22:09] He was like, here's my guy who wrote usual suspects.

[00:22:11] Well, and they had this whole, I, they had this like

[00:22:13] boner for the idea that he looked a lot like the

[00:22:15] real German commander who tried to kill Hitler.

[00:22:17] Like they would like put these things online of

[00:22:19] like their face and profile.

[00:22:21] It was like an anti-jack Reacher situation.

[00:22:23] Yeah, they were like look at him.

[00:22:24] I mean it's perfect.

[00:22:25] And I remember being hyped for that movie because

[00:22:27] it had such a good supporting cast.

[00:22:29] It was like Branna, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nye,

[00:22:31] like all these like fun British theps

[00:22:34] and Tom Cruise playing Nazis.

[00:22:36] But then the accents are all off.

[00:22:38] That movie is not good.

[00:22:39] And then of course you're watching it and you're like,

[00:22:41] oh, they're not going to kill Hitler because I know that

[00:22:44] because they didn't kill Hitler.

[00:22:46] And then you sort of realize like why am I watching this

[00:22:48] movie?

[00:22:49] This movie is not interesting enough for, yeah.

[00:22:51] I'm going to disagree with you on one point.

[00:22:53] True.

[00:22:54] That movie is definitely BYOA and that's bring

[00:22:56] your own accent.

[00:22:57] Everyone just talks the way they do.

[00:22:58] Yeah.

[00:22:59] Which is weird.

[00:23:00] The opening of the film is like Tom Cruise writing

[00:23:02] a letter in German and you hear the voiceover

[00:23:04] in German and then it like crossfades into him

[00:23:07] writing the letter in English and they're like,

[00:23:09] oh so now everyone just talks in English.

[00:23:11] Yeah, it pulls that trick.

[00:23:12] The first 30 seconds of the movie are like,

[00:23:14] this is what they should be sounding like.

[00:23:15] Right.

[00:23:16] And now we're just going to let everyone talk

[00:23:17] the way they want to.

[00:23:18] Which whatever.

[00:23:19] Whatever.

[00:23:20] Yeah.

[00:23:21] The one thing I wanted to disagree with you on is

[00:23:23] I do think there's a chunk of the movie where

[00:23:25] they think that they've killed Hitler.

[00:23:27] Sure.

[00:23:28] They don't realize that it didn't work.

[00:23:30] Right.

[00:23:31] And I think there's genuine tension in that

[00:23:33] section of the movie even though you know how it ends.

[00:23:35] I agree with you.

[00:23:36] I think it does an okay job.

[00:23:38] There's like a 29th section of that movie that's

[00:23:39] kind of cracker jacked up.

[00:23:40] But they probably shouldn't have made the movie.

[00:23:42] No, it doesn't really matter.

[00:23:43] Anyway, this is not Valker cast.

[00:23:45] But, but, McCoy is a big deal.

[00:23:47] He's a big turning point because then he like

[00:23:49] teams up with McCoy and save for night and day

[00:23:51] McCoy worked on pretty much every movie

[00:23:54] he does from here on out.

[00:23:56] Well, wait no, he didn't work on...

[00:23:57] Rock of Ages.

[00:23:58] Ghost Probe.

[00:23:59] Yes, he did.

[00:24:00] What are you doing?

[00:24:01] Uncredited.

[00:24:02] Here's the thing.

[00:24:03] He's an uncredited guy who he brings in to work on

[00:24:06] every script.

[00:24:07] Uh-huh, sure.

[00:24:08] Okay?

[00:24:09] I think night and day was sort of shocked and crump,

[00:24:11] but maybe he worked on that.

[00:24:12] But I know Ghost Probe was the big thing because

[00:24:14] at the time when they hired Jeremy Renner

[00:24:16] the whole idea was passing the tour.

[00:24:18] Yeah, I know.

[00:24:19] Tom Cruise was kind of damaged good.

[00:24:21] Paramount still wanted Mission Possibly a viable

[00:24:23] franchise and so we're going to introduce another guy

[00:24:25] and this franchise is going to pass the tour.

[00:24:27] The script wasn't working.

[00:24:28] They were under the gun to get it.

[00:24:30] He went, I like McCoy, we did Valkyrie together,

[00:24:32] got him in, McCoy looked at the script and said,

[00:24:34] first of all you can't get rid of Tom Cruise.

[00:24:36] He's this franchise, this and that.

[00:24:38] And Tom Cruise has said that he totally saved that film.

[00:24:40] That's cool.

[00:24:41] I mean, Brad Bird, let's not discount the great work

[00:24:44] of Brad Bird.

[00:24:45] But he needed a script to work with.

[00:24:46] Yeah.

[00:24:47] And the script for Ghost Protocol is some fun bullshit.

[00:24:50] Right.

[00:24:51] Yeah.

[00:24:52] Right.

[00:24:53] But that...

[00:24:54] Ghost Protocol is a wonderful movie.

[00:24:55] It's one of the best movies ever made.

[00:24:56] McCoy by his own account was sort of in director jail.

[00:24:59] Because of...

[00:25:00] Way of the gun.

[00:25:01] Way of the gun, which costs like a weird amount of money.

[00:25:03] Yeah.

[00:25:04] And he had been writing stuff.

[00:25:06] But like one in Oscar very young directed a movie that

[00:25:09] bothered really hard.

[00:25:10] Writing usual suspects.

[00:25:11] Right.

[00:25:12] And then, you know, was sort of bouncing around and working

[00:25:14] on other stuff.

[00:25:15] But kind of like it felt like he was maybe a guy past his

[00:25:17] prime.

[00:25:18] You know, like he had his moment and it left.

[00:25:20] It did feel that way.

[00:25:21] It felt like he was a flash in the pan, kind of a

[00:25:23] Steven Gagan, like someone who's always going to stick

[00:25:25] around in polished scripts and, you know,

[00:25:27] make his money in Hollywood.

[00:25:28] But it's like he's not going to have another usual

[00:25:30] director or whatever.

[00:25:31] And the director thing was a non-starter, right?

[00:25:33] And then Tom Cruise takes this liking to him.

[00:25:35] He works on Ghost Protocol.

[00:25:37] He apparently, you know, saves the script, gives

[00:25:39] Brad Bird the meat to be able to turn into like a

[00:25:42] fine steak, right?

[00:25:43] Sure.

[00:25:44] He gives him the fine cut of beef.

[00:25:46] The slab of beef that Brad Bird massages and

[00:25:49] fucking grilled, you know?

[00:25:51] Pepper Crusts, right?

[00:25:52] Uh huh.

[00:25:53] Puts a little hollandaise on top.

[00:25:55] Uh huh.

[00:25:56] And it gives us a fork and knife when we go,

[00:25:57] hmm, Ghost Protocol.

[00:25:59] I would say he gave him some like, some pulled pork

[00:26:02] and Brad Bird somehow turned that into a beef steak.

[00:26:05] Like, I think Brad Bird did.

[00:26:07] Wait, it doesn't matter.

[00:26:08] Let's carry it.

[00:26:09] I think, I mean, look, no, let's carry it.

[00:26:10] But then, Cruise is like, you know what?

[00:26:12] Let's give McQuarrie another shot.

[00:26:14] And he has this way to go.

[00:26:15] Jack Reacher, it's sort of a low risk.

[00:26:17] It's a $60 million Tom Cruise franchise.

[00:26:19] That's a budget Tom Cruise movie.

[00:26:21] Sure.

[00:26:22] Let him direct it, right?

[00:26:23] R rated, do what you want.

[00:26:25] Yeah.

[00:26:26] You know, here's your book, hit book, right?

[00:26:28] You know, like work with that.

[00:26:29] McQuarrie writes it himself.

[00:26:31] Yeah.

[00:26:32] Uh, yeah.

[00:26:34] And the movie opens small, multiplies well,

[00:26:38] and does well enough overseas.

[00:26:40] 15 mil will do the box office game.

[00:26:42] Yeah.

[00:26:43] And multiplies to 80 to 18 worldwide.

[00:26:45] Fine.

[00:26:46] Not the kind of thing people are excited about at the time.

[00:26:49] And I think people are kind of just doing the like,

[00:26:53] why is he making, you know, like,

[00:26:55] I feel like the same, the same murmur about Tom Cruise's career,

[00:26:58] which is essentially he's good in the mission impossible.

[00:27:01] Everything else is kind of by the wayside at this point.

[00:27:04] Right.

[00:27:05] Right.

[00:27:06] But the big thing that comes of it is,

[00:27:08] cruise is impressed enough by the moot that he hires McQuarrie.

[00:27:12] He knocks him up to Mission Impossible,

[00:27:14] which at the time was also a weird move because here's

[00:27:17] this real director driven franchise.

[00:27:19] Yeah.

[00:27:20] And here you're giving it to him.

[00:27:21] I think everyone was baffled,

[00:27:22] but most people including me had not seen Jack Reacher.

[00:27:24] Right.

[00:27:25] And I'd seen Jack Reacher and I was like, interesting.

[00:27:27] Sure.

[00:27:28] And then I, we've argued about this many times,

[00:27:30] thanks to the Rogue Nation is the best of the five films.

[00:27:32] I think this protocol is better,

[00:27:33] but I think Rogue Nation is fantastic.

[00:27:35] Love it.

[00:27:36] Love it.

[00:27:37] And I remember I saw it with no expectations.

[00:27:40] All the advertising was he hangs off of a plane.

[00:27:44] Like that was all they wanted.

[00:27:45] Yeah.

[00:27:46] You to know is that he hung off of a plane.

[00:27:48] He does hang off of a plane and it's totally cool.

[00:27:50] There were like five minute commercials in front of your movies.

[00:27:53] Yeah.

[00:27:54] They were like, he really hung off the plane and then they cut to Tom Cruise.

[00:27:57] I sure did.

[00:27:58] And you're just like, I mean, I had this whole theory that I might have even talked about

[00:28:02] in the podcast at the time where they're like, they know the marketing knows the movie

[00:28:06] knows that Tom Cruise is crazy or at least the people perceive Tom Cruise as being

[00:28:10] crazy.

[00:28:11] So why not just have him be crazy?

[00:28:13] Own it.

[00:28:14] Yeah, exactly.

[00:28:15] Totally own it in a cool way.

[00:28:17] But like everyone in Rogue Nation essentially is like, fuck is this guy?

[00:28:21] He's crazy.

[00:28:22] Rogue Nation is the best one because they contextualized Tom Cruise the best.

[00:28:25] And it's the one film where they finally make Ethan Hunt into a character.

[00:28:29] Ghost protocol so good.

[00:28:30] Anyway, I like Ghost Protocol a lot.

[00:28:32] I think Ghost Protocol is better set pieces.

[00:28:35] I think Rogue Nation is better.

[00:28:37] Damn.

[00:28:38] But now I'm like three best.

[00:28:40] I know.

[00:28:41] But now McCory's back and now he's you know, he's doing Mission Impossible

[00:28:45] 6, which is good.

[00:28:46] Yeah.

[00:28:47] Yeah.

[00:28:48] He's doing Mission Impossible 6.

[00:28:49] He is, which is the first time a director's career.

[00:28:51] And a caring over Becca Ferguson and now it's going to become a little more serialized.

[00:28:55] But he's clearly a guy who has options who's back as director.

[00:28:58] You know, because I feel like that's what they did with Quantum of Solace where they were

[00:29:01] like, that was so good.

[00:29:02] We should continue this story right where we left it, right?

[00:29:05] Right.

[00:29:06] Like, and I don't know man, like surprise is a key element.

[00:29:10] And here's what's crazy for me too is like, then they were like, okay, new thing,

[00:29:14] Skyfall and they don't want to love Skyfall and they were like, oh, let's do that again.

[00:29:17] I know they made the exact same mistake except they even made it bigger because they kept

[00:29:20] the director and everything, you know, which made sense.

[00:29:23] Yeah.

[00:29:24] It did make sense to bring Mendes back.

[00:29:25] Skyfall was special.

[00:29:26] Like it made sense, but it also didn't make sense.

[00:29:30] Yeah.

[00:29:31] But McCory is like a power player now.

[00:29:33] I mean, I think everyone's recognized that McCory is now they should have recognized

[00:29:37] it with Jack Reacher.

[00:29:38] They should have because I'm like, you know what?

[00:29:41] I want to watch a fun little movie and I never saw Jack Reacher and I know some

[00:29:45] people like it, including Griffin New.

[00:29:47] Love it.

[00:29:48] And I like Tom Cruise.

[00:29:50] I do.

[00:29:51] I'm sorry.

[00:29:52] I love him.

[00:29:53] I've always loved Tom Cruise.

[00:29:54] I always will.

[00:29:55] Yeah.

[00:29:56] And I do.

[00:29:57] I know he does all kinds of bizarre shit and I know he's involved with a religion,

[00:29:59] quote unquote religion that, you know, terrorizes people.

[00:30:02] It makes no sense.

[00:30:03] Judaism.

[00:30:04] You want to describe my reaction to that joke?

[00:30:12] Physical.

[00:30:13] David did.

[00:30:14] It was almost like the home alone face, but the hands were higher up on the

[00:30:18] face.

[00:30:19] Yeah.

[00:30:20] Like my palms were on my.

[00:30:22] Yeah.

[00:30:23] It was like the monkey doing C no evil.

[00:30:25] I stood back and went into a corner anyway.

[00:30:28] Pained grimace is made in this padded room.

[00:30:30] And he looked like Rainfield from Dracula.

[00:30:33] We record in a padded cell, essentially.

[00:30:35] We do.

[00:30:36] It's true.

[00:30:37] Jack Reacher begins with Jai Courtney.

[00:30:40] Uh-oh.

[00:30:41] I'm like, no, no, no.

[00:30:43] I don't like Jai Courtney.

[00:30:44] We've talked about him on this podcast multiple times.

[00:30:47] His big headed fool.

[00:30:48] Sack of handsome sack of potatoes.

[00:30:50] It does feel like a classic rookie move.

[00:30:53] Yeah.

[00:30:54] So open your shit for Jai Courtney.

[00:30:55] You're like, fuck.

[00:30:56] Like I died again.

[00:30:57] God damn it.

[00:30:58] Now, I don't even, I feel like it's 2012.

[00:31:00] So this is probably the start of Jai Courtney's like Hollywood career?

[00:31:03] Uh, I think Good Day to Die Hard had come out that year or it came out right after maybe.

[00:31:07] Oh.

[00:31:08] You know what?

[00:31:09] I think it came out right after.

[00:31:10] I think Jack Reacher was December and Good Day to Die Hard came out February.

[00:31:13] But this is what I remember.

[00:31:14] It's his first movie.

[00:31:15] Oh, really?

[00:31:16] It's his first film apart from Stone Bros.

[00:31:19] He'd been in one of the Spartacus shows.

[00:31:23] This is what I remember is when they announced they were doing a new Die Hard and it was

[00:31:27] like John McClain and Son.

[00:31:29] There was a studio short list of actors and it was like five actors who were interesting

[00:31:33] ideas and who the fuck is Jai Courtney?

[00:31:36] Right.

[00:31:37] Right?

[00:31:38] James Badge Dale was on that list.

[00:31:40] Liam Hemsworth was on that one.

[00:31:42] I think that the guy I thought was really interesting who I think would have been the choice was

[00:31:47] Aaron Paul.

[00:31:50] Yeah, he would have been.

[00:31:51] Because I think that...

[00:31:52] That movie was a piece of shit though and it's probably good that Aaron Paul was a bit of a ball.

[00:31:55] Disaster.

[00:31:56] But I'm saying if you're going to try to do that the whole point is don't pick a guy

[00:31:58] who's an action guy.

[00:31:59] That's what was cool about Bruce Willis.

[00:32:00] We've sidetracked but you're correct.

[00:32:01] Right.

[00:32:02] Yes because the whole problem with Good Day to Die Hard is like yeah he's beefier

[00:32:04] than Bruce Willis.

[00:32:05] Right.

[00:32:06] It should be Aaron Paul who's got a chip on his folder.

[00:32:08] Anyway.

[00:32:09] Anyway.

[00:32:10] And now it's Jai Courtney.

[00:32:11] I was like who the fuck is this guy?

[00:32:12] So I remember going to see Jack Reacher.

[00:32:14] So you had him in mind.

[00:32:15] You're like okay this guy's gonna be in the next die hard.

[00:32:17] His name comes up in the title line and I was like who the fuck is like...

[00:32:19] Because even at the time it was like this guy's got a dumb head.

[00:32:21] He's got a dumb head.

[00:32:22] Stupid head.

[00:32:23] He's got the dumbest head I've ever seen.

[00:32:25] I think he is...

[00:32:26] He's sixth build.

[00:32:28] It's his...

[00:32:29] It's the best performance he's ever given.

[00:32:31] What do you like him in?

[00:32:33] Yeah.

[00:32:34] What are you weighing in against?

[00:32:36] The water diviner?

[00:32:37] The water diviner though.

[00:32:39] That diviner though.

[00:32:40] The podcast diviner.

[00:32:41] That's the movie that Russell Crowe directed right?

[00:32:43] Our next main series by the way is Russell Crowe.

[00:32:45] And we're just doing the water diviner.

[00:32:47] In and out.

[00:32:48] Because I haven't seen...

[00:32:51] Yeah.

[00:32:52] I haven't seen Unbroken.

[00:32:54] I've seen that he's not bad in it but he's not good.

[00:32:56] He's like okay in it.

[00:32:58] Yeah so I've seen him in...

[00:33:00] He's actively bad in Terminator.

[00:33:02] I've seen him in Terminator.

[00:33:04] And I saw the first divergent did I?

[00:33:07] I think I did.

[00:33:08] I haven't seen those.

[00:33:09] I will say again, I think he would be good in a Suicide Squad that was good.

[00:33:13] I think he's kind of...

[00:33:14] He could be.

[00:33:15] I mean whatever.

[00:33:16] Entertaining in that movie.

[00:33:17] He plays Charlie in this movie who is an assassin.

[00:33:21] Yeah.

[00:33:22] He has a sniper rifle.

[00:33:23] Yeah.

[00:33:24] And he drives up to a parking garage, takes out a sniper rifle.

[00:33:29] This is like a wordless first five minutes of the film.

[00:33:31] And in like a ten...

[00:33:32] I mean it's five I guess.

[00:33:34] It feels so long because it's all told through the lens of his scope.

[00:33:39] And let's talk about lensing by the way.

[00:33:41] Caleb DeChanel.

[00:33:42] Caleb D!

[00:33:43] One of the greats.

[00:33:45] I love it when we get the D.

[00:33:47] Mac Daddy giving us the D right?

[00:33:50] Caleb DeChanel, great cinematographer.

[00:33:52] He shot the right stuff.

[00:33:53] He shot the natural.

[00:33:54] He shot the Passion of the Christ.

[00:33:57] But here's the thing with Caleb D.

[00:33:58] Doesn't work that much.

[00:33:59] No.

[00:34:00] It's a rare treat when we get the D.

[00:34:02] I know he's, you know what he lends this here?

[00:34:04] What?

[00:34:05] Rules don't a blood.

[00:34:06] Oh that, see that alone makes me more excited.

[00:34:09] Did you see the trailer for that?

[00:34:11] I know.

[00:34:12] The posters and I was like, oh this is about like shadowy Hollywood fifties shit.

[00:34:17] It won't be good but at least...

[00:34:19] And then you see the poster and it's like...

[00:34:21] Howard Hughes is sure weird but he's going to get these two cuties to like it.

[00:34:26] It's the stupidest trailer I ever saw.

[00:34:28] I'm hoping it's a movie that's impossible to cut a trailer for.

[00:34:31] Quite possible.

[00:34:32] Because the trailers are so unfocused.

[00:34:33] They're selling that but they're not coherent.

[00:34:35] He's not an easy director to cut a trailer for.

[00:34:37] No he's not.

[00:34:38] He also shot that movie three years ago.

[00:34:40] So they've had a hard time, he's been editing it forever.

[00:34:42] Yeah who can say what's going to happen with that one?

[00:34:44] Caleb D is great.

[00:34:45] We don't get the D a lot.

[00:34:46] Love that D.

[00:34:47] We get his daughters a lot but we don't get him lensing a big screen picture.

[00:34:51] His daughters are Zoe and Emily and Bone Station now.

[00:34:55] Bone Station now, yeah.

[00:34:57] And already so we're seeing like you know for a sort of action programmer.

[00:35:01] Took a Sesame seed off your phone.

[00:35:03] You want to know why we're the two friends?

[00:35:05] You want proof?

[00:35:06] Show don't tell?

[00:35:07] Who's going to fucking take a Sesame seed off your iPhone screen?

[00:35:10] Lifted it off.

[00:35:13] Already the fucking cinematography in this film.

[00:35:15] It's gorgeous, it's really a gorgeous movie.

[00:35:17] It's really guys it's really a film that you should see.

[00:35:20] It's a really good looking movie.

[00:35:21] Here's the other thing I like about Macquarie.

[00:35:23] You see it in Rogue Nation, you see it in this okay.

[00:35:26] Every cut matters.

[00:35:28] Every shot matters.

[00:35:30] He makes puzzle films right?

[00:35:32] Edited by Kevin Stitt.

[00:35:34] They're very precise.

[00:35:35] They're like clockwork you know.

[00:35:37] You look at the opera sequence in Rogue Nation and you look at the opening of this.

[00:35:41] And it's very methodical to process the guns, the bullets, loading up.

[00:35:44] There's a tension just you don't here's this big headed fuck.

[00:35:47] He's got a big head.

[00:35:48] I came here for Tom Cruise there's no dialogue.

[00:35:50] Here's some actor I don't even fucking know.

[00:35:52] He beat Dominic Purcell in Hollywood's big head competition that year.

[00:35:56] Finally Purcell got knocked off.

[00:35:58] It's a Dominic Purcell joke for you guys.

[00:36:00] Big head weekly?

[00:36:01] What a big head he has.

[00:36:03] I can't believe he didn't get Cass' big head on Silicon Valley.

[00:36:08] Nelson Big Head Big Eddie.

[00:36:10] I got you.

[00:36:12] So from my purview when I'm watching the movie I'm like here's this guy who they're saying is good to die hard.

[00:36:16] And from your purview watching this movie you're like here's this guy I already know I fucking hate him.

[00:36:20] And you're starting with him and then also it's a cool mystery where it's like okay.

[00:36:24] He just he's but he just starts shooting people across wins is shot just from the scope of his rifle.

[00:36:30] Like once he sets the gun up long silent no dialogue the scope of the rifle you see him like panning across like this promenade.

[00:36:38] Yeah it's the Allegheny River I think it's in Pittsburgh and he's yeah he's panning across the pond.

[00:36:43] He sees like there's people on a bench.

[00:36:45] Right.

[00:36:46] Like a woman walking like you know with like a shopping bag or something like there's you know someone with a baby like.

[00:36:51] Macquarie takes the time because he wants these people to stick in your mind you're seeing them the size of ants right.

[00:36:56] But he like dresses them well enough he gives him strong enough action he pairs them off the behaviorally you remember like here's the mother here's the guy on the bench here's this right.

[00:37:05] Right.

[00:37:06] And there's like at least 90 seconds before any bullets are fired.

[00:37:11] Yeah.

[00:37:12] Where you're just like who's he looking for.

[00:37:13] He puts a quarter in the parking meter right so you know he has 15 minutes or whatever yeah.

[00:37:20] Scanning scanning scanning who's he looking for and then he just starts shooting everybody.

[00:37:24] Yeah.

[00:37:25] Methodically killing everybody it's very brutal it's very good.

[00:37:29] It seems random you don't understand what he's doing you know like nine people five people kills five people.

[00:37:36] Yeah.

[00:37:37] He misses a couple of times I think or maybe just once or does it well that's the thing right.

[00:37:43] So all right it's great where we can't we have we can't just sum up the plots of opening but the opening is just so crucial right so then we go to they they find to Detective Emerson right played by David yellow God this movie is fucking roll in with a stack supporting

[00:38:00] cast you know I almost said played by Academy Award nominee David yellow isn't I know real bummer and here's everything.

[00:38:05] A yellow well on the rise I mean he's the anti-gay Courtney he was this guy who was starting a book parts and it was like who's this yellow guy.

[00:38:11] The weirdest OK so the weirdest thing about a yellow one of interviewed him he's a lovely man.

[00:38:15] He was on this show called Spooks which the Americans know as MI5 because they didn't want to call it Spooks in this country understandably which was like a spy show in the UK that also had Matthew McFadden and Kelly Hawes and a lot of cool actors Peter first.

[00:38:31] He was awesome on it very cute he's he's he's cute right yeah and then he got killed off on Spooks because he wanted to leave the show so they they killed him off and we mean I remember being like that's too bad because I don't know that this you know what the fourth

[00:38:45] lead from Spooks and then he just starts popping up doing impeccable American accent yeah he's in what's he and he's in last King of Scotland.

[00:38:53] He's in Rise of the Planet of the Apes he's in The Help for a minute he's a preacher in that movie yeah he's pretty good and he's in notably he's in Red Tails produced by Big Bad George Lucas.

[00:39:08] More and more is like the most well cast movie it's true they just couldn't make it gel but it's such a good like but they had Michael B Jordan they had a yellow out they had all these guys you know right before they popped.

[00:39:19] They had Cuba right before he was gonna pop again yeah Terrence Howard right before he was gonna pop again it's true it's crazy that movie the cast is insane.

[00:39:27] Nate Parker right before he imploded yeah but almost popped boy let's not talk about that he's in Lincoln this year and this year also he's in middle of nowhere which is Ava DuVernay's first movie and it's really worth seeing fantastic movie.

[00:39:41] Movie films so he does middle of nowhere with Ava DuVernay right which is like an indie spirit nomination for and he does the paper boy with Lee Daniels.

[00:39:49] He does that's right.

[00:39:50] Lee Daniels is at that point in time attached to do Soma yeah and he goes I got the guy to play MLK yeah and he sells Paramount on a yellow being MLK.

[00:39:59] And then so the script passes over to Ava DuVernay she reworks it and stuff.

[00:40:05] No but here's what happens.

[00:40:06] Okay tell me what happened.

[00:40:07] He pitches a yellow what a paramount paramounts like yup go Lee Daniels leaves Soma they're like I guess the movie's not happening and a yellow was like I got a director for you because he had made middle of nowhere.

[00:40:19] A yellow gets Ava DuVernay hired and she reworks it and I think makes it better.

[00:40:24] Oh yeah she rewrites the whole thing but it's pretty impressive for someone who wasn't a star at that point to be able to retain the lead character.

[00:40:31] Because he's so fucking good dude rules he's so fucking good he's also in the baller yeah I was guessing he's really good in the baller.

[00:40:37] Love him he's great in most violent year he was great in Queen of Kotway right.

[00:40:43] That movie fucking rules can I do 30 second sidebar go see fucking Queen of Kotway it's barely still in theaters Disney dumped it it's the loveliest fucking movie it's epic humanist storytelling it rules spoiler alert I can't foresee a situation in which a yellow doesn't get one of my five blanky nominations for best actor.

[00:41:03] Yeah he rules in that movie yeah movie rules go see Queen of Kotway if you want to fucking like humanity.

[00:41:10] So here's what happens detective Emerson played by David Yellow shows up at this crime scene finds a quarter used to pay for parking lifts a fingerprint from it whoa the movie's still wordless we're just watching him walk on to this wordless.

[00:41:23] We're not saying that there's no talking none just crisp lensing from the D you're just getting a deep D they lift a fingerprint from the quarter it points to an army sniper who we've been talking about.

[00:41:33] We've been cutting to making bullets in his in his basement play by his name Joseph Sakura is a great actor good actor he played one of the white supremacists on true detective that famous like.

[00:41:47] Six minute yeah the long shot sequence he's the guy with the mustache he's a really good character so he's a former sniper yeah that's why military police would be involved I guess I don't know they like what am I doing yeah you're reaching.

[00:42:00] They.

[00:42:03] They arrest him and like it because it all seems perfect right his fingerprints on the thing he's like a sniper he's making bullets in his basement they arrest him he.

[00:42:15] Doesn't say anything.

[00:42:18] Writes on his notepad right they give him a legal but they beat the shit out of him.

[00:42:23] Because he goes into a coma.

[00:42:24] No he goes into coma after he does that okay he writes on a legal pad yes get Jack Reacher yeah and then when Richard shows up he's going to go right.

[00:42:35] Okay so then David I swear we're not gonna go through the entire movie but the reason we're going this in depth is because this movie has the best setup in history right this is the thing this is all the first 20 minutes and it's really beautiful how.

[00:42:46] Who are we not seeing at this point.

[00:42:48] Jack Reacher.

[00:42:50] They would tell him what I'm doing he's mimeing masturbation and I guess reaching I'm jacking and reaching yeah he was doing this a lot at the screening on and it was and everyone loved it.

[00:43:01] The audience applauded they turned around they shown flashlights in my face okay.

[00:43:08] So there's a scene we now have that's a good sigh from Ben on the pot good side Ben nice sign Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike Academy Award nominee Ben Hosley yeah yeah Rosamund who Rosamund who is now.

[00:43:19] Not yet an Academy Award nominee right and then we have Academy Award nominee Richard Jenkins the greatest he's the D.A. right he's prosecuting this fuck she's his daughter.

[00:43:29] She's his daughter although we don't realize that anyway immediately but we realize pretty quickly and she's been assigned the unenviable task of defending a man who basically is you know been like open and shut yeah this done right.

[00:43:42] And then they're like he did write down the one thing on the note this pretty much the first dialogue scene we're getting in the movie and it's maybe 15 minutes in right sure.

[00:43:49] Who the fuck is Jack Richard okay I just want to read some of this okay you found this okay all right good who the hell is Jack Richard Jack Richard born jack not John no middle name.

[00:43:59] He's a ghost no driver's license current or expired no residents current or former no credit cards no credit history no P.O. box cell phone email nothing and she goes can you at least tell me who he is.

[00:44:09] No I can tell you who he was. Blood military born and raised on bases around mother was a French national father in the court his first ship the United States was to attend West Point four years later he ships up for good Iraq Afghanistan Falcons you name it served with distinction

[00:44:25] Silver Star Bright Star Legion of Merit Defiance Defense Superior Service Medal have to look that one up and a purple heart spend the bulk of a service military police brilliant investigator probably a troll maker to demote the captain vouched his way back to major and two years ago he

[00:44:39] resigned after a literal lifetime in the military he just up and quits and then for only the second time in his life he enters the United States and simply disappears she goes dead maybe not according to Social Security in a bank account in Virginia

[00:44:50] pensions deposit monthly and someone is making the occasional withdrawal all wire transfers can't find out where that federal warrant we can't drive or fly at least under his real name and he warrants record is clean oh come on guys this was hard to find it's hard to this is like fucking transcribe from the thing in there a lot of typos.

[00:45:06] The point is they give this fucking speech and they just always giving this speech doing a great job and under this we're seeing Jack return shadows yeah he wakes up in bed next to a beautiful woman oh right Tom Cruise is straight.

[00:45:19] Yeah that's the he wears that uncomfortably in this movie I would say right yes and then he like goes to a goodwill and he takes the clothes off his back buys a new outfit he donates the old outfit it's no comment on Tom Cruise personal life just his performance in the film I just he doesn't have a lot of chemistry with either the women in either his movie.

[00:45:36] No throws out his cell phone you're seeing on the grey home bus it's like this guy's like a fucking ghost and they go through this whole speech about how insane he is and how like untrackable he is and it goes to how do we find him they go you don't knock knock knock knock knock.

[00:45:49] Sir I have a Jack Richard here to see you boom best movie of all time right it's true know what minute 15 Jack Richard yes yes who is he I want to know.

[00:46:01] It's that it's that's because on four times longer than what I read such a tease like it's such a great tease for the audience where the minute he walks in yes it's Tom Cruise yeah we've seen Tom Cruise before his little short you know looks a little stocking these days.

[00:46:16] You shouldn't be excited but it has after 30 years of Tom Cruise you're still like I want to see where is he.

[00:46:25] I want to see that Richard.

[00:46:27] But here's the other key okay because from this point on Jack Richard teams up with Rosemann Pike they're trying to clear the name she's like it's open and shut this guy did it Jack Richard's like no he didn't and it's like a fucking it's a it's a mystery right sure you have scenes with Jack Richard a bar he says explains how he's going to beat everywhere

[00:46:42] he does he doesn't fucking cool car chases turns out the guy that had a pyramid is fucking Werner Herzog which will get to in a second yeah I was gonna say we gotta get to that right but at this point the movie is pretty standard about it's cool though because it's one of the he's like a magic man it's like.

[00:46:56] Richard doesn't believe this guy is innocent because he knows this guy from Afghanistan where he was kind of like a cold blooded psychopath right Richard tried to put him away that's why the guy called for him because he knew if anyone was going to get him out of this frame job it was Jack fucking Richard one guy who tried to get him.

[00:47:13] Get him exactly in the cell and so it's like I would say it's like a lot of mysteries mystery movies like pretty formula like in terms of just how it plays out where it's like Richard's like no this this guy did it I believe it he did yeah he makes Rosamann Pike like talk to the victims you know he seems to have this weird sort of like.

[00:47:33] You know kind of raging morality where he's just like he's very angry that people are dead well here's angry that this guy is out and about he feels like he failed like that this guy you know could do this again it's two things at the same time he has a raging morality but he also is condescending to literally everyone he ever comes into communication with.

[00:47:52] Jack Richard is like very superior to everybody you know in a very quiet calm way he thinks everyone else is like a fucking noob.

[00:47:59] Yeah but something's something's eventually clicking for.

[00:48:04] Oh yeah I mean okay you're doing the reaching thing again yeah this is last name and of course he starts to dig and no it's a sinister conspiracy masterminded by a Russian man called the Zek right which means the prisoner the prisoner.

[00:48:20] Yeah who is a Werner Herzog yeah with with one I gone and I'm missing an eye he has one right yeah my least favorite kind of I he has no fingers or at least he's missing several fingers I think he's maybe got none.

[00:48:38] I'm trying to keep it low on my head I think he's got zero fingers left.

[00:48:43] And he doesn't do a lot.

[00:48:48] But God is he good.

[00:48:50] He's fantastic and I feel like at the time there was some talk you know among critics of like yeah Jack Richard's no good weird that Werner Herzog plays the villain and then like that was kind of all like they acknowledged it it is weird but it's he's incredible.

[00:49:04] It's not like Werner Herzog's like a massive star but they did not really promote that he was in the movie at all which was odd right because he's the master he's the big bad in the movie.

[00:49:12] Yeah he has this amazing monologue where he talks about he explains the finger thing.

[00:49:18] Yeah he tests one of his like underlings.

[00:49:21] Yeah he's from like some Siberian gulag or whatever and yeah he's about like how right no it's your role to survive Michael Raymond James who's a great actor is on Terriers and he's in the first season of True Blood is one of his henchmen who like botches the job of killing.

[00:49:37] Reacher Rosamund Pike somebody I can't remember and so he's like you must cut off I can't do.

[00:49:43] No you have to eat them off he like tells the story about how he was stuck in the top of mountain and his other the other guys died but he survived because he ate his own fingers for nourishment right and it's like either I shoot you or you eat the finger.

[00:49:54] And the guy is like do you have a knife and he's like I did not have a knife when I was on the mountain.

[00:49:58] You know he gives the very very good PFT in here man Werner yeah I was stuck in the mountain I did what I had to do to survive.

[00:50:06] Which the crazy thing I don't know if you know this that speech was not in the script.

[00:50:10] No he was just chatting that was actually an off camera conversation that they just had someone running some film that's the thing a PA came up to Werner Herzog and was like hey Werner we just broke for lunch.

[00:50:20] So if you want crafties over there and he was like I do not need to eat when I was stuck in a mountain of Siberia.

[00:50:27] Jack rolled the camera.

[00:50:30] Yo Caleb yeah Caleb Caleb get the V in here.

[00:50:32] Yeah start rolling.

[00:50:34] I did what I had to do to survive.

[00:50:38] An amazing amazing performance right yeah and it's like the beauty of it is here's Tom Cruz who's all about like movie star like up to vacation you know like here's like you know he wants to create the image of what he is and here's like Werner Herzog who is like a violent realist.

[00:50:56] Yeah you know the reality of the world right and how like terrifying and and scares and and.

[00:51:02] Frightens and right also draws him in yeah and here's a movie that's leading to the two of them coming face to face and Tom Cruz who's like all movie star smoke and mirrors and Werner Herzog who's just like.

[00:51:12] Yeah and that's what a realistic documentary filmmaker what's kind of awesome about him is the villain he doesn't ever kill anyone or do anything he stands in one scene he sits in another yeah he talks right and he has some sort of magical control over a lot of the people in the movie.

[00:51:28] Right spoiler alert seriously guys if you want to watch the movie go watch the movie yeah go watch the movie spoiler alert David yellow whoa right and do a nice fake out to where they make you think that.

[00:51:39] But I knew it wasn't Jenkins because too obvious to DC he's got baby yeah big old Jenkins.

[00:51:44] I don't know why I called him big dick Jenkins yeah big dick yeah but.

[00:51:49] And it's all through performance right and it's you know it works I mean he's work of course of course he has the fucking psychic he's the greatest and the final showdown he's just sitting in a chair in a tractor trailer like you know.

[00:52:03] The final showdown is great I would say like the action sequence itself like Richard driving the car into the quarry but like it is such a 70s or 80s whatever Hollywood actually they a quarry like it's so.

[00:52:18] Low five like no big step he's not hanging off a plane or jumping from the birds Dubai or what you know it's just like he drives his car to a quarry kills like six people.

[00:52:28] Punches people he drives a car well yeah that he gives the speech about I mean to drink your blood from a boot there's also that great sequence in the middle where he gets in the bar fight where they're trying to they've been hired to kill him.

[00:52:38] Yeah that's which we talked about already where he's like you wanted this and he's kind of saying to everyone he's kind of a dick he doesn't understand humanity and he's like an immovable force right.

[00:52:45] I called him in my review which you should read on the Atlantic dot com of never go back of the sequel I called him an oblong Hulk.

[00:52:54] I think you nailed it on that one okay he's sort of small but he's also big it's weird yeah literally my only complaint about the first movie is that he doesn't punch Werner Herzog in the face.

[00:53:05] No well but the end is great where he they've got him.

[00:53:07] I just want one shot of Tom Cruise punching Werner Herzog for history.

[00:53:12] I know the national I'm not with you know what.

[00:53:15] Art must triumph and the way it ends is beautiful which is the Zek is like yes you have defeated me but who gives a shit and I go to prison like yeah I don't know like yeah he sort of lays out for Reacher like I might not even get convicted you don't have a lot you killed all the witnesses right because you're crazy yeah because you fucking and Reacher is essentially like you're right bam.

[00:53:37] Shoot him in the face and he's like I'm out of here yeah and that's the end of the movie.

[00:53:41] And just as quickly he was gone.

[00:53:43] Jack Reacher is fucking the man with no name you know like these are westerns these are modern day westerns they can't find him no one can call him but he shows up when they need him yes and just as quickly as his job is done he disappears.

[00:53:55] And the best thing about the movie or not the best but a cool thing about the movie is that at the end a bar the guy who's framed yeah the sniper who is framed and is innocent of these crimes the crimes are committed because they were killing one person.

[00:54:07] And the others were all like collateral damage to make it look like a random yeah which is great which is great it's a cover.

[00:54:13] He confesses anyway and goes to prison for the crime because he's more afraid of not confessing because he then he thinks Jack Reacher will just fucking kill him anyway.

[00:54:24] Jack Reacher go see it it's long.

[00:54:28] Yeah it's like 2 10 it's two hours and 10 minutes long.

[00:54:32] It's a little slow at times.

[00:54:34] It doesn't matter it's great.

[00:54:35] I'll say it gets better the second time.

[00:54:37] I saw in theaters I saw with my friend Alex Perlin who like we just go see a movie almost every weekend.

[00:54:42] We were like what haven't we seen I guess Jack Reacher like we kind of went in differently.

[00:54:45] Sure.

[00:54:47] That was like this surprisingly good.

[00:54:49] And then I watched it on Netflix with friends like a couple months later and I was like no wait this movie rules like this movie is the number one best.

[00:54:55] Modest success he kept on saying that he wanted to make into a franchise but it seemed like maybe that wouldn't happen right.

[00:55:00] It didn't seem like it made enough money in between Reacher and Reacher to he makes oblivion which did well was hated.

[00:55:10] No it made 89 on a hundred twenty million budget overseas overseas are made 200 so you know it 286 it did it did OK but certainly no one's excited about that.

[00:55:21] Oblivion is a fascinating movie and I would love to talk about it sometime have you ever seen it.

[00:55:25] No concept art the movie is the best way to put that.

[00:55:28] It sounds like Tron Legacy.

[00:55:30] Exactly but I like both those movies like I like certain things about both those movies.

[00:55:36] Melissa plays a tetrahedron.

[00:55:38] Oh cool I will watch it.

[00:55:40] She literally plays an evil tetrahedron.

[00:55:42] Cool.

[00:55:44] Hey how about Edged Tomorrow.

[00:55:46] The fucking best which is a fantastic film and I think he's credited as a writer on that right.

[00:55:53] Yes along with the Butterworths.

[00:55:54] But by all accounts McCore is the one who really elevated that script.

[00:55:58] So goes based on a Japanese manga called All You Need Is Kill.

[00:56:03] Or maybe not a manga it's like a novel it's like an illustrated novel or something I think it's like a light there's a term that's like a light novel or something.

[00:56:10] It's a bad name.

[00:56:12] Not the best name.

[00:56:14] Yeah it's sort of forgettable right away.

[00:56:16] You're talking about Edged Tomorrow colon live die repeat colon All You Need Is Kill colon Groundhog War.

[00:56:21] That moves the best.

[00:56:22] I love that movie to be in my top 10 of 2014 Emily Blunt's incredible and it's the rare movie where Tom Cruise lets himself be just like a charming motherfucker like you know a lovable jerk you know kind of like an old 90s Tom Cruise performance.

[00:56:39] I think it's Tom Cruise is number one best performance of all time.

[00:56:43] No but it's up there.

[00:56:46] That's my story.

[00:56:47] I guess my tip.

[00:56:49] He's great great man.

[00:56:51] He's great.

[00:56:53] What a performance that is.

[00:56:55] I don't even care.

[00:56:57] It's great.

[00:57:01] I don't even care.

[00:57:03] And then Rogue Nation.

[00:57:05] Rogue Nation last year.

[00:57:07] This year what's his movie.

[00:57:09] Jack Reacher Never Go Back.

[00:57:11] Really Tom we're going back to that well.

[00:57:13] You yourself said never go back in the title.

[00:57:15] Well yeah yes.

[00:57:17] Macquarie not on this because Macquarie is now Mission Impossible man so who does he get.

[00:57:22] Joel's Wic.

[00:57:24] No Ed Ed's Wic.

[00:57:26] That is somebody right.

[00:57:29] Now I have to look him up.

[00:57:31] Joel's Wic is a director who does TV but he directed my Big Fat Creek Wedding and the Fat Albert movie that's correct.

[00:57:39] There we go.

[00:57:41] And something called Second Sight.

[00:57:43] He might have Marraket and Bronson.

[00:57:44] Oh in a show or whatever.

[00:57:46] He might have been a better choice for Jack Reacher Never Go Back.

[00:57:49] Because despite popular misconception according to Wikipedia not related to Edwards Wic.

[00:57:54] Oh OK.

[00:57:56] So Cruz brings in for Jack Reacher Never Go Back I guess Macquarie's busy on Mission Impossible which is too bad because I'd love to see him come back.

[00:58:03] Me too.

[00:58:05] There's puns to be made here.

[00:58:07] But he goes Cruz goes to the guy who made the last samurai with him Edwards Wic.

[00:58:11] Everyone's favorite Tom Cruise movie.

[00:58:12] Nobody.

[00:58:14] Suck it.

[00:58:16] Bad movie.

[00:58:18] Bad movie.

[00:58:20] Bad director.

[00:58:22] Here's some Wicks.

[00:58:24] Glory.

[00:58:26] OK.

[00:58:28] You know sort of like a decent Oscar kind of movie.

[00:58:30] Glory is like a decent.

[00:58:32] That's probably his best film right.

[00:58:34] Legends of the Fall.

[00:58:36] I haven't seen that.

[00:58:38] I think it's pretty.

[00:58:40] Courage under Courage Under Fire.

[00:58:42] It's like a decent movie.

[00:58:44] They're all like movies with big stars like Denzel is in Courage Under Fire in the Siege.

[00:58:49] And Glory you know like Brad Pitt's in Legends of Fall Anthony Hopkins like he would get these big budgets.

[00:58:56] These big epic stories and he'd always like tell them OK.

[00:59:00] Like it wasn't even like the worst movie I ever saw.

[00:59:02] It was just like why did I waste two and a half hours like the Oscars aren't going to like you know.

[00:59:08] And we were arguing about this the other night after seeing the movie.

[00:59:10] I think pretty much every Swick movie has failed to meet expectations.

[00:59:15] It's been like an under performer.

[00:59:17] Even the ones that did well.

[00:59:19] The others you're basically right.

[00:59:21] I think the bar is always of expectations is always higher that like oh this is going to be his best picture play.

[00:59:26] This is going to be a full on blockbuster.

[00:59:28] And even like last time I did one 14.

[00:59:30] I remember people being like it's probably going to make like 200.

[00:59:32] You know.

[00:59:34] I think I was also a little not to beef with Cruz but it was a little long cruise because that was when.

[00:59:38] Yeah he was getting into some.

[00:59:40] He was getting the dangers on.

[00:59:42] But you're right all his movies are kind of flops like Legends of the fall.

[00:59:47] Eight 66 million and that's the highest grossing movie he made before.

[00:59:51] It's still a second highest grosser.

[00:59:53] The only hit he's made is last Samurai.

[00:59:56] Yeah after last time we mixed blood diamond which is sort of not enough of a hit but gets some Oscar noms like.

[01:00:01] I don't know.

[01:00:03] I guess it's on cable a lot.

[01:00:05] Right.

[01:00:07] He makes the fire.

[01:00:08] I was so pumped for because I was like yeah give me Daniel Craig the mean Jew again.

[01:00:13] I love it.

[01:00:15] But no it's crappy movie.

[01:00:17] Nobody watches it makes love and other drugs which is really horrendous.

[01:00:20] Yeah horrendous.

[01:00:22] Have you seen that film.

[01:00:24] Hate that movie.

[01:00:26] Like another Oscar play that's like a weepy plus a sex comedy.

[01:00:29] It sucks.

[01:00:31] Gads giving a performance out of like American Pie 7.

[01:00:33] Yeah.

[01:00:35] And then meanwhile like a Hathaway's in Love Story.

[01:00:38] Yeah absolutely.

[01:00:40] And it's like making this point about like you know drugs are too expensive in America.

[01:00:45] Like I feel it's trying to have all kinds of cake and eat it all in it.

[01:00:48] It's neither funny nor poignant.

[01:00:50] I don't find it particularly sexy despite starring two attractive people who are necked a lot.

[01:00:54] Sure exactly.

[01:00:56] It's not a movie.

[01:00:58] And then Pawn Sacrifice.

[01:01:00] Oh right Jesus Christ which is kind of an interesting movie much better than the other movies we're talking about though not good.

[01:01:05] I cited it as the most OK movie of 2015.

[01:01:10] Just weird abrasive.

[01:01:12] Yeah.

[01:01:14] Half committed to this idea it's a movie about Bobby Fisher that like you know Bobby Fisher was a really impossible person like got a lot of good performances.

[01:01:22] Really strong.

[01:01:24] Michael Stolberg and Peter Sarsgard.

[01:01:26] But Shriver's good.

[01:01:28] Shriver's great.

[01:01:30] But certainly that thing vanished for that is right.

[01:01:32] Disappeared.

[01:01:33] And now he does the thing he promised he would never do.

[01:01:37] He goes back.

[01:01:39] He's slumming it a little bit for him.

[01:01:41] He's slumming it.

[01:01:43] Now I was excited by him.

[01:01:45] We were like hey maybe slumming it is what he's always needed to do because I think he's always failed by getting by delusions of grandeur.

[01:01:49] I think Zwick has always thought that he was a more important filmmaker than he was and comes up with these sort of lofty ambitions and fall short.

[01:01:57] Right.

[01:01:59] And I was like maybe if he just tries to hit a double.

[01:02:01] Yeah.

[01:02:03] He can pull like a Macquarie.

[01:02:05] But man does this movie feel like he was just trying to qualify for another year of DGA health.

[01:02:10] That was your that was your joke.

[01:02:12] I'm going to repeat a lot of jokes I made after the screening.

[01:02:14] The other thing was within five minutes of the movie starting I turned to you and I said this feels like the seventh Jack Reacher movie which you used in your review.

[01:02:21] I did I stole it.

[01:02:23] Yeah I stole it from you without asking.

[01:02:25] Fully fine.

[01:02:27] But it does I mean it does it really but it's one of those things where we're we're fine with what's going on because we saw Jack Reacher.

[01:02:33] Recently.

[01:02:35] Right we like the movie.

[01:02:37] But you have to assume most people aren't as primed and ready and buttered up for this.

[01:02:40] You know the other one which is based on the novel One Shot that's more of your standard like cool mystery.

[01:02:46] Which by the way is not the first Jack Reacher book they just picked the best one.

[01:02:49] They just picked a good one right.

[01:02:51] This one which is also it's like the 15th Jack Reacher it's the 18th maybe I can't even remember.

[01:02:54] It's the 18th.

[01:02:56] This one set in like the bowels of military bureaucracy.

[01:02:58] Yeah it's like he's becomes like phone friends with the people who are like the best.

[01:03:03] Kobe Smulders who plays Susan Turner who's like the woman who replaced him at his old battalion or whatever.

[01:03:10] Because let's just say the movie once again starts off well but with a fatal mistake.

[01:03:14] The opening of the film is so cool and it's not it's Oliver Wood it's not Deschanel we're not getting the D.

[01:03:19] But Oliver Woods all right.

[01:03:21] Yeah he's good but we're not getting the D.

[01:03:23] Let's just call it like we see is it right.

[01:03:25] I like Oliver Wood.

[01:03:27] I do too but we're not getting the D.

[01:03:29] I think Oliver Woods cool yeah we're not getting the D.

[01:03:30] Iro sin on a diner cops pulling up they're like what's going on fight here how many you know whatever they go it's one guy he's still sitting.

[01:03:39] He took them all out he's just sitting there and he's sitting there and you see cruise from behind he's wearing the jacket.

[01:03:43] This is in the trailer right he looks fucking great and they're like why don't you come with us sir.

[01:03:48] And he's like two things are about to happen that phone's gonna ring and then you're gonna walk out of here wearing those handcuffs and then he fucking calls a shot.

[01:03:54] It's great and it was set up.

[01:03:56] He points at the phone and it rings.

[01:03:57] And then I review I called him like he's like the Fonz or whatever like it's like he just sort of conjures justice from nothing like it's very cool.

[01:04:04] But it feels like okay good start.

[01:04:06] The phone rings and it's like the sheriff's been doing human trafficking or something and Richard busted it up like right I don't know that's the thing that's great about Jack.

[01:04:13] We're like at the end of a Jack Reacher mystery.

[01:04:15] Right and the thing that's great about Jack Reacher is he's borderline magical you know he's also a maniac yeah and he's like a monster he's terrifying.

[01:04:21] Yeah but this is the fatal mistake the movie makes is I think the first movie is so smart to spend the first 15 minutes without Jack Reacher.

[01:04:29] Right to get you first invest in your crime then introduce you to the people in the office yellow well Jenkins Pike three ringers three actors we trust doesn't have no ringers.

[01:04:39] I mean I like smolders but apart from that.

[01:04:41] But they give us three characters to sort of identify with before Richard comes in and they already explained to us who Richard is.

[01:04:47] So by the time we meet him we're like he's not going to change.

[01:04:51] He's an immovable force you know sure he doesn't represent the human condition in any way.

[01:04:56] We're mostly associating with Pike who's joining him on this journey and we're relating to her marveling at like who the fuck is this guy right right.

[01:05:04] This movie starts with Jack Reacher which is cool but then it's like oh shit they're going to make him the audience surrogate character right which is a nightmare decision very bad decision.

[01:05:14] So then it's he's calling in you know the cases to cope smolders who's is like pen pal.

[01:05:20] Yeah and you're like OK it's a nice relationship they're sort of similar professionals she's kind of a female Jack Reacher except not scary.

[01:05:27] She's a hard edge but not as right.

[01:05:29] And we said you know like game recognized game Cruz has been picking really good leading ladies lately.

[01:05:35] Pike want Ferguson Ferguson these women who are great actresses and are kind of giving awesome character actress performances of atomic.

[01:05:44] Tom Cruise type they don't have the same inherent scariness but they're able to do a more likeable version of the Tom Cruise like hyper focus laser beam you know kind of thing.

[01:05:53] Absolutely and the blade hands running.

[01:05:56] Yes yes my favorite he always does a Robert Patrick running.

[01:05:59] Yeah so she's good in that.

[01:06:02] Yeah shout out to him black man.

[01:06:05] Apologies because I said I was going to go see this movie with her before the screening.

[01:06:09] Yeah I'm a piece of shit.

[01:06:11] She's goodness but here's like another problem becomes apparent when we're watching the movie and just the fucking opening credits happen.

[01:06:19] No one else in the supporting cast of this movie.

[01:06:21] The first we didn't even fucking mention the Bob DeVal's in it.

[01:06:24] Oh shit yeah Bob DeVal is in the first Jack Reacher and he's wonderful.

[01:06:27] He comes in the last half hour.

[01:06:29] He's a guy who runs a sniper range.

[01:06:31] He helps out with like blind and he helps out Jack Reacher take out Jai Courtney and it's fantastic.

[01:06:35] Yeah and he fucking rules.

[01:06:37] Fantastic.

[01:06:38] So I'm going to go see the movie and we're going to get back to the movie.

[01:06:40] And this one it's like Tom Cruise Colby Smulders.

[01:06:43] You're like alright alright let's go.

[01:06:45] And then it's like Aldis Hodge who I like plays the guy from Leverage.

[01:06:49] Straight out of Compton.

[01:06:52] He was Voodoo Tatum or Taylor Voodoo Tatum I think on Friday night like good actor but love him.

[01:06:58] I think he has a great presence.

[01:07:00] Oh he's third bill.

[01:07:02] Yeah I don't know if I want him third bill but whatever.

[01:07:04] Patrick Hoosinger.

[01:07:05] Danica Yarosh.

[01:07:07] Huh?

[01:07:09] Holt McElaney.

[01:07:11] Right where you're like that's...

[01:07:13] I think I want him splitting a title card.

[01:07:15] Well here's the other thing like Austin Hebert.

[01:07:18] Holt McElaney being...

[01:07:20] He has some weird name.

[01:07:22] Holt McElaney yes.

[01:07:24] Holt McElaney being sixth or seventh billed sounds about right but you want everyone between Tom Cruise and Holt McElaney to be impressive.

[01:07:28] Yeah.

[01:07:30] And then when you're like Tom Cruise Colby Smulders.

[01:07:32] Holt McElaney.

[01:07:33] Yeah.

[01:07:35] And it's like wait why wasn't he third billed?

[01:07:37] Like he's the third biggest name here and even that is like generous.

[01:07:39] He's not a big...

[01:07:41] There's no and on this film which is like a bummer I was like okay supporting cast in that stack but there's gonna be and...

[01:07:47] You know?

[01:07:49] Right.

[01:07:51] Who's just like such a stock kinda like bad guy in this type of movie that you're like fuck you know?

[01:07:55] So the supporting cast and then the main grunt who's playing like the Jai Courtney sort of equivalent part.

[01:08:01] Makes you long for the days of Jai Courtney.

[01:08:04] He really, he won a whole potato head back.

[01:08:06] You won a whole potato head back.

[01:08:08] Patrick Hugh Singer.

[01:08:10] Who apparently he played a rich gentleman in Black Swan.

[01:08:14] Okay if you say so.

[01:08:16] Yeah he's been in like 12 movies I've seen.

[01:08:18] Played a guy called Patch in Francis Ha.

[01:08:20] Sure I mean I guess.

[01:08:22] I can't prove that he didn't.

[01:08:24] And he's been in some TV shows like Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce.

[01:08:28] Okay.

[01:08:30] He had a four episode run in Gossip Girl as Lord Marcus Beaton.

[01:08:34] Oh that sounds cool actually.

[01:08:36] He's a nobody and it shows.

[01:08:40] He feels like a nobody.

[01:08:42] And every time he comes on screen.

[01:08:44] He plays the hunter who is like the main villain.

[01:08:46] But who fucking cares?

[01:08:48] And every time he comes on screen you're like oh that's that guy okay.

[01:08:50] Cause he looks, he has the most no face face I've ever seen.

[01:08:52] He really does.

[01:08:54] He's a handsome-ish you know sort of a tall guy nothing.

[01:08:55] He's a totally acceptable actor but he leaves no impression.

[01:08:59] This character is underwritten.

[01:09:01] He himself isn't at the distinctive right?

[01:09:03] The idea is that he's sort of like a reacher.

[01:09:05] He's like an ex-military guy but he went bad.

[01:09:07] And he's sort of fascinated by reachers.

[01:09:10] What the movie kind of sets up is that like Kobe Smallers is one tied to reality.

[01:09:14] He's like passing through town.

[01:09:16] He's like oh let me go check in on her.

[01:09:18] He gets there, Holt Macklein he's there.

[01:09:20] He's looking for a bang by the way.

[01:09:22] Oh clearly.

[01:09:23] Cause he keeps on going like what if I took you out to dinner.

[01:09:25] Yeah and she's like yeah we'll see.

[01:09:27] We'll drink out of a boot.

[01:09:29] He shows up, she's been put in prison framed for espionage.

[01:09:33] He breaks her out of prison the rest of the movie is a chase movie.

[01:09:36] Which is the opposite of what we want.

[01:09:38] We want him fucking solving a mystery which he's not really doing in this.

[01:09:41] Not especially because the mystery is these, I mean whatever spoiler alert.

[01:09:45] These guys are running some guns.

[01:09:47] Right and she's another Jack Reacher so she doesn't serve as like a counterpoint in the same way that Pike did.

[01:09:51] You know?

[01:09:53] Absolutely no there's a lot of fighting between them where she's like you have to take me seriously and he's kind of like I don't know.

[01:09:58] I don't take anyone seriously.

[01:10:00] I'm Jack Reacher I hate everybody.

[01:10:02] She's like it's because I'm a woman and he's like maybe.

[01:10:04] No it's because you're not Jack Reacher.

[01:10:06] Yeah it's more that but at least they acknowledge it.

[01:10:08] That one scene is almost interesting.

[01:10:10] Almost because she's good.

[01:10:12] There's an interesting scene early on where they like retire to a hotel to hide out and she's topless.

[01:10:16] And then he gets topless.

[01:10:18] And he takes the shirt off too and it's very non-sexual.

[01:10:21] Which I love.

[01:10:23] It's like they're two military like grunts who are like two GIs who are like debriefing after something.

[01:10:28] Which pointed out there's a lot of sexual tension and rogue nation but he and Rebecca Ferguson never kiss and it almost feels like the attraction is more like game recognized game.

[01:10:36] Like you're equivalent and power to me.

[01:10:38] And even Edge of Tomorrow is sort of the same thing they have the kiss but the kiss is kind of like well we're about to die so why not?

[01:10:44] Moment.

[01:10:46] His leading ladies now he doesn't really have relationships with.

[01:10:49] They're just sort of like peers which I like.

[01:10:52] Yeah I mean he's 20 years older than Kobe.

[01:10:55] Right.

[01:10:57] The movie claims that Jack Reacher is in his 40s.

[01:10:59] Yeah.

[01:11:01] Tom Cruise is 54 years old.

[01:11:03] Yeah.

[01:11:05] You know they kind of sell it and then they have this one conversation where she's like what if we weren't on the run would we get dinner?

[01:11:10] And he's like yeah I was thinking champagne and you're like no you weren't.

[01:11:13] No you never thought about anything you're not a person.

[01:11:15] It feels like they're both robots doing an impression of how a person.

[01:11:19] But him more so.

[01:11:21] Yes.

[01:11:23] But then this movie throws this dumb fucking thing out which is.

[01:11:26] Throws it out early too.

[01:11:28] Oh Perturinadi suit filed against you.

[01:11:30] What?

[01:11:32] Your daughter I don't have a daughter yes you do prostitute drug addict has a 15 year old.

[01:11:37] Yeah.

[01:11:39] And then he's like okay I'm gonna go spy on this girl.

[01:11:41] The girl's like who the fuck are you.

[01:11:43] Samantha played by Danika Yarosh.

[01:11:45] Unfortunately not Samantha Reacher.

[01:11:48] What do you mean yeah no.

[01:11:50] She hasn't she hasn't taken the name Reacher yet.

[01:11:52] No Samantha date.

[01:11:54] And he follows her around and then she's like what the fuck are you doing here?

[01:11:57] And he's like you're in danger come with me.

[01:11:59] He essentially just abducts her Qui-Gon Jyn style.

[01:12:02] Yeah he kind of does.

[01:12:04] I mean she's in trouble though because they're going after her as well.

[01:12:07] And he's like trust me and then like an hour later he reveals that he's her father.

[01:12:10] And she's like you're not my father.

[01:12:12] And he's like why not.

[01:12:13] Oh shit you're my father.

[01:12:15] Like that's the whole conversation.

[01:12:17] She's like that's impossible and he's like why is it impossible?

[01:12:19] And she's like oh no you are my father.

[01:12:21] And the whole time you're like the whole time you're watching the movie you're like look they're not.

[01:12:25] He's not her dad.

[01:12:27] You just know it you're like they wouldn't they wouldn't do that you know it's just it's just I don't know.

[01:12:31] We don't want to see him get human.

[01:12:33] But that's the thing they would father.

[01:12:35] And he walks down to town he hitchhikes he's like the incredible Hulk.

[01:12:39] Right that's the last shot of the movie is a close up of his thumb on the road.

[01:12:41] It's literally Bill Bixby.

[01:12:43] Yeah.

[01:12:45] But once in a while she has like kind of a reachery skill for you know sneaking in somewhere and stealing something or like oh fighting.

[01:12:53] She exclusively calls him reach even though she knows at the second half of the movie that he's her father or believes you know.

[01:12:59] Yeah so they have that thread running but you kind of know it's not going to work out but it's obvious and maybe it's not obvious because maybe it's in the book.

[01:13:06] But it's clearly something's weak who is more into that kind of soapy stuff he created fucking 30 something.

[01:13:13] You know grabbed on to and was like well this is good this is like a nice arc for the movie right like Richard humanizes a little bit he.

[01:13:20] Forges a connection with this girl that's good even if maybe they don't end up like father and daughter at the end of the movie like that's nice for us to have right.

[01:13:28] We don't want that.

[01:13:30] That's the fucking opposite of what I want out of Jack.

[01:13:32] We don't want it we don't want it never go back.

[01:13:33] Now this is where we get into like the seventh movie thing is like a the movie starts in your like this movie's way too relaxed.

[01:13:39] Yeah it is way too confident that we're all in the pocket for Jack Reacher which you and I are in the pocket for Jack Reacher.

[01:13:44] We are but it's not like that movie there was a demand for the second one right the movie's not working hard to impress you.

[01:13:49] And I don't think the movie's going to do that well.

[01:13:51] I don't either.

[01:13:53] It'll open to 20 mil maybe it'll do about the same.

[01:13:55] They claim a cost 60 mil which is the same amount the first one costs.

[01:13:58] I think there's no way it costs that much.

[01:14:00] I think Tom Cruise got $20 million dollars and I think the rest of the movie costs $10 million dollars.

[01:14:03] It's really fucking cheap to me.

[01:14:05] It does look cheap but I'm sure it costs 60 million dollars.

[01:14:07] It's not hard for a movie to cost that much.

[01:14:09] Then maybe Tom Cruise's salary was $50 million dollars because I don't think the rest of the movie could have cost more than 10.

[01:14:13] All right.

[01:14:15] It's very limited in sort of scope they go to different cities but it's just like it's poorly you know.

[01:14:20] It's from DC and then they go to New Orleans the big finale is set during Mardi Gras which is dull.

[01:14:24] The action sequences are indifferently directed.

[01:14:26] The biggest problem is the action.

[01:14:28] I would be fine with this movie with all of its flaws if the action was awesome.

[01:14:31] And it blows.

[01:14:33] It is not awesome.

[01:14:35] It's kind of boring.

[01:14:37] I didn't even hate the movie like three stars.

[01:14:39] Like it's honestly that's the thing.

[01:14:41] I like it less the more I think about two and a half and that's generous just because it's a reach or move.

[01:14:43] As my friend Matt Singer our you know friend of the pod future guest said like he says he's going to break someone's legs and then their arms and then their neck.

[01:14:53] He does it like this is fun.

[01:14:55] Reach your things.

[01:14:57] Yeah that's cool.

[01:14:59] That's why I give it two and a half stars.

[01:15:01] I think it's more elegantly you know.

[01:15:03] Yeah.

[01:15:05] But I so we saw this together two days ago right.

[01:15:10] Correct.

[01:15:12] Yesterday I went to go see Shin Godzilla aka Godzilla Resurrect.

[01:15:15] Sure which I have not yet seen but I heard this great.

[01:15:18] I liked it a lot.

[01:15:20] I was a big fan.

[01:15:22] I'm a big Godzilla fan.

[01:15:24] I've seen it.

[01:15:26] I mean you know but I mean I like Godzilla.

[01:15:28] I just feel like being a big Godzilla fan that that requires a lot of sort of nerd nerdy like you know right all that.

[01:15:31] Godzilla fan like I wouldn't cite my son as an expert but I'm pretty well versed right.

[01:15:36] And Godzilla is much like you know the westerns you know stuff we're talking about.

[01:15:41] It's like a very there's a set formula for that franchise for how these movies were and a lot of the ways that the Roland Emmerich movie fails is from deviating from that formula.

[01:15:50] Godzilla movies have a lot of bureaucracy in them right.

[01:15:53] There's never that much of the monster it's mostly the government dealing with it.

[01:15:57] It's always some sort of allegorical panic right.

[01:15:59] Right I saw our friend friend of the pot Emily Yoshida talking about that right.

[01:16:04] The movies like weirdly nerdy.

[01:16:06] Yes it's always very nerdy right but like the key is Godzilla is Godzilla like you know what you're going to see.

[01:16:12] Sure he's not going to suddenly yeah carry on.

[01:16:15] It's a covers of the same song.

[01:16:17] It's a great song and you're letting other people reinterpret it and it's like but you know keep the things we like about the song put your own spin on it.

[01:16:22] But don't fucking deconstruct it to the point where it doesn't sound like the thing that I like.

[01:16:25] And they don't try to make Godzilla anything other than what he is you know.

[01:16:30] Sure like even when you get to the movies where there's another monster for Godzilla to fight and this is not one of those.

[01:16:36] This is one where it's just Godzilla destroying stuff and I'm trying to stop them versus the ones where he asked us to defend the city.

[01:16:41] He can never get too heroic.

[01:16:43] He can never become too conscious or deliberate right.

[01:16:47] You know the Roland Emmerich movie they make it that Godzilla is a woman and she's just trying to protect her babies.

[01:16:52] That movie makes a ton of mistakes.

[01:16:55] Whereas like in some of the original Godzilla films he has a son he has Godzilla Junior but it's like it's a very animalistic relationship and they don't try to map too many human emotions onto it.

[01:17:05] Like just let Godzilla be Godzilla.

[01:17:07] Let Godzilla be Godzilla.

[01:17:09] And seeing that the day after Jack Reacher like hammered in for me even more how disappointed I was and never go back because I feel like they're not letting Jack Reacher be Jack Reacher.

[01:17:17] It feels like he went to Paramount and was like please let me make another one and they were like okay but can you make Jack Reacher a little more like other characters.

[01:17:24] That makes sense that they would maybe have demanded just like can it not be as brutal as the first one.

[01:17:30] The first one was just so cold.

[01:17:32] He's a cold character.

[01:17:34] But that's like a fucking bummer to me because that's the appeal of Jack Reacher without that it's like you get a couple good moments.

[01:17:39] You have him explaining how he's going to be the people up you know.

[01:17:41] You got Cruz who's the best at putting on and taking off jackets in the history of cinema.

[01:17:47] But like other than that it's like what the fuck is this thing you know there's not that much inherent to the concept it's like the character.

[01:17:52] And you lose the physical presence it was all in the way that Cruz played him which means the brutality the sort of condescension you know.

[01:17:58] A clinical appraisal of situation.

[01:18:00] I think I said this to you after I did say it.

[01:18:03] I think he's maybe even better.

[01:18:05] He's so at ease with the character he's such I think it's a great performance from him.

[01:18:08] I agree but it's a plumber applied to this.

[01:18:11] No I agree.

[01:18:13] There's something about that he likes sort of sniffs and grimaces every time he's like interacting with a person.

[01:18:17] He plays like a cat hate.

[01:18:19] Yes.

[01:18:21] And then he's like so confident and comfortable when he is you know beating the shit out of somebody.

[01:18:25] Yeah now here's the thing.

[01:18:27] I think this is like you know a real misstep for the Jack Reacher franchise and I hope it's not the end of them.

[01:18:32] It might be but I mean they're low cost enough.

[01:18:34] I really think they're inflating the number on the budget.

[01:18:37] And I think it'll do well enough overseas and like fucking whatever and he might make more of them.

[01:18:41] You asked why he was trying to keep this franchise going so much and the thing we talked about which we you know sort of teased at the beginning of the episode is that Mission Possible is obviously his big champagne a franchise right.

[01:18:51] But it can't last for I mean it's that franchise is built upon the promise of him doing incredible insane stunts and he's 53 for.

[01:18:58] He's getting old.

[01:19:01] Yeah and like he's at a point right now where his face has got a little more interesting because it got the bags under his eyes but he still like got jet black hair.

[01:19:09] He's still working out a lot.

[01:19:11] His body is a little weird.

[01:19:13] It's getting a little weird but he's like fighting the last vestiges of like can I still look like a V-Rall man right.

[01:19:18] Mission Possible isn't going to work when he passes that.

[01:19:21] He's going to make six.

[01:19:23] No question.

[01:19:25] And then we'll see.

[01:19:27] Yes there might be a passing of the torch at that point.

[01:19:28] The series of six is constructed to let Ferguson sort of lead the franchise.

[01:19:32] That'd be cool.

[01:19:34] I mean Renner certainly ain't gonna.

[01:19:36] The weird thing about the plans they all made both Mission Possible and Born to have Jeremy Renner take over the franchise is Jeremy Renner is 45 years old like he's not your young gun.

[01:19:46] No absolutely not.

[01:19:48] I mean I get what they saw in the Hurt Locker obviously like this is a movie star.

[01:19:51] He was no spring chicken.

[01:19:53] He was no spring chicken and also he's not a movie star.

[01:19:55] He's good.

[01:19:56] He's an incredible support.

[01:19:58] What you want is him in the Mission Impossible movies and things like that.

[01:20:01] And into the Avengers movies.

[01:20:03] You like him to play off.

[01:20:05] Pretty much plays a bureaucrat in the Mission Impossible movies.

[01:20:07] It's like their point man.

[01:20:09] If we're talking about like Arsenal in the 90s he's Dennis Bergkamp.

[01:20:11] He plays off the ball.

[01:20:13] You know he's great.

[01:20:15] You want him up front but he's Dennis Bergkamp.

[01:20:17] Fuck this is not my podcast.

[01:20:19] But the thing with Jack Reacher is Jack Reacher is a character he could play as he gets older.

[01:20:23] Absolutely and you made this point to me last night Tuesday or whatever.

[01:20:26] And now you're always like that.

[01:20:28] You're totally right.

[01:20:30] Because Clint Eastwood could play Jack Reacher and Liam Neeson could play Jack Reacher.

[01:20:32] Well because he's right out of those sorts of sort of dime store heroes.

[01:20:36] Right? Like yeah.

[01:20:38] It's so much about presence and intellect and when he's physical he's physical in a very precise like limited amount of movement kind of way.

[01:20:43] That's his whole thing.

[01:20:45] So it's a thing you could shoot around with an older guy.

[01:20:47] And I think the Jack Reacher movies could actually get better as Tom Cruise got Greyer.

[01:20:50] And I think this movie is like a bummer but it also is like the whole point is like Jack Reacher is on like a content.

[01:20:56] And he's like a continuum.

[01:20:58] He's like a feedback loop.

[01:21:00] Like he's never going to change and the next movie could reset and totally ignore everything that happened in this movie and it wouldn't feel lazy or sloppy or disrespectful.

[01:21:06] I think they should just make fucking 45 of these.

[01:21:09] And I think his thing is like look I'm not going to be able to be this A-list like sci-fi like leading guy forever.

[01:21:14] This is maybe my retirement policy.

[01:21:16] Sure.

[01:21:18] Is every couple years I flip whip out a.

[01:21:20] If you want to do that that's fine get a better director Tommy.

[01:21:22] Get a pick a pick a novel that I don't know.

[01:21:23] I mean maybe the novel is good so I shouldn't I shouldn't mean but just do things a little different.

[01:21:29] Here's the thing I read though never go back with people say is a good novel.

[01:21:32] Hey that's the 18th one.

[01:21:34] So if like 18 in you're introducing the idea of making him a little human that's very different than the second movie right.

[01:21:39] The other thing is apparently the daughter doesn't come in until the very end of the novel.

[01:21:43] Like he's aware of the daughter and he's sort of coming to terms with the idea of having a daughter out there.

[01:21:47] So they really did mess with it.

[01:21:49] She's on this road trip with them for two thirds of the movie.

[01:21:51] Yeah 100 percent which is a fucking bomber.

[01:21:54] Let's play the box office game.

[01:21:56] This is for Jack Reacher.

[01:21:58] Right we don't know how never go back does this weekend my guess is 16 million.

[01:22:01] So this is on route to 50 domestic.

[01:22:04] Right.

[01:22:06] This is Christmas weekend.

[01:22:08] Okay 2012.

[01:22:11] Okay.

[01:22:13] I really took a bathroom so I'm going to try to do this one quickly.

[01:22:15] No merchandise spotlight no burger report no orange twist file box office report and then I'm going to poop really hard.

[01:22:20] Okay.

[01:22:22] So what's the number of Christmas weekend.

[01:22:24] It opens what number in the box office.

[01:22:26] It opens number two.

[01:22:28] Wow.

[01:22:30] Okay so not a great weekend this is sort of right before the Christmas rush.

[01:22:32] So it's like the calm before the storm.

[01:22:34] Right.

[01:22:36] Number one how much does it make 36 million in its second week.

[01:22:39] That's not bad.

[01:22:41] It's a 56% drop.

[01:22:43] It's a big blockbuster movie.

[01:22:45] It's the first in a new franchise but it's it's a sort of a spin off.

[01:22:50] It's a December franchise.

[01:22:52] It's kind of a spin off.

[01:22:54] Is it a Marvel picture?

[01:22:56] No.

[01:22:58] It's kind of a franchise but it's kind of a spin off.

[01:23:01] But it is part of like a connected universe.

[01:23:05] 36 second weekend which means it made like 70 the first weekend.

[01:23:09] Yeah let me I can even find that info for you.

[01:23:12] Yeah it makes 84 its first weekend.

[01:23:17] And this movie eventually grosses 300 domestic one billion worldwide.

[01:23:23] Which is crazy.

[01:23:25] 2012.

[01:23:27] Yeah I mean there's a reason you're not getting this.

[01:23:29] Alright another clue.

[01:23:31] And they made another one.

[01:23:33] They made two more and you want to talk about this movie on our podcast.

[01:23:36] Oh boy was that the clue you were going to give?

[01:23:39] Yeah.

[01:23:41] 2012 they've made two more since then.

[01:23:44] They made two more yeah.

[01:23:46] They both in release since then.

[01:23:48] The series that it's a part of has now concluded.

[01:23:50] And I don't know that they'll ever make another movie in this sort of universe.

[01:23:55] I feel like they've tapped the well maybe maybe they will.

[01:23:58] Is it a book series?

[01:24:00] Yeah.

[01:24:02] And is it like a YA thing?

[01:24:05] No.

[01:24:07] I can't believe you're not getting this now I feel like it's obvious.

[01:24:10] And I want to talk about it.

[01:24:12] You do.

[01:24:14] Because of the director?

[01:24:16] For your sins yes.

[01:24:18] Did one director do all of them?

[01:24:20] Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh.

[01:24:22] It's the second one or the first one?

[01:24:24] It's The Hobbit and Unexpected Journey.

[01:24:26] I kind of do too just.

[01:24:28] You know I just need a little space.

[01:24:30] Jesus Christ what a testament to those movies not having any sort of cultural mark.

[01:24:35] Absolutely especially that one and honestly I think there's a lot to love in every Hobbit movie.

[01:24:41] I only saw the first one and I saw it in the high frame rate shit so it was just deeply unpleasant experience.

[01:24:45] Wait you only saw the first one?

[01:24:47] Which is why I want to do the mini series.

[01:24:49] Oh yeah they get better.

[01:24:51] Oh really?

[01:24:53] Yeah the first one is the worst easily.

[01:24:54] I saw the first one in the high frame rate and it's like I fundamentally hate what they're doing.

[01:24:59] It feels so padded out.

[01:25:01] It looks awful.

[01:25:03] The high frame rate you have to not see.

[01:25:05] The second one is the one that critics kind of liked and I was a little underwhelmed by but it has a lot of cool action sequences and it's not bad.

[01:25:12] The third one which everyone hated except for me I think is this like hilarious like LSD trip of a fucking nonsense movie.

[01:25:22] So it's like the third part is the Caribbean.

[01:25:24] Yeah I kind of had the same one day.

[01:25:27] One day we'll get to Jackson one day.

[01:25:29] Number two Jack.

[01:25:31] By the way we've set our next mini series and we'll announce it to him but we're very excited by it.

[01:25:34] I think it's really exciting and I think it's big.

[01:25:36] We've talked about it before at least vaguely on this podcast.

[01:25:38] Yeah we haven't announced that it's going to be the next one.

[01:25:40] I know.

[01:25:42] Number two Jack Reacher opens to 15 finishes with 80.

[01:25:45] Number three is also a new entry.

[01:25:47] It's a comedy.

[01:25:48] It was a thirty five million dollar budget and it eventually grosses 67 million domestic 88 worldwide.

[01:25:56] So that'll give you a hint.

[01:25:58] This is not a global film.

[01:26:00] This is not a global play.

[01:26:02] It is a quasi sequel to another comedy.

[01:26:05] It was a quasi oh this is 40.

[01:26:08] Yeah.

[01:26:10] We could do Appetite one day.

[01:26:12] We'll do Appetite one day no question.

[01:26:14] That is a weird movie.

[01:26:15] Do you remember the tagline was for that movie?

[01:26:18] The Sword of Sequel to Knocked Up.

[01:26:20] There was that but in the trailers they said this isn't their story.

[01:26:24] This is everyone's story.

[01:26:26] No it's not one of the least universal movies ever made.

[01:26:29] Okay.

[01:26:31] Number four is an animated film that I've never seen.

[01:26:35] It's in its fifth week of release and it eventually inches over the hundred million dollar line.

[01:26:42] Made 300 worldwide kind of a bummer.

[01:26:45] I believe it's a DreamWorks animation joint.

[01:26:48] It's a real whatever.

[01:26:50] If it's what I think it is I think it's underrated.

[01:26:52] Legend of the Guardians?

[01:26:54] It's called Rise of the Guardians.

[01:26:56] Legend of the Guardians is the Owls of Gugliel.

[01:26:58] They're very interchangeable tales.

[01:27:00] I think the film is actually pretty well made.

[01:27:02] It was a bummer that it bombed because it's the best film DreamWorks has made in like eight years.

[01:27:05] Wait really?

[01:27:07] Yeah it's kind of good.

[01:27:09] That film is very well directed.

[01:27:11] Okay whatever.

[01:27:13] Number five I don't care.

[01:27:15] Number five is a film we're probably going to talk about one day.

[01:27:20] A big historical drama, one in Oscar or two.

[01:27:23] Tulsa Transylvania.

[01:27:25] No it's in its seventh week.

[01:27:27] It's grossed 116.

[01:27:29] It's going to finish with 182.

[01:27:31] I knew what it was and I was joking with Tulsa Transylvanian is of course Lincoln.

[01:27:33] Lincoln!

[01:27:35] Big Link.

[01:27:37] And yeah you've also got the guilt trip in there.

[01:27:40] Number six.

[01:27:42] First weekend.

[01:27:43] I do own because I took it at trivia one week.

[01:27:46] No it's not bad.

[01:27:48] Barbara is legitimately great in that movie.

[01:27:50] Skyfall, Monsters Inc, 3D Re-Releases in there.

[01:27:53] Yeah I saw that shit.

[01:27:55] Life of Pi is in there.

[01:27:57] Breaking Dawn Part II.

[01:28:00] Number eleven preview for an upcoming episode is Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away.

[01:28:05] Well I was going to say this.

[01:28:07] If Blankies want to come through this top ten there are maybe four movies in that top ten that we have plans on the books to cover through days.

[01:28:13] Life of Pi.

[01:28:15] Wait what did you say I didn't listen to?

[01:28:17] I'd say there are at least three movies in that top ten.

[01:28:20] I said four but I'm downgrading it to three now.

[01:28:22] What was the fourth?

[01:28:24] There are three movies in that top ten that we plan on covering in the immediate future.

[01:28:29] I'd say in the next year or so.

[01:28:31] So you're arguing Hobbit, Lincoln.

[01:28:34] Life of Pi.

[01:28:36] Life of Pi.

[01:28:38] What was the fourth?

[01:28:40] I don't want to give spoilers.

[01:28:41] Oh well we can cut that out.

[01:28:43] But I mean it's not going to be Rise of the Guardians.

[01:28:45] They're not stupid.

[01:28:47] We're going to do Rise of the Guardians May series.

[01:28:49] I need to poop so badly.

[01:28:51] Thank you all for listening.

[01:28:53] Please rate, review, subscribe.

[01:28:55] Next week we will be back with True Lies With Drop Mill again.

[01:28:58] That's right which we previewed last week but it's going to happen next week.

[01:29:01] We just decided to reach for The Sky and I think we did a great job.

[01:29:05] I did too.

[01:29:07] No Burger Reports.

[01:29:09] Let me really stretch this out.

[01:29:11] And as always...

[01:29:13] Yeah he's doing the gross thing.

[01:29:16] Describe what it is.

[01:29:18] He's jerking off and reaching for something.

[01:29:20] I'm not jerking off, what am I doing?

[01:29:22] And?

[01:29:24] Helps, yeah.