Summary SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT The 2012 film Jack Reacher is based on Lee Child's 2005 novel, One Shot, but the film makes 10 big changes to the book's story. Child's iconic Jack Reacher series has been adapted multiple times, including a sequel film, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and a television series by Prime Video simply called, Reacher.
9 Reacher's Kill Count Another element that stands out is the amount of people killed by Reacher in the film. Over the course of One Shot, Reacher only kills four people. In the film, Cruise's Reacher kills a countless number of adversaries. This change was definitely made to build up the movie's spectacle, but it hurts the plot by making everything less realistic. Book Reacher kills when he must, but he is not a vigilante who goes around shooting every enemy he encounters.
7 James Barr's Framing The framing of James Barr is another aspect of Jack Reacher that is different from the book. In the opening montage of Jack Reacher it's strongly hinted that Barr was framed, so the audience knows about it from the beginning. In the book, it's believed he is guilty until about halfway through. Reacher himself is convinced of Barr's guilt in the book, which is why he took the case in the first place.
4 Reacher's Rescue Team Although Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher is surprisingly accurate, the character takes too much on himself in the film. The Reacher from the books is willing to work with others, as evidenced by the rescue team he takes with him to save Rosemary from her kidnappers. In the film, Reacher goes solo to save Helen and take out the Russians. Whereas, in the book, he takes Helen, Franklin, and Ann with him to save Rosemary.