I’ve never read the books of Lee Child. So I couldn’t share the outrage of fans when it was announced that Tom Cruise would play the character Jack Reacher in the new movie of the same name. (Reacher is described in the books as being 6’6″, and Cruise is almost a foot shorter than that.) I can sort-of understand the frustration of some, but I cannot empathize with it.

In fact, I didn’t even know who Jack Reacher was when I first saw the trailer for the movie, a trailer that made me laugh out loud. Tom Cruise as some badass “I’m-not-a-hero” antihero, obviously looking to reboot his action star career and possibly feed his ego? Who would want to watch that? But then I found out who Jack Reacher was, and the more I found out about the movie the more curious I became. Usually, I read a book before seeing the movie upon which it is based, but I decided to make an exception in the case of Jack Reacher. Boy, am I ever glad I did!

I have no idea what kind of books Lee Child writes. For all I know, they could be as preposterous as The Da Vinci Code. But if his work is even half as entertaining as Jack Reacher, I want to read these books! Okay, so the plot: a sniper named Barr takes out five random people, is quickly arrested and is going to be prosecuted. But Barr refuses to admit his guilt, and will only write down the words “Get Jack Reacher”.

We find out that Reacher is a ghost, a man with no past or present. Nobody knows where to find him, and so the only way he can be found is if he wants to be found. And soon enough, he strolls onto the screen, for reasons he reveals to Helen, Barr’s defense attorney (played by Rosamund Pike). Helen asks Reacher to investigate, but he is reluctant, being convinced of Barr’s guilt. But when he begins digging around, he soon realizes that the complete picture might not be quite so simple. With Barr in a coma—having been severely beaten by other prisoners—Reacher has no leads of any kind and nobody to turn to… but with nothing more than sheer doggedness and determination, Reacher eventually cracks the case.

Jack Reacher is a pleasant mystery-thriller. Much of the story’s tension is built through dialogue, and there are only a handful of action sequences. I can only think of four off the top of my head, and there aren’t too many others. The action works very well, and a curious choice is made: no music is played during these sequences. This turns out to be very effective, especially in the second-biggest action set-piece of the movie, a car chase through the city where the only sounds are the car engines. It was particularly interesting to experience this scene while I was sitting near the front of the theater with surround sound blaring these noises out around me.

The action may not be the most elaborate of the films released in 2012, but Jack Reacher knows how to deliver a thrill or two. The opening scene is a terrific example of this, as the sniper sets up shop and slowly scouts the area for prospective victims, before finally settling on one and beginning his killing spree. It’s a very tense segment almost entirely from the sniper’s perspective through the telescopic sight. It’s highly uncomfortable and thus instantly gets you involved in the action – you want to look away but you can’t, and so you’re forced to accompany the sniper as he chooses his victims.

Speaking of the victims, they’re pretty well-characterized. There’s a brilliant sequence midway through the movie where Rosamund Pike’s character basically interrupts the movie and tells Reacher everything she could discover about the sniper’s five victims. It’s a sort of narrated montage that highlights the tragedy of these lives that were cut short. At the same time – and this is the admirable achievement – it’s not a pointless interruption, because Reacher uses this information to come to some good deductions about the nature of the shootings.