We enjoy reading the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child (that's a pen name). Reacher is an enigmatic character who hitchhikes around the country with no luggage, just a toothbrush in his pocket sometimes. He buys new clothes when he needs them. One of our favorite lines from one of the novels goes something like: Jack Reacher, out in the desert armed only with a mirror on a stick."

Here is an excerpt from the Wiki description of Jack Reacher:

"Reacher is 6' 5" tall (1.96m) with a 50-inch chest, and weighing between 210 and 250 pounds (100–115 kg). He has ice-blue eyes and dirty blond hair. He has very little body fat, and his muscular physique is completely natural (he reveals in Persuader, he has never been an exercise enthusiast). He is exceptionally strong but is not a good runner. He has, however, a high stamina. Reacher's strength is combined with his savant intellect and military training, analyzing his environment and opponents at extremely high processing speeds.

Reacher has the uncanny ability to know what time it is, at any time of the day, without referring to a clock. He often uses his internal clock as an alarm, enabling him to wake up at any time he chooses.

Reacher is highly skilled at fighting, enhanced by in-depth technical and military knowledge. ... Reacher's favorite techniques include elbow strikes, uppercuts, and headbutts. His experience, skills, knowledge and strength aid him in fighting, as he is sometimes stronger than his opponents but often matched with similar or larger enemies. As revealed in Nothing to Lose, Reacher hates confronting an opponent armed with a knife, believing that he has "no particular talent for it".

He mentally plans his fights using physics in a scientific calculating method. He knows how to break a man's neck with one hand (Bad Luck and Trouble) and kill a villain with a single punch to the head (Running Blind and 61 Hours) or chest (Worth Dying For). In a fight against a 7 foot, 400 lb steroid-using thug (Persuader), Reacher was able to lift his opponent into the air and drop him on his head.

Reacher is always aware of his surroundings; he always sits with his back to the wall, so that he can see those entering a room so he cannot be attacked from behind.

Reacher is a skilled marksman. In addition to being the only non-Marine to win the Marine Corps 1000 Yard Invitational rifle competition, he also won the US Army Pistol Championship and served as a pistol instructor. In One Shot, Reacher uses his enhanced intelligence with advanced technical and military knowledge during a long range shooting scene—slowing and counting his heartbeat while calculating wind, humidity, trajectory, speed, energy and force. Throughout the novels, Reacher has shown great skill in the use of various types of firearms."

If you were going to cast someone in this role, who would you pick? I see a John Wayne type, if there is anyone like that still living. But guess who stars in the upcoming Jack Reacher movie. Tom Cruise! Really? That short little git?

Oh, I have no doubt movie magic will make Tom look tall by standing him on a box and everyone else in a trench. I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt with regard to his acting ability, because I am probably letting what I've heard about his personal life cloud my judgment. But dang! Why not someone like Bruce Willis? Where is Russell Crowe?