A surprisingly dark noir heart beats at the center of Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise‘s effort to establish a new franchise beachhead to complement the Mission: Impossible movies. Based on author Lee Child’s series, 18 novels and counting, about an off-the-grid former military investigator turned crusading antihero, director Christopher McQuarrie’s film is a confident, appealing genre piece built on a solid foundation of smartly modulated friction, blending old-fashioned fisticuffs with an engaging murder inquiry that reeks of mysterious frame-up. For the full, original review, from Screen International, click here. (Paramount, PG-13, 130 minutes)