In the scene where Jack Reacher's car crashes into some barrels, the car accidentally stalled upon the impact, but Tom Cruise luckily was able to restart the car before driving off again. Rather than do a retake, Christopher McQuarrie decided to leave it in the film as he felt it added to the suspense of the scene.
Tom Cruise did all of his own stunt driving.
Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Vince Vaughn, Jamie Foxx and Will Smith were considered for the role of Jack Reacher before Tom Cruise was cast.
Robert Duvall's character is seen using bullets as ear plugs, this is a possible reference to Stephen King's character Roland Deschain in his Dark Tower series of novels who also uses bullets as ear plugs on a number of occasions. Stephen King is a Jack Reacher fan and mentions him in his bestseller Under The Dome.
Coincidentally, the source novel, 'One Shot' by Lee Child, specifically references (though not by name) the film A Few Good Men (1992), which starred Tom Cruise. In the novel, Reacher reflects upon a line of dialogue spoken by Jack Nicholson's character.
The sales person behind the counter selling the watch to Nancy Holt (the blonde female victim) was Tom Cruise's stand-in for the movie.
The character Jack Reacher from Lee Child's book series is described as 6'5" tall and weighing between 210 and 250 pounds (Tom Cruise is 5'7" tall).
Reunites Tom Cruise with Robert Duvall, who worked together in Days of Thunder (1990). In the latter; Cruise was the writer and in Jack Reacher, Cruise is the producer.
Originally titled "One Shot", based on Lee Child's novel of the same name.
In the source novel, "One Shot", by Lee Child, the sniper in the beginning of the story refers to his kill zone as "A target rich environment." This is the exact same phrase used by Tom Cruise in an early scene in Top Gun (1986) when he and Goose enter a nightclub. Cruise would later go on to play the title role in Jack Reacher.
The film was scheduled to be released on December 21, 2012, with its US premiere gala, scheduled for December 15. Originally planned at Pittsburgh's Southside Works megaplex on December 15, and to have been attended by the films stars and Mr. Child, the premier was postponed following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings which took place on December 14.
Leads Cruise and Pike sourced The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) in their quest to capture the right subtle chemistry between their characters.
On the wall in D.A. Rodin's office is a photograph of Rodin shaking hands with former President George W. Bush.
Cameo
Lee Child:
The author of the books makes a cameo as the cop that gives Reacher his personal belongings back when he leaves jail.
Spoilers
The book and incidentally the film contains numerous homages to Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of The Jackal (author Lee Child has stated that the book was one of the main influences in his career):
- Helen (Rosamund Pike) and her father's (Richard Jenkins) surname Rodin is named after Colonel Marc Rodin, one of the three OAS men behind the fictional plot to assassinate President de Gaulle.
- The Jackal has no real name and goes around in a common alias like Zec.
- Both Jack and The Jackal move around and have no permanent places.
- The bullets used in the assassination attempts are custom made.
- Like the Jackal, Jack (Tom Cruise) used four bullets in target practice. Both men use a real bullet on the fourth shot.
- Charlie's (Jai Courtney) smothering Sandy to death is the same way as how The Jackal smothered Madame de Montpelier as to cover their tracks.
- Just like St. Clair who was indirectly feeding information to the OAS, Emerson was revealed to be a mole in the enforcement side.
During the shoot out at the end, Reacher is dismayed to find himself armed with a knife. This is a possible reference to the book "Nothing to Lose", in which Reacher claims to hate using a knife in combat as he has "no particular talent for it".
The theatrical trailer features a large mine explosion that does not occur in the film. A New Zealand customer was successfully refunded after making a complaint that the film trailer was misleading.
At Cash's (Robert Duvall) gun range, Reacher mentions that if Cash doesn't help Reacher, Cash could lose his gun range. As a threat, Reacher asks whether Cash would make a good soccer coach. Duvall plays a soccer coach in Kicking & Screaming (2005).