Werner Herzog’s villainous turn in the first Jack Reacher movie is the Bond villain we’ve been missing…
This article contains spoilers for the firstJack Reachermovie, and forSpectre.
It stars Tom Cruise, driving a muscle car at traffic at the height of his reckless stunts phase.
And yet, despite all that pedigree, action franchise-kickstarterJack Reacherremains curiously forgettable.
Superficially, The Zec above all mirrors the Brit superspys ultimate nemesis: Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Each has the imposingly balding head and single useless milky eye.
And, just like Blofeld, on first sight you know that The Zec is pure, unfiltered evil.
You know it even though the character, in his limited screen-time, happens to do very little.
In his introduction, The Zec stands and delivers a monologue.
Just take a look at the man in action…
It helps that Herzog is intimidating physically.
Villainous looks arent everything, though.
He vibrates with menace.
Whenever were in Herzogs company, theres the constant suggestion of terrible violence.
He seems transplanted in from another film, an R-rated one thats also altogether far less conventional.
He makes it work, then proceeds to steal the show.
We sense a long, heavy history in him.
We come to realise hes sadistic, superior, a little mad.
But perhaps Herzog could resurrect his villain elsewhere.
