Edward Zwick

The first thing I think of when I hear the name Edward Zwick is his Oscar-winning 1989 film Glory. Specifically, I think of the time my entire 7th grade class was assembled in Marlboro Middle School’s amphitheater to watch it. And when the same thing happened again in 8th grade. And then again in high school, where I was shown Glory two more times in history classes. My colleagues on the ScreenCrush staff all have similar stories. For a certain generation of American school kids, Glory was like a rite of passage.

The Jack Reacher of Lee Child’s novels is a massive 6’5” bruiser. The Jack Reacher of cinema is Tom Cruise, who’s only about 5’7. But there’s something satisfying about this casting. You expect a giant hulk to be able to handle himself in a fight. Cruise’s Reacher is an underdog every time he wanders into a fight and then takes them down three, four, or five dudes at a time. Is it plausible that a 54-year-old vagrant could maintain a flawless physique and dominate packs of professional killers even when cornered and heavily outnumbered? Probably not. Is it plausible that a kid who gets bit by a spider could turn into Spider-Man? There are things a viewer simply accepts because it is the premise of the movie.

By my count, Tom Cruise beats up 11 men all by himself in the trailer for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. 11! And that doesn’t include the four guys he beats up before the trailer starts that they show lying on the ground. And this is just a two minute and 30 second clip...

I reviewed the original Jack Reacher for ScreenCrush back in 2012, and I started that review with this sentence: “If he hadn't already used that title for another movie, Tom Cruise could have easily called Jack Reacher “The Last Samurai.” Which made me chuckle when I reread it this morning. Who directed the new Jack Reacher sequel, Never Go Back? Edward Zwick. And what film did Zwick previously make with Tom Cruise? The Last Samurai.

The story of Bobby Fischer and his famous chess match with Boris Spassky is stuff of nerd legend. It's surprising no one's made a movie about it before, but now Edward Zwick is attached to direct, and Tobey Maguire as Fischer is set to produce and star in 'Pawn Sacrifice,' which will cover the match.