Jack Reacher Quotes

[from trailer]

James Barr: There's this guy. He's a kind of cop, at least he used to be. He doesn't care about proof, he doesn't care about the law, he only cares about what's right. He knows what I did. You can't protect me. No one can.

[from trailer]

Jack Reacher: You think I'm a hero? I am not a hero. And if you're smart, that scares you. Because I have nothing to lose.

Jeb: Hey. Outside.

Jack Reacher: Pay your check first.

Jeb: I'll pay later.

Jack Reacher: You won't be able to.

Sandy: [Sandy, Jeb and four other guys all surround Reacher outside a bar]

[to Reacher]

Sandy: You still think you're funny now, creep?

Jeb: Shut your mouth, Sandy! No one is talking to you!

Jack Reacher: It's your last chance to walk away.

Jeb: [chuckles] Are you kidding? It's five against one.

Jack Reacher: [shakes his head] It's *three* against one.

Jeb: [perplexed] *How* do you figure?

Jack Reacher: Well, once I take out the leader, which is you, I'll have to contend with one or two enthusiastic wingmen. The last two guys, they always run.

Jeb: Oh, you, uh, you've done this before?

Jack Reacher: [reluctantly nods] It's getting late.

[Jeb moves in]

Jack Reacher: Remember, you wanted this.

[Jeb smiles and swings at Reacher, who ducks and elbows Jeb in the forehead, who falls to the ground]

Jack Reacher: It's okay.

[helps Jeb up]

Jack Reacher: Get up.

[kicks Jeb in the groin from behind, Jeb groans and Reacher pushes him aside with his foot. The other four move in closer]

Jack Reacher: Okay, let me know who's who. Let's get this done.

[Reacher easily takes down the other four, with him holding the last guy's foot under his arm. Two of the guys get up and both stare at Reacher with fear]

Jack Reacher: Really?

[kicks the last guy in the chest, who screams as he falls to the ground. The two guys run away as the cops come. Sandy runs away as well]

Cop: [points his gun at Reacher] On the ground.

Jack Reacher: That's a pretty impressive response time, fellas.

Cop: Do it!

[Reacher reluctantly gets down on the ground, next to a groaning Jeb]

Cop: Hands behind your back.

Jack Reacher: [to Jeb] Who hired you?

Jack Reacher: Look out the window.

Helen: No, I've work to do.

Jack Reacher: Just humor me.

Helen: And you need to leave.

Jack Reacher: Okay.

[Grabs Helen's arm and starts to pull her to the window]

Helen: Let, let go of me.

Jack Reacher: Would you tell me what you see?

Helen: I see the same... things I see every day.

Jack Reacher: Well, imagine you've never seen it. Imagine you've spent your whole life in other parts of the world being told every day you're defending freedom. And finally you decide you've had enough. Time to see what you've given up your whole life for. Maybe get some of that freedom for yourself. Look at the people. Now tell me which ones are free. Free from debt. Anxiety. Stress. Fear. Failure. Indignity. Betrayal. How many wish that they were born knowing what they know now? Ask yourself how many would do things the same way over again? And how many would live their lives like me.

Gary: I'm gonna need to see some I.D.

Jack Reacher: Go get Sandy.

Gary: Well, I need to see something.

Jack Reacher: How about the inside of an ambulance?

Sandy: [sits down at Reacher's table] Mind if I share your table?

[Jack gives a nod]

Sandy: I'm Sandy.

Jack Reacher: So was I. Last week. On a beach, in Florida.

Sandy: What's your name?

Jack Reacher: Jimmie Reese.

Sandy: You don't look like a Jimmie.

Jack Reacher: What do I look like?

Sandy: I don't know. But not a Jimmie. So you're new in town?

Jack Reacher: Usually.

Sandy: It's kind of loud in here. Do you wanna, maybe, go someplace quieter? I have a car.

Jack Reacher: You're old enough to drive?

Sandy: I'm old enough to do a lot of things.

Jack Reacher: I'm on a budget, Sandy.

Sandy: [perplexed] What?

Jack Reacher: I can't afford you.

Sandy: I'm not a hooker.

Jack Reacher: Oh, then I *really* can't afford you.

Jack Reacher: What I mean is, the cheapest woman tends to be the one you pay for.

Sandy: [stands up, angrily] I am *not* a hooker!

Jack Reacher: Well, a hooker would get the joke.

Jeb: [enters with his four buddies] What's this?

Sandy: He called me a whore.

Jeb: Is that true?

Jack Reacher: Well, nobody said whore. She inferred hooker, but I meant slut.

Punk: Hey. That's our sister.

Jack Reacher: Is she a good kisser?

Jeb: Hey. Outside.

Jack Reacher: Pay your check first.

Jeb: I'll pay later.

Jack Reacher: You won't be able to.

Jeb: You think?

Jack Reacher: All the time. You should try it.

Jeb: It's a great joke, but I'm gonna beat your ass. Do you want to do that here or outside?

Jack Reacher: Outside.

[gets up]

Jeb: Stay here, Sandy.

Sandy: I don't mind the sight of blood.

Jack Reacher: [walks by Sandy] When it means you're not pregnant, anyway.

Rodin: So... how do we find this Reacher?

Emerson: Obviously, you don't find this guy unless he wants to be found.

Secretary: [Knocks and enters the room] Excuse me, sir. There's a Jack Reacher here to see you.

Helen: So why are you so hard to find?

Jack Reacher: I'm impossible to find.

Helen: Why is that?

Jack Reacher: Well, you could say it started out as an exercise and became an addiction.

Helen: Are you on the run?

Jack Reacher: [beat] My bus is leaving. You better hurry, counsellor.

Helen: How do you know James Barr?

Jack Reacher: Why are you representing him?

Helen: I'm a lawyer.

Jack Reacher: So is a public defender, with just as much a chance as clearing Barr.

Helen: I am not trying to clear him, I am just trying to keep him off death row.

Jack Reacher: By proving he's insane?

Helen: Well, that's one option.

[first lines]

Emerson: It's life or death now, James. By that, I mean you're doing one or the other up in Rockview. This here is District Attorney Rodin. Want to know what he's wondering? Whether you're gonna walk like a man or cry like a pussy on your way to the death house. See, the D.A. likes the needle, whereas me, I like to see a man like you live a long life - with all your teeth knocked out. Passed around till a brother can't tell your fart from a yawn.

Jack Reacher: And sticking it to your father because...

Helen: No. Not my father. The Office of the District Attorney.

Jack Reacher: ...because the Office of the District Attorney never bought you a pony.

Helen: D.A. Rodin's never lost a capitol case. You know why?

Jack Reacher: Impeccable tailoring.

Helen: He never picks a fight he can't win.

Jack Reacher: Worked for the Red Baron.

Helen: Every murder suspect in this town is given a choice: confess or face death. Against a D.A. who never loses. My firm has reason to believe more than one innocent man has gone down without a fight.

Jack Reacher: Oh, I get it. You're an idealist.

Helen: No, I'm a pacifist.

Jack Reacher: It's a noble crusade. But this is not the fight, trust me. James Barr's guilty.

Helen: You haven't even seen the evidence.

Jack Reacher: You understand you're not just asking me to look at the evidence. You're asking me to look at a cold-blooded killer. A man I know to be guilty. A man you want to keep off death row. You're asking me to look at him objectively.

Helen: Yes, that is what I'm asking.

Jack Reacher: I'll do it. On one condition.

Helen: Name it.

Jack Reacher: You have to look at the victims objectively.

Jack Reacher: Who is he?

Helen: That's John Doe Number Two. The man on the grassy knoll. The thing under the bed. They call him the Zec.

Helen: Were you really going to shoot him?

Jack Reacher: I knew I wouldn't have to. One look at this guy and you know he'll do anything to survive. One look at me and you know I'm not bluffing.

Helen: What about the truth? What about getting the guys who really did this? What about bringing him to justice?

Jack Reacher: I just did.

Jack Reacher: I need some sleep. You too.

Helen: You don't really think I'm gonna...

Linsky: I made a mistake. I mean, you can still use me, just, just tell me how to fix...

The Zec: To survive. Don't say "fix it," because you can't. We covered up the one mess. You made another.

Linsky: All right. You're right. You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry. Just, tell me what I have to do.

The Zec: I was in prison in Siberia. I spent my first winter wearing a dead man's coat. A hole in one pocket. I chewed these fingers off before the frostbite could turn to gangrene. These I gave up to avoid working in the sulfur mine. That is how I survived when so many others did not. A man this rare can always be of use. So show me. Show me you are rare. Show me you'll do anything to survive.

Linsky: I don't understand.

The Zec: The fingers from your left hand.

Linsky: Have you... Have you got a knife?

The Zec: Did I have a knife in Siberia?

Linsky: No... Come on, you've, you've got to be kidding.

The Zec: You can do it. Show me.

Linsky: [tries to chew his thumb off] Christ! Can't! I can't.

The Zec: Always the bullet.

Linsky: I can't!

The Zec: I don't understand.

[Charlie shoots Linsky]

Helen: You want me to wait?

Jack Reacher: No, I'll meet you back at the office later.

Helen: How will you get there?

Jack Reacher: I'll hitch a ride.

Sandy: Am I in trouble?

Jack Reacher: Not if you lend me your car.

Sandy: I don't have a car.

Jack Reacher: Well, sure you do. It's outside. I'm guessing you're the Camaro. That whimsy little pickup has Gary written all over it. Keys?

Sandy: I can't. It's Jeb's car!

Jack Reacher: Well, won't he be surprised when I drive it home for him.

Sandy: Who are you, mister? Really?

Jack Reacher: [Sandy gives him a key] I'm just a guy who wants to be left alone.

Jack Reacher: Got a car?

Punk: It's outside.

Jack Reacher: Keys.

Punk: My hand, man. They're in my pock... Okay, okay.

[gives a key to Jack]

Jack Reacher: Now look at your friends. Now look at my face. Do you *ever* want to see me again?

Punk: No way.

Jack Reacher: Am I stealing your car?

Punk: Use it as long as you like.

Jack Reacher: You're very kind.

Cash: This the lady?

Jack Reacher: Helen Rodin, Martin Cash.

Cash: A pleasure. You look like hell there, Army.

Jack Reacher: You asked if I was afraid I'd end up like Barr. I'm not. I'm afraid I'll end up like this guy.

Cash: There's a lot of dead bodies out here. So let's get to it.

Jack Reacher: We should probably go.

Helen: Wait. That's it? It's just over?

Jack Reacher: You'll be all right, counselor.

Helen: No. What if I need you? How will I find you?

Jack Reacher: You don't need me. Not anymore.

Cash: Get her number. Let's go!

Jack Reacher: With a name like yours, you're gonna feel right at home.

The Zec: Prison? In America? A retirement home. If I go to prison at all.

Jack Reacher: You think you're gonna walk?

The Zec: You are a homeless drifter wanted for murder. Meanwhile, I am an old man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thanks to you, who is left to say otherwise? Who?

The Zec: We'll see which one of us goes to prison.

Jack Reacher: My bet? Neither one.

[shoots the Zec in cold blood]

Jack Reacher: [after killing Charlie in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, Reacher confronts Emerson, who is using Helen as a human shield] I know you're in there, Emerson. It was staring me right in the face. The one piece that just didn't fit. The quarter. Nobody would have thought to dump that meter. Not even me.

[Emerson fires at Reacher, but Reacher manages to shoot Emerson in the head, killing him]

[last lines]

James Barr: There's this guy. He's a kind of cop. At least he used to be.

[scene shifts to a bus with a man yelling at a woman he is sitting next to while James continues]

James Barr: [voice-over] He doesn't care about the law. He doesn't care about proof. He only cares about what's right.

Man on Bus: Look at me when I'm talking to you!

[the camera pulls back to show Reacher is also on the bus while James continues]

James Barr: [voice-over] He knows what I did. He know where I am. And this guy, he made me a promise.

Man on Bus: I said, shut your mouth!

[Reacher hears the augument and reacts as he hears a slap while James continues]

James Barr: [voice-over] If I ever got in trouble again, he'd be there.

[Reacher gets up and moves towards the back of the bus where the man is seated]

[from trailer]

Emerson: What does an Army cop do mostly?

Jack Reacher: What you do, with one minor difference: every suspect was a trained killer.

Reacher: Why do you think he paid for parking?

Emerson: Pardon?

Reacher: He's about to fire six shots into a crowd of strangers... and he's worried about the meter maid?

Emerson: Simple loony won't do it for you?

Reacher: I like to have at least one alternate theory.

Emerson: Habit. Muscle memory. I don't think he knew he was doing it.

Reacher: Like I said, it's damn fine work.

Emerson: Hey, Army. What's the serial number on the rifle?

Reacher: What's the date on the quarter?

[beat]

Reacher: 1968. Forest for the trees, Detective. Forest for the trees.

Helen: You said on the phone you wanted to submit your findings.

Reacher: James Barr was a sniper. Not the best, not the worst. But he trained non-stop for two years. What does training like that do?

Helen: What does any training do? Skills become reflex. Muscle memory. You do without thinking.

Reacher: It also makes people who aren't necessarily smart seem smart by beating some tactical awareness into them. Now, 99% of the evidence your father has against Barr didn't exist in Baghdad; not because Barr was smart, but because he was trained. See, from that garage, the shooter had the sun in his eyes. Targets moving left and right. It's difficult conditions for any sniper.

Helen: But Baghdad -- you said Barr was in a parking garage then.

Reacher: Because in Baghdad, the sun's behind him. Targets coming straight ahead, single file. Ideal conditions for even an average shooter... and the exact same conditions he would've had up on that highway bridge. Up there, he would never even have to get out of the van. No parking meter. No camera. No trace evidence left behind. And his escape is assured. Now I'm not saying he couldn't have killed those people at the river, but he wouldn't have. Not that way.

Helen: So you're saying he's crazy.

Reacher: No.

Helen: Well, what exactly are you saying?

Reacher: Any single piece of evidence I'd buy. But all of it? Fibers, fingerprints, stray brass, I mean... and who the hell pays for parking? Sane or crazy, that just doesn't make sense.

Helen: Okay. So Barr, he wanted to get caught and he wanted you to catch him.

Reacher: That would not explain how Barr, an average shooter firing in poor conditions, never missed.

Helen: He did miss. He did.

Reacher: A pristine bullet, conveniently trapped by a liquid backstop. The same bullet that tied Barr's gun to the killings. And arguably the prosecution's most important piece of evidence. If Barr wanted to get caught, he didn't miss. If he wanted to get away with it, he likely would have and if he wanted to get caught, Barr was incapable of such perfection.

Helen: Or maybe he just got lucky, six shots out of six.

Reacher: That's what I was willing to accept; then those guys took a run at me. Whoever sent them made a mistake.

Helen: It was just a bar fight.

Reacher: Maybe. Or maybe somebody got nervous; tried to run me off. Or put me in a coma, right next to their patsy.

Helen: Patsy?

Reacher: It was such a great crime scene. Nobody ever stopped to think it might be too great. Not Emerson. Not your father. Not even Barr's own defense attorney. But Barr knew I would, no matter how much I wanted it to be true. That's why he asked for me.

Helen: Wait. Are you suggesting-- ?

Reacher: James Barr is innocent.

[Reacher is visited in jail by Helen and Emerson after the bar fight; he is facing away from them]

Jack Reacher: Hello, Helen.

Helen: Am I wearing too much perfume?

Jack Reacher: Breathing too sternly. Detective Emerson. Somebody dead?

Emerson: And if someone is?

Jack Reacher: Then they died of shame, because I was being gentle.

Emerson: I'm starting to understand why you move around a lot, Reacher.

Jack Reacher: So no one's dead.

Emerson: One guy likely won't ever walk right again.

Jack Reacher: You want to charge me.

Emerson: Very much.

Jack Reacher: But no one's pressing.

Emerson: Sadly, no.

Jack Reacher: [finally looks over at them] Am I free to go?

[Emerson nods and then turns to leave]

Jack Reacher: Hey, Emerson!

[Emerson turns back around]

Jack Reacher: 4862681.

Emerson: What's that?

Jack Reacher: It's the serial number on Barr's rifle.

[Emerson leaves, Helen steps to the bars]

Helen: [quietly furious] You're working for me, do you understand that? So everything you do is a reflection on my firm. On me.

Jack Reacher: I was set up.

Helen: You're talking to a lawyer.

Jack Reacher: There was this girl. She came onto me. Picked a fight.

Helen: Which never happens in a bar.

Jack Reacher: She was thrown when I told her my name.

Helen: She was expecting "Mike Tyson"?

Jack Reacher: She wasn't expecting Jimmie Reese.

[beat]

Jack Reacher: Yankees second baseman.

Helen: Why did you say you were a Yankees second baseman?

Jack Reacher: I always use Yankees second basemen. I didn't say I was a Yankees second baseman, I just said --

[stops, realizing he's getting nowhere]

Jack Reacher: Look, the point is, she was expecting to hear Jack Reacher. She knew who I was. And the cops were rolling before the fight even started. And those five guys are her brothers? Come on. Somebody sent those boys to put me down.

[Helen answers her phone while her father and Emerson are in the room]

Helen: This is Helen.

Jack Reacher: [on the other end] I'm guessing the police are there?

Helen: [quietly angry] Yep.

Jack Reacher: By your response, I'm guessing I have about 30 seconds before you hand them the phone.

Helen: If that.

Jack Reacher: If you believe someone could frame Barr, you have to believe they could do the same to me.

Helen: I suppose that's possible.

Jack Reacher: She was a sweet kid, Helen. And they killed her because of me. They want me to run. But I won't. I'm gonna finish this.

Helen: No, that's not a good idea.

Jack Reacher: Listen, two things. One, I... I stole your car.

[Helen makes a "Seriously?" face]

Jack Reacher: If you want to end this, just hang up the phone and report it missing. And I'll understand.

Helen: And anything else?

Jack Reacher: I thought I'd be pushing it if I mentioned this earlier. Now I guess all bets are off. You need to watch what you say to Emerson and your father. I think one of them might be in on it.

[Emerson and Helen's father both now realize Helen's been on the phone for a while]

Helen: [trying to end the call] All right. Thanks for calling. I have to go.

Jack Reacher: Wait. I've been followed from day one. Only three people knew I was here. Emerson, your father and you. You need to ask yourself, "Who has the most to lose if we clear Barr?" Who tried to warn you off me? Of course, I could be wrong. If you think I am, just hand over the phone. There's no sense in getting any deeper.

[Reacher arrives at the gun range that Barr and Jeb would use and walks in. He looks at the targets hung up on the wall with almost precision accuracy]

Jack Reacher: [to the man behind the counter] You got some fine shooters here.

Cash: Fine as frog's hair. Rarer, too. Because most of them fellas out there can't shoot worth a damn. You ask them to put three rounds in the black, well... they'll suck it.

Jack Reacher: I'm looking for the owner.

Cash: That'd be me. Martin Cash.

Jack Reacher: [sticks his hand out to shake] Aaron Ward.

Cash: What can I do for you, Mr. Ward?

[stops, not sure he's heard correctly]

Cash: Ward?

Jack Reacher: Yeah, I'm looking for a friend of mine. We served in Iraq. The guy just dropped off the grid, you know?

Cash: It happens. Yep.

Jack Reacher: Yeah. Anyway, he was a shooter. Last I heard, he lived around here somewhere and I...

Cash: When did he get out of the Army?

Jack Reacher: [smiles] Well, I didn't say the Army.

Cash: Well, you said you served with him. You're no jarhead. Man on a flying horse could see that.

Jack Reacher: Well, my father was in the Corps, if that helps.

Cash: Well, that makes you half-human anyway. Your friend got a name?

Jack Reacher: James Barr.

Cash: James Barr.

[feigns innocence]

Cash: Never heard of him.

Jack Reacher: I think you have. I think you've been dreading the moment some cop comes in here asking after him. Because it's for sure some soccer mom around here is more worried about your range than the swimming pool in her backyard or the drain cleaner under her sink. Wouldn't matter to her if Barr did his killings 100 miles away, only that he came here to rehearse. She'd have a case to shut you down and nothing better to do.

Cash: What do you want?

Jack Reacher: I want to know who Barr's friends were.

[in response, Cash finishes assembling a weapon pointedly]

Cash: [sternly] Those boys out there, they're mighty touchy when it comes to their Constitutional rights. Suppose I tell them a cop is in here asking after my members?

Jack Reacher: I'm not a cop.

Cash: What are you?

Jack Reacher: I work for Barr's attorney. We have reason to believe he's innocent.

Cash: The hell you say.

Jack Reacher: Be that as it may, I'm the only one who's bothered to track him this far. You help me out and I'll be in your debt.

Cash: And if I don't?

Jack Reacher: [heading towards the door] Maybe you can coach soccer.

Cash: You put three in the center and maybe we'll talk.

Jack Reacher: Can I have a few to warm up?

[in addition to the three bullets he's already pulled out, Cash adds one single bullet - Reacher's sole mulligan]