'Jack Reacher' Trailer: Tom Cruise Is 'Not a Hero,' But Werner Herzog Is the Villain (Video)

A new trailer for Jack Reacher provides a much clearer picture of what kind of movie we’re going to be getting from this adaptation of Lee Child’s popular mystery book series.

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We find out a lot about Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher very early on in the new two-and-a-half minute clip for writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s film. Reacher is a former cop in the military police, “a brilliant investigator” and “a troublemaker, too.”

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In the film, based on the book One Shot, Reacher is investigating a man who he thinks was framed for murdering five people in a series of sniper killings.

When a lady lawyer is taken hostage, the very confident Reacher explains to the bad guys that he’s not who they think he is.

“Do you think I’m a hero? I am not a hero,” he says to the man on the phone.

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Then, he decides he has more to say, so he gives him a call back: “On second thought, I’d like to kill you.”

The trailer also includes more footage of Cruise driving around in that red car, and also a couple of promising-looking fight scenes.

But what really stands out in the new trailer is the appearance of Werner Herzog as the mastermind behind the murders and kidnapping of the lawyer. It’s the first time we get to see the famed director as the villain, and get a better picture of what he does with the part.

Paramount’s Jack Reacher opens in theaters on Dec. 21.