Jack Reacher, the protagonist of more than 30 novels and short stories by British author - Lee Child. The story revolves around a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, Jack Reacher and the series is highly successful around the world. Fifteen years after the first book released, we finally got a movie in 2012, courtesy of Paramount Pictures with Tom Cruise starring as Reacher. In the movie, Jack investigates the case of a former US Army sniper who killed five people. The whole movie is a game of cat and mouse between our protagonist, law enforcement, and the real bad guy.

About two-thirds way into the movie, we are presented with an intense 5-minute-long car chase sequence. It’s a three-way chase as the lead detective, Emerson tries to apprehend Reacher. In the scene, Reacher is attempting to flee from the police, while catching a sedan that’s been following him since the beginning.

The chase sequence is quite interesting and impoortant to the plot. But, it is rarely include it on lists of the best car chase scenes in movies. But we have a feeling that if you take a step back, and pay attention to the details at second glance, you’ll realize that it’s highly underrated and pretty exciting.

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Jack Reacher's 1970 Chevelle SS In Action

In the film, Reacher, drives an absolute legend of a car – the 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS that he commandeered it from someone else. Jack Reacher gets involved in a car chase with the henchmen driving a 2005 Audi A6.

In the chase, the Chevy takes quite a lot of damage. The Silver Audi, on the other hand, walked away with a few minor scratches at the end. The antagonist's henchmen in the Audi escaped before Reacher could catch them. A 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 has a 450 hp 7.4-liter Big-Block V8. The basic Audi only has around 250 hp in its arsenal.

But a car with modern technology and AWD has its own perks, and the Audi held its own against the monstrous Chevy in the film. The narrow streets and tight turns helped too. The police officer’s 2000 Crown Vic didn’t lag far behind, but the main chase was between the Chevy and the Audi. At first glance, it’s quite an odd pairing. But they capture the personalities of the characters driving them.

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What Makes It A Great Car Chase?

1970 Chevelle SS
Via IMDB

One of the most important things for a great car chase scene is plausibility and authenticity. Without it, filmmakers can try a variety of aids like clever editing and visual effects. They can also add music to distract you from focusing on the driving itself. But director, Christopher McQuarrie, went in the opposite direction. McQuarrie and the team choreographed a scene where the primary focus was on the driving itself. There are no air cannons, unnecessary explosions, or ramp work. There is no music as well. We are only presented with spectacular film sequence of cars in action complimented by the roars of the engine and tire screeches. This brings an enormous responsibility to the shoulders of the actual driving. Thankfully, the driving was on-point and entertaining to watch.

The next cool thing about the scene is the location.. Jack Reacher drives around an urban setting, through industrial buildings. Here, the corners and the turns are narrow, tight, and frequent. So, if they lose focus for a second, they’ll find themselves on the sidewalk, hitting a pole, tree or a building. Hence, the entire scene is tense and immersive. It leaves the viewer captivated, and the ending is a stroke of genius from the writers.

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Behind The Scenes Of The Filming

Once we got to know the process behind the making and the efforts put into it, we grew to love it even more. It should come as no surprise that Tom Cruise, being Tom Cruise, did all his driving himself. In one particular scene, when Cruise’s crashed the Chevelle into barrels, then stalled the car. But Tom improvised and was able to start the classic muscle before cutting the scene. The director decided to leave it in the movie, thus adding authenticity, and an organic vibe. The production team used two cars to film the entire sequence. Using multiple, but identical examples to produce car stunt scenes is standard practice in the film industry. One of them was used for exterior shots, and the other was an armored Chevelle to crash and take hits. It also provided interior shots of Cruise driving it.

Moreover, all the stunts were performed in real time, not an ounce of CGI was used in any of the shots. When filiming car stunt scenes, there are always variables that out of control for the producers. During filming, one of the Chevelles jumped a high curb and broke the drive shaft. Good thing they had more than one. It is genuinely impressive how they planned the scene and worked hard choreographing it. The film delivered a car chase scene that is not only enjoyable but also unique and something fresh.