MovieChat Forums > Jack Reacher (2012) Discussion > Why does the guy with hat in bus-stop he...

Why does the guy with hat in bus-stop help Reacher?

posted 11 years ago by ayanbarik92
52 replies | jump to latest

I really enjoyed the movie.Since I'm fully entertained I'm gonna rate it by 8 points.The film has great thrill throughout with almost no complicated sequence except what I have asked.When being chased by police,at last Jack left the car running and got to the bus-stop.The guy with hat(or cap whatever,I don't know the difference) gave him his hat to hide his face.Even other people were also getting the thing was that Jack is suspect,its not possible for them to know that he's innocent.So why they had not helped cops and helped Jack?

[–] thomaswork 11 years ago

Not really sure, probably just wrote that way to make a humorous scene. But if you really want an answer maybe he was in a part of town were Cops are not liked? They were at a bus stop, which say's maybe they were poor. I'm no social scientist, but most under-class citizens normally dislike the police. How do we know they were poor? They were queueing for the bus, and as Homer Simpson once said "public transportation is for losers"

Hope that helps :-)

[–] ayanbarik92 11 years ago

Yes,that sounds accurate.

[–] joolztoolz 11 years ago

Ahhhh the theory of busriders hahaha--at no time when I took a bus at night did I ever stand with 20 other people. I've never seen 20 plus people waiting for a bus at night before. It's like "The Theory of Busriders."

So, riding a bus makes one a loser but quoting Homer Simpson is somehow inspired.

Lot's of people take public transportation...I've just never seen those numbers before at any bus stop I've ever been standing at.

I am a leaf on the wind - watch how I soar.

[–] the_la_baker 11 years ago

Ahhhh the theory of busriders hahaha--at no time when I took a bus at night did I ever stand with 20 other people. I've never seen 20 plus people waiting for a bus at night before. It's like "The Theory of Busriders." Lot's of people take public transportation...I've just never seen those numbers before at any bus stop I've ever been standing at.

Do you live in LA? I do as well, and you are right, you never see 20 people at night getting on a bus, and 20 would be a lot even for the day. However, I have gone to other big cities and waited for a bus with at least 20 other people. In Frisco its quite normal, but only during the day/early evening.

[–] quincee33 8 years ago

it's supposed to be early morning not night...so it could be 5 or 6 am, rush hour, lots of people going to work.

[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 8 years ago

I think that's pretty dependent on where you live. If you are from L.A. like the other guy, southern california is not well designed for mass transit. In other cities, like here in Denver, mass transit is a wonderful, often-used thing

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

[–] hogwouth 10 years ago

So poor means that people don't like cops and are immoral. Ok.

Well what are the use of my brains if I'm tied up with a dumb cluck like you?

[–] demon-xp 11 years ago

He didn't trust the police. Obviously for a reason if you watched the flick.

[–] BShepherd24 11 years ago

If this movie were made after trayvon Martin trial we wouldn't have seen this part because no black man would ever help a white man after that trial.

[–] kobrickmamba 11 years ago

i thought it was either because he didnt like the cops like a few other posters had said or it was because he was scared of reacher.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] polsixe 11 years ago

No, he looked a little like Morgan Freeman and had a big grin when Reacher gave the hat back. Bus riding folk hate 'the man' and a calm good looking male will always be accepted.

[–] klm38 11 years ago

Because three words: F.ck the PO-lice

On a serious note though, while its not unreasonable to assume that those folks disliked the cops and helped him out, I still consider it one of the few lazy pieces of writing in an otherwise good movie. It was also a huge coincidence that the motel he chose to stay at overnight turned out to be the crime scene where Sandy was murdered.

[–] Impulse_TJ16 11 years ago

Huh? Lazy? It wasn't lazy, it was because exactly what someone here said. What you said. Tom, himself, said that he didn't initially "get" the scene when he read it either, but once he saw the group of people at the time he suddenly got why that scene exists. Ask for the second part, what are you talking about? You do know they dumped the body at the hotel to frame Reacher, right? It took place outside of Sandy's home and they moved her body to the dumpster at the motel.

You had my curiosity, now you have my attention
http://tinyurl.com/a4havet

[–] klm38 11 years ago

Ah I didn't catch that body transfer. I was confused when I saw the body at the motel after they showed her just outside her home.

While that getaway scene is quite possible, I just felt like it was too easy/convenient for Tom to get away like that. But I suppose if its possible in real life, then there's no harm in using it in a movie plot.

[–] Impulse_TJ16 11 years ago

All is well my friend, just wanted to clear the confusion up for you. If I sounded irritated I'm sorry about that.

You had my curiosity, now you have my attention
http://tinyurl.com/a4havet

[–] robinstigator 11 years ago

Because this movie sucks and they added that scene to let us know that Jack Reacher is cool with black folks, to make us not worry too much about how the one black cop is the one that is betraying everything. Trying to hide the subtle racism with not-so-subtle good black man...

[–] melecsengir-1 11 years ago

Oh would you shut up... There is only racism for People who always notice and see the Color of ones Skin. You should start to just see humans.

[–] ayanbarik92 11 years ago

Yep,I do support you.We should just see humans.And the film does not have anything to do with racism.

[–] thomas196x2000 10 years ago

To be honest, it DID come across as racist. Well, of COURSE a black guy is going to help you get away from the cops. Wow, that scene just stunk.

[–] paileshalai 11 years ago

During the film there seemed to be a community theme, with a lot of shots of the Pennsylvania skyline, suburbs, and many references to baseball and Duvall's character has a scene with Reacher where they mention something about the Yankees. The guy that helped him at the bus stop also had a hat with P on it which looked like a local baseball teams cap. It seems that this was continuing the theme of a tight community where people look out for each other. I also agree with the fact that it appeared to be a 'poor, urban, black' population which may hint at their dislike for the police.

But thats just my theory.

[–] keithxroberts-1 11 years ago

It was just another attempt to inject humour into a movie that didn't need it, like the bathroom scene.

[–] Impulse_TJ16 11 years ago

What kind of foolishness? All films need some kind of humor, or is your life so soulless that you don't have humor in your every day life?

You had my curiosity, now you have my attention
http://tinyurl.com/a4havet

[–] quincee33 8 years ago

That particular hat looked like the P from University of Pennsylvania which is an ivy League school... That's in Philadelphia in the same state .... However, it was dark, and I really only seen the movie once.... just looked like the P from Penn not from the Pittsburgh Pirates which would have a bright yellow P ...However, these days there are all kinds of " 3rd jerseys" " 3rd hat's" " vintage uniforms" ect.... Hope that helps.

[–] andrew991116 11 years ago

Because 'Murica!

[–] SteveResin 11 years ago

Yeah that scene really annoyed me. For all the Dude at the bus stop knew Reacher could have been a nonce or a rapist. Ridiculous.

--------------------
Duty Now For The Future

[–] dbre 11 years ago

I thought that scene was poignant social commentary. Hollywood was trying to send a message to the powers that be that they believe common folk are no longer on their side.

What is interesting is that the instinct of the people turned out to be right considering it was the dirty cop that was trying to catch him. If he had, Reacher would be dead. So the message is: trust the instincts of the general public. They can sense who is good and evil

[–] transmentalist 11 years ago

I suggested this in another thread when the idea was still sort of coalescing in my head.

In the earlier scene, Reacher explains what he's come to understand about how people of America aren't truly "free."

He also goes on about situational/tactical awareness.

It's therefore thematically and logically consistent for Reacher to abandon his car in exactly the part of town where he knows people DON'T trust the police, and ARE likely to help him, especially if he presents himself as cool and collected, the authority-resisting rogue rather than the frantic fleeing felon.

In other words, he was smart enough to seek shelter among people he knew would protect him.

He would not, for example, have sought shelter with the two earlier posters who claim they would not have helped him, because they most likely don't live in those neighborhoods, taking those buses, getting hassled by those cops.

[–] kkarma2 11 years ago

This is probably the best answer.
I did not know the answer and I thought it was stupid.

Think about it someone like Tom Cruise walking up to them.

What he does is cool. he looks them straight in the eye he was saying I am going to trust you guys that it because he knows they know the police are dirty.

He looks at them and they look at him from the care and the way he leaves the car its like taking refuge and they just react to that.

A rapist would not have the guts to do that only an innocent man or someone who has not done such a crime like trying to escape a ticket.

[–] podracer96 9 years ago

Thanks, transmentalist, for the only sane answer in this thread.

------
The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.

[–] thomas196x2000 10 years ago

Really, so the next time you see a car being chased by the police, you can figure out if he is guilty or not?

Astonishing!

[–] 9 years ago

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