Lee Child's hard-hitting man mountain, Jack Reacher, is fast approaching his movie debut – which is about time for a character so obviously cinematic it's as if he was born to bodyslam Hollywood's stuntmen to a pulp. Tom Cruise's cinematic take on the character is coming in Christopher McQuarrie's film, and in case you'd forgotten, here's a fresh poster.

While Cruise looks as good as ever, despite being slightly bloodied, in one respect this is a rather unfortunate new entry in Empire's Badly Photoshopped Movie Poster hall of shame, since it appears that the famous (albeit metaphorical) clock in Reacher's head has swollen his noggin to an unusual size.

On the plus side, the tagline ain't bad, and Reacher looks ready to kick ass and take names. There's one fist curled ready to fell bad guys with a single punch, and one hand curled around a gun, ready to, well, fell bad guys with just One Shot. There's a theme here, basically. The plot will see Reacher investigate the apparently open-and-shut case of a series of sniper killings – which prove to be not-so-clear.

And if you're keen for more, here's another teaser poster for Jack Reacher, this time without the Photoshopping but with even more of a thousand-yard stare.

The cast list also boasts Rosamund Pike (as the love interest), Robert Duvall, Richard Jenkins and, marvellously, Werner Herzog as bad guy The Zec. Cruise vs. Herzog: the face-off we've all been waiting for.

Jack Reacher will agressively headbutt its way into cinemas on December 21 in the US and December 26 in the UK.