"Jack Reacher" trailer: Tom Cruise is ready to fight

(CBS News) The first trailer for Tom Cruise's film "Jack Reacher" debuted Tuesday, on the actor's 50th birthday.

Cruise plays the title character in the film, based on the character from Lee Child's crime novels.

Pictures: Tom Cruise
Pictures: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

The film, directed by Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects"), follows Reacher as he investigates a case in which five people were fatally shot.

Some have questionedcasting Cruise as Reacher, a blondish,  6-foot-5, 250-pound ex-military policeman turned drifter-vigilante.

The trailer doesn't feature a lot of Cruise, but he's heard speaking in voice-over during the clip. When he is shown, he's ready to fight - and gives a group of guys a serious beatdown.

This, of course, isn't the only reason the actor has been in the news - the trailer comes days after Cruise's wife, Katie Holmes, filed for divorce.

The film is scheduled to open in theaters on Dec. 21.

Tell us: What do you think of the "Jack Reacher" trailer?