Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

While the trailer gives too many of the best scenes away (as do seemingly most Hollywood trailers of late), the second entry in the Jack Reacher franchise fails in it's attempt to capitalize on the momentum of the original.

With the titular character ably portrayed by Tom Cruise as the quintessential and confident bad-ass, the surrounding cast and paint-by-numbers story-line struggle around his nucleus to present a believable and involving action flick.

One of the issues that plagues the franchise is that the source material portrays Reacher as 6'5" tall at a beefy 250 lbs, capable of taking on 4-5 attackers at a time. Cruise is in great shape and appears at least 10 years younger than his actual age but even with strategic camera angles, at 5'7", it is fairly obvious that he is physically outmatched when surrounded by 4 of his assailants. Yet much ass is kicked with relative ease. This affects the realism meter as the film progresses.

Another issue is the somewhat stilted dialogue and a few "Oh, come on, that would never happen!" moments that elicited a few unintended laughs from other audience members during the viewing I attended.

The supporting cast do their part in workman-like fashion and some of the dialogue between Cruise's Reacher and Co-star Cobie Smulders' Turner entertains and engages as they argue while being simultaneously attracted to one another. Rounding out the cast as the chief antagonist, Patrick Heusinger is an effective (if somewhat clichéd) ex- Special Forces Psychopath who hunts Reacher throughout the film.

It's unclear at this point whether there will be a third film instalment but based on early box office returns, a sequel is likely. I hope they can take the best elements from the first film which had better fight scenes, less stilted dialogue and fewer formulaic plot devices. Seeing as the Jack Reacher Book series is currently at 21 novels, there should be a worthy successor in the Lee Child-penned Canon to put the film franchise back in good stead the next time around.

If you are looking for a breezy action flick with low expectations regarding plot twists or realism, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back fits the bill.

25 October 2016 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester This Afternoon - Jack Reacher Never Go Back. Tom Cruise returns in the title role and plays the hero part with aplomb. The film begins, continues and ends with action and intrigue. In this outing Reacher has to uncover a government conspiracy to clear his name and that of a colleague. A complicated plot entwines itself around the characters and it takes a little concentration not to get lost. There is however a rather refreshing chase scene that doesn't involve a single car. Highly watchable but not as good as the first film. Always easy to watch Tom Cruise when he's strutting his stuff, whatever the plot.

Movie Street V.3 # 190

Tom Cruise is back with his new action thriller "Never Go Back". This time he collaborates with the brilliant director Edward Zwick and the gorgeous Cobie Smulders and trailer also gave some high expectations.

Jack Reacher after disbanding a human trafficking operation and he goes back to the headquarters to meet his long time telephone friend Major Susan Turner. But unfortunately she was framed and jailed. Reacher and Susan Turner teams ups to solve the mystery.

Tom Cruise shines all the way. His screen presence was totally impressive and his action performances were top notch. His energy level is Cobie Smulders was equally impressive as Tom Cruise. But all the other characters were actually dull and was nothing.

The storyline was an okay-ish but clichéd in most parts. It was predictable and the narration was pretty weak and slow. Some of the action scenes and car chase was good.

A forgettable Sequel to the great action movie Jack Reacher.

An action thriller which lacks thrills

5.7 on 10

As a TC fan, this one was disappointing.

Former military investigator Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) takes down a smuggling ring run by the local sheriff with the help of his successor Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders). He goes to DC to meet her for the first time only to be told that she has been detained for treason. She had sent two investigators to Afganistan who were mysteriously killed. Her military lawyer is killed and Reacher is framed for it. While in detention, Reacher saves Turner from assassins and they escape. Meanwhile, a paternity claim against him has been filed by Candice Dayton for 15-year-old daughter Samantha whom he never met.

The story, the execution, and quite frankly the characters are rather robotic. It's not actually exciting but there is plenty of fight action. There is no mystery or shocking twists or interesting reveals. The big climatic twist is barely a twist. The story unfolds in a string of events that aren't terribly compelling. The bad guys are willing to kill as many people as needed but this is the kind of movie where they always come up a little short ending with a hand-to-hand fight. On the plus side, Smulders delivers a tough character without it all collapsing into a romantic puddle although it threatens to from time to time. This franchise keeps doing the hat thing but it's not filmed well. The point is for the character to disappear. It needs a scene where we lose track of Cruise (or Smulders in this one) in a crowd. That would be movie magic. In the grand scheme of things, this movie punches a lot but the hits rarely hurt. It's an action movie with limited thrills.

I have been a Jack Reacher fan since book 1 and have every one written. I know intimately who Jack Reacher is just as many of his fans do. And Jack Reacher is not on this film, and this film is not about Jack Reacher. Make no mistake this film is about Tom Cruise and no-one else. Every mannerism he has, his trademark way of running in every movie he makes. The stunts he loves to do which make it non realistic. The focus is on him, Tom Cruise all of the time and not on the character of Jack Reacher. As a standalone action film it was OK but just OK, there are much better films out there at the moment. Extraction absolutely overwhelms Never Go Back for sheer entertainment and action and great acting and direction. One day they will find a Jack Reacher worthy of the name, possibly someone like Thomas Jane, or Dave Bautista. But after 4 years of denying this movie I finally gave in to pressure from friends and watched it and the disappointment is palpable. A very sad day for movies.