Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Written by: Lee Child, Richard Wenk
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Patrick Heusinger, Danika Yarosh, Aldis Hodge, Holt McCallany
The Good
Per usual, Tom Cruise does his best portrayal of a “tough guy” throughout the film. You can bank on some nice action sequences and fight scenes that will keep you entertained. Matter of fact, the fights scenes are probably the best parts of this film. What I enjoyed most was similar to what you may have seen in the trailer. It’s always fun to see how much of an upper hand Reacher has over his opponents.
The supporting characters also delivered for this film. Cobie Smulders proves once again that’s she’s fully capable of handling an action film role. My personal favorite was a performance by Patrick Heusinger (He plays the main bad guy.) I thought his character was built up nicely as the antagonist to counter Jack Reacher. It’s always nice to see when a bad guy is able to push the good guy and challenge them to the very end.
The Bad
Unfortunately, the actual crime in the story is not all that interesting. While we are led down this mysterious path of “who done it?”, when we finally find out what happens, it’s just that compelling. Rather it was more intriguing to see Cruise finally go head to head with the main bad guy. What’s even more unfortunate is the final fight scene is a bit of a let down. There just wasn’t as big of a pay off as was initially anticipated.
There is a side story that develops between Reacher and “Samantha” (played by Danika Yarosh) and, for an action film, it often times felt a bit forced. Initially the way it was introduced, it was cleverly done and it made sense. However, the longer the movie progressed, it began to feel a bit more like a distraction. One minute we’re focused on Reacher and Samantha’s relationship, the next minute we’re asked to focus on crime mystery that’s developing.
The Reason
Overall, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was a straight forward action film. You’ll get your fight scenes and cheesy one-liners as expected. The film does try to add a bit more drama into the mix, though I personally didn’t think that was really needed. If you were like me, you probably instantly noticed how Reacher was very similar to Bruce Banner in the old Hulk TV series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzMSfaNXYZg&feature=youtu.be&t=10s
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was still an enjoyable watch, and if you liked the previous Jack Reacher film, then you’ll more than likely enjoy this sequel as well. Feel free to give it a look over the weekend.
