Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Directed by: Edward Zwick | 118 minutes | action, adventure, crime, thriller | Actors: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge, Danika Yarosh, Patrick Heusinger, Holt McCallany, Robert Knepper, Judd Lormand, Christopher Berry, Hunter Burke, Jason Douglas

‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’ is a lousy sequel to an otherwise not-so-great 2012 ‘Jack Reacher’. Tom Cruise returns as the silent, nomadic title hero who uncovers conspiracies everywhere he goes and helps those in need, though his problem-solving style always leaves piles of corpses. Based on the book series by Lee Child, this is a film adaptation of the 18th part ‘Never Go Back’, but the film version only broadly resembles the book.

This time, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is in trouble. Reacher decides to spontaneously visit her after a series of flirtatious phone calls, but just when he arrives, she is arrested and imprisoned on spying charges. Turner works for a special investigation unit of the United States Army, investigating corruption and possibly missing weapons. Reacher, once a unit commander before leaving the military, decides to investigate. He soon finds out that there is much more behind her arrest. Reacher frees Turner from a maximum-security military prison and together they flee in search of justice.

Things get even more complicated when it turns out that a woman has filed a paternity claim against Reacher with the Department of Defense and he may have a 15-year-old daughter. This girl, Samantha (Danika Yarosh), proves to be a resourceful lady and in many ways a useful asset when the pursuit is given by both the military police and the bad guys, led by “The Hunter” (Patrick Heusinger).

After the disappointing result of the first ‘Jack Reacher’ from 2012, it seemed uncertain for a long time whether there would be a sequel, but the receipts, especially abroad, ensured that a second part was released. Did that make anyone happy? It has become a meaningless film that does not last for a moment. ‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’ is packed with action scenes that viewers have seen in hundreds of other movies – and often better. This may also concern the experienced director Edward Zwick, who has made quite a few good films. His songs included ‘Glory’, ‘Courage under Fire’ and ‘Blood Diamond’ and he also made the melodramatic ‘Legends of the Fall’ and ‘The Last Samuari’ (also with Cruise). Where his talents have gone is a good question here.

Cruise himself takes Reacher’s stoic nature to the point where none of his natural charisma remains (his signature grin is completely absent) and he stumbles through his scenes without expression. That makes him an uninteresting hero and makes it difficult to sympathize. Smulders is allowed to show here and there that she knows what to do, but when the need arises, she has to be rescued by Reacher again. Her thin motivation (justice for herself and her murdered subordinates) is also not done to her. The nicest addition is the young Yarosh who walks around with a “I care, I’m in a movie with Tom Cruise” attitude, which fits well with the maladjusted nature of her character.

The whole plot is poorly developed, with no appealing villain or a clear motive or threat. There is a sinister plot and Turner had to be silenced. The plot, however, is so generic that it’s meaningless – and moreover, dragged in the hair in the last part of the film. No intimidating “boss” or super villain awaits. Part 1 with the striking Werner Herzog did that a lot better. As an accomplice, Heusinger is another cardboard character who is supposedly an efficient killing machine, but according to the story, he is only allowed to have his final confrontation with Reacher at the end. If these villains are so cold-blooded and good, we’re back to the beginning: why not just get Turner out of the way? As a filmmaker, you can straighten out such holes in the plot with no chases with fast cars or fights. Especially not when all that action develops predictably and jumps from one predictable point to the next predictable point. As a viewer, you might just think that you’re watching a B-movie banned directly to video that even Steven Seagal would turn his nose at. To say that ‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’ is an average thriller that you forget as soon as you see it is another insult to average thrillers that you have forgotten. With this cast and crew and the budget you can’t deliver such a substandard film.