Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – movie review

Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series of books has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and the Tom Cruise-led film based on his ninth novel made more than $250 million at the box office, so another was just a matter of “when”, not “if”. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is a cinematic take on Child’s 18th book.

Years after resigning command of an elite military police unit, the nomadic righter-of-wrongs Reacher (Cruise) is drawn back into the life he left behind when his successor, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is framed for espionage. Reacher will stop at nothing to prove her innocence and to expose the real perpetrators behind the killing of two former soldiers who were under her command. As Reacher is drawn into the web, he is doggedly pursued by the mysterious and nameless heavy known only as The Hunter (Patrick Heusinger). Younger, but with a similar skill set to Reacher, he is a guy physically capable of mixing it up with him. He has an all but maniacal interest is bringing down Reacher, who is also accused of fathering a teenager he knew nothing about. Naturally, she too is drawn into the story. Fifteen-year-old Samantha (Danika Yarosh) is recalcitrant and like Reacher is whip smart and doesn’t like taking orders.

“Sam is incredibly resourceful,” says Cruise. “She’s in the tradition of the Artful Dodger…a wayward kid who’s ten steps ahead of things.” Producer Don Granger was the one who brought the hit series to Cruise’s attention in the first place and he explains that one of the good things about the books is that they are not chronological. “With the exception of Reacher and his toothbrush, there are very few characters that carry over from book to book,” Granger says.

Child describes the lasting appeal of his character as the modern iteration of the mysterious stranger. “The American paradigm is the Western, where a mysterious rider comes in off the range, sorts out the problem, and rides off into the sunset, but this character is universal,” Child says.

The director and co-writer of this screenplay is Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond), who worked with Cruise in 2003’s The Last Samurai. There is tension, action and thrills aplenty is this fast-paced, lavish looking thriller. Trying to make sense of it all though, is not so easy. The whos, whys and wherefores are convoluted, so best not to think too much about that. And because I have seen so many of these kinds of movie, it became a little bit too much “by the numbers” – the bad guys falling one by one, until the inevitable final showdown with the meanest and nastiest of the bunch.

One of the distinguishing features, though, is the “stuff you” attitude of the three pivotal characters. Newbie Danika Yarosh has moxie and manages to more than hold her own in the company of Tom Cruise and Cobie Smulders. I enjoyed and appreciated the humour in their interchanges. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back doesn’t break any new ground, but is solid if not spectacular and scores a 7 out of 10.

Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders
Release Date: 20 October 2016
Rating: M

Alex First