JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK ■ He’ll never be back
Fans of the original JACK REACHER movie were likely delighted to hear that a sequel was in development. For a time, a sequel seemed an impossible ask, given the low global box office, until Chinese filmgoers pushed it into the kind of money required to greenlight a sequel. It was deserved, too. JACK REACHER was a great action thriller, with a fast-moving plot, entertaining dialogue and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. The sequel, JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK, does not possess any of these qualities that made the original so endearing.
Instead of keeping titular Reacher (Tom Cruise) as a drifter who works best alone, NEVER GO BACK unites him with not one but two unnecessary sidekicks. The premise is interesting enough, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. When Reacher drifts into town to visit phone flame Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), he finds that she’s been arrested and charged with espionage. The unravelling of the semi-interesting conspiracy is one of the better parts of NEVER GO BACK, but the storytelling is soon muddled with the introduction of a weak subplot concerning Reacher’s alleged daughter, Samantha (Danika Yarosh).
The trio heads off on a road trip of sorts, but it never really works. That sharp dialogue from the original movie is gone. There’s zero chemistry between Cruise and Smulders, despite respectable respective performances. Yarosh doesn’t have a whole lot to work with and her character ends up being frequently annoying with little to contribute, with her role relegated to a token inclusion to up the threat by way of Samantha’s stupid decisions. It’d be forgivable if there was decent action, but even that falls flat, except for a brutal albeit out of place final showdown. As a fan of the original, it’s amazing how so many of the great elements of the original movie are missing. It’s a damn shame because it’s unlikely we’ll see another shot at Reacher cinematic redemption.
