When looking at the profit margins for the first “Jack Reacher” you might wonder how or why a sequel is now hitting theaters. Granted, the first outing had a provable sense of urgency with a slick car chase sequence and a big-bad guy in the form of Werner Herzog. And, if backed into a corner, I could defend the loopy plot with the twists that you could see coming a mile away. But it’s not the size of the plot which makes either of these films watchable, it’s the man driving the vehicle, and Tom Cruise always seems to deliver, no matter how screwballish or over-the-top it may seem.
Sadly, as far as sequels go, “Never Go Back” is formulaic, where the twists, the novelty, and the passion seemed to be stripped by director Edward Zwick. The movie, from the start, hardly makes sense. It’s filled with highly noticeable plot holes, poorly constructed narrative shortcuts, and a lack thereof a villainous presence. As it stands, the film begins with Reacher inside a diner calm and collected, after just putting the beatdown on five tough guys. Reacher, with his charismatic wit, doesn’t care much that the cops are on their way, because, well, he is Jack Reacher.
After a fair game of cat and mouse with the local sheriff, we are introduced to Maj. Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), apparently, she is an old ally of Reacher. Never does it seem plausible these characters would interact the way they do, playing phone tag and having late night conversations about their old military days. But, for the sake of the plot, you must buy into this premise or the movie simply won’t work. Turner is framed for espionage, and it’s up to Reacher to break her out and go on the run to figure out who is behind all of the mindless chaos. Don’t worry though, it turns out to be your basic run-of-the-mill post 9/11 conspiracy involving the smuggling of illegal weapons. The biggest wrinkle in the plot however (and quite possibly the most outlandish cliche the movie tries to offer) is we get introduced to a young girl named Samantha (Danika Yarosh) that may or may not be Reacher’s daughter, forcing him to feel obligated to protecting her throughout the movie. I mentioned earlier how some relationships never develop, that was one.
It’s all camp, but Cruise at 54 never misses a punch, which is part of the reason “Never Go Back” is not a total bust. And it shows that no matter how many times you go to the movies, Cruise is a bonafide movie star. Smulders, on the other hand, seems to be having a great time doing some action, and playing the sidekick next to Reacher, as she too gets a few moments to kick ass and take names. And while Patrick Heusinger as ‘The Hunter’ is no Herzog, his intentions are always clear that he is a man you don’t want to piss off.
On the surface, if you look at the candid attitude of the cast, “Never Go Back” almost becomes an easily forgivable riot that is the stuff great B movies are made off. Alas, at least B movies have a sense of logic whereas this film hardly makes any statements above coherence. Which is a bummer for a big Cruise fan like me. But was this really a movie that people were clamoring for? I understand that Paramount Pictures has been struggling with box office grosses as of late, but it still doesn’t justify a sequel that literally nobody asked for in the first place. C
