Review: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Jack Reacher is still one bad shut your mouth.

Jack Reacher returns to the big screen in this sequel to the 2012 film based on the book series from author Lee Child. The film follows Reacher (Tom Cruise) who is a loner that returns to his former military unit to meet with Major Susan Turner (Colbie Smulders). Although the duo have been solving cases across the United States, they had never met in person and this idea is thwarted once more when Turner is accused of espionage due to a government conspiracy.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back starts off hitting the ground running and doesn’t turn back (Tom Cruise running pun intended). True to the action thriller category, Reacher doesn’t disappoint in taking out his challengers in the most combative ways while the plot twists leave a suspenseful ambiance.

Having never seen the first movie of this series I liked that it wasn’t necessary to understand the storyline or the characters. I think the movie did a really good job of giving a feel for the characters leaving little room for confusion, which put me at ease.

Regarding the action thriller genre, this movie got so cliché at times to the point where in a way it was so bad that it was good. At first glance the plot was seemingly good until it turned out to be like most other storylines about a government conspiracy. Despite this there still were several times that I gasped or even jumped from an enemy sneaking up on Reacher, or attempting to anyway.

I did like how the movie showed a little bit of Reacher’s soft side as he encountered a 15-year-old girl who may or may not be his daughter. Known for being a legendary assassin and fighter, it was interesting to see Reacher grow a soft side toward the teenager despite being unsure of the paternity results. Also as for Tom Cruise running in this movie, he does a lot of it so there’s that plus the hand fights mixed with the explosions make for great visuals.

3 out of 5

What would I have changed? (Spoilers)

Click here to read what I would Change

There were some issues in continuity that left me wondering why they left the movie like that. For example, when Reacher gave Espin a big, swollen black eye and knocked him out, when Espin came to in one shot his eye was still swollen then in the next his eye was perfectly fine. It’s in the details, keep everything consistent.

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Ashley (Contributor) is an Orlando native who loves watching movies. Her favorite genres include comedies, thrillers and sci-fi