 Tagline: Justice is Coming. Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) returns to en his bold brand of justice in "a fun action-packed ride" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) based on author Lee Child's best-selling series. When Army Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is framed for treason, Reacher discovers she's the target of a massive government conspiracy. With help from Turner and a mysterious new ally, Reacher risks everything to take down the powerful organization that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets. Storyline: After accomplishing the assignment of dismantling a human trafficking organization, the former military and drifter Jack Reacher goes to Washington to invite his liaison Major Susan Turner to have dinner with him. However, he meets her substitute Colonel Sam Morgan that explains that Major Turner has been arrested and accused of espionage. Jack seeks out her veteran lawyer Colonel Bob Moorcroft who explains that Major Turner has also been accused of the murders of two soldiers in Afghanistan. Further, he also tells that Jack is being sued, accused by a woman of being the father of her fifteen year-old daughter Samantha. When Moorcroft is murdered, Jack is accused of being the killer and sent to a prison. He sees that Turner and he have been framed and also that Turner will be killed by two assassins. However he rescues her and they flee; soon they realize that there is a conspiracy involving military people from the army and a government contractor that is a powerful arm dealer. Jack also learns that Samantha is in danger and Turner and he rescue her. They decide to protect her since a skilled assassin is hunting them down while they try to find the motive of the conspiracy. Who can be trusted? Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, January 14, 2017 There's "by the book" and then there's "carbon copy of the book." Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is "by the book" in that it's, yup, by the book of the same name from Author Lee Child, creator of the Jack Reacher character, another one of these super-skilled government spook/military guys who have their own Thriller book series, like Mitch Rapp or Scot Harvath. But it's not "by the book" -- that other book, a.k.a. Hollywood's movie factory "book" -- in terms of a movie merely following "the formula" as laid out in "the book." No, there's too much wiggle room for creativity there, implying that the book is more a template than it is a Bible. Never Go Back is the dreaded "carbon copy of the book" instead, a movie with nary a smidgen of creative juice in its celluloid body. Bereft of originality in any way, shape, or form, it's a two-hour example of filmmakers more concerned with getting a product onto market and making a technically solid film but one that lacks any substance to go with it, and certainly not enough to live up to the expectations fans have for the character or the actor who portrays him, particularly after the first film's success. One of Jack Reacher's (Tom Cruise) military contacts, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), has been arrested in connection with what the authorities believe to be her role in the deaths of two U.S. service members in Afghanistan. Reacher believes she's innocent but he, too, is arrested when yet another of his contacts, Colonel Bob Moorcroft (Robert Catrini), who is also Turner's attorney, turns up dead. Reacher is the primary suspect and is arrested, but he stages a jail break and also springs Turner. Prior to his death, Moorcroft further revealed that Reacher is the subject of a paternity suit, which brings the child in question, 15-year-old Samantha Dayton (Danika Yarosh), into the crosshairs as a potential target for those out to get Reacher and Turner. The three are forced to go on the run, fight to clear their names, and expose a much larger conspiracy around them. Never Go Back may boast quality technical execution and adhere to core military thriller/heroes-on-the-run mechanics, but it's empty inside. It's surprising to find Edward Zwick, the man who directed Glory and Blood Diamond, attached to a product so deeply devoid of meaningful content. Zwick is more than a competent filmmaker (Glory is one of the best films of the past four decades) but, for whatever reason, has made a movie that falls into routine and cliché and never makes an effort to get back up. It's basic and crude, a run-and-chase-and-shoot type that tries to wrench in some greater characterization that winds up meaning precious little to the plot and certainly doesn't add anything to the stale action sequences, either. Never Go Back competently frames its action but favors a basic cadence that never sees the heroes in any sort of tangible peril. Sure bullets might whiz past their heads but Zwick, who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation of the Child source novel with Marshall Herskovitz and Richard Wenk, never leaves the viewer truly concerned for the characters' fates or, worse, the movie's outcome. The cast doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about he project, either. Tom Cruise is such a prolific actor in terms of the quantity of films in which he appears and, usually, one can count on his starring in a quality film, too. But Jack Reacher: Never Go Back feels more like some sort of contractual obligation performance, a movie in which he stars out of necessity rather than passion for the project. Perhaps he's just a victim of a script that never gets off the ground or challenges him to reach (despite the character's name). He brings zero personality to the part of Reacher. From start to finish, it's easier to call this a "Tom Cruise" movie than a "Jack Reacher" movie. There's a good chance this will be the last for Reacher, too. It's hard to fathom that Paramount, or Cruise, for that matter, would want to return to the now-dry well for a third time, particularly when Cruise's star with Paramount is more closely tied to his Mission: Impossible films, anyway. The only "impossible mission" here is finding much that's positive to say about Never Go Back beyond praising its mechanics and craftsmanship, both of which carry the film well but also can't hide the black hole underneath. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is one of those movies that could be reviewed in a simple word string: dull, tedious, cliché, the list could go on. It's also a competent movie. Technically, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just dramatically empty and so uncreative it almost hurts. That's a surprise coming from a quality director like Edward Zwick, an actor like Tom Cruise, and from a source like the Lee Child novels that aren't as mechanically contrived as the film. Paramount's Blu-ray does boast the expected high-end video and audio. Supplements lack a commentary or deleted scenes, but fans do get access to half a dozen in-depth features. A high yield technical Blu-ray just can't save the movie, though. Rent it. [CSW] -3.3- The acting was good, the plot was tight, and the cinematography was great. Of course, it is violent, but the twisty plot justifies whatever Reacher need to do to make things right. Is it formulaic...is it derivative? You bet; but the story is good and entertaining; and you (if you're like me) will care what happens to the characters. In addition to Cruise and Smulders, look for a fine performance from young actress Danika Yarosh as Reacher's "daughter". This is worth seeing again so I will probably add it to my collection. [V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box Cast Notes: Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher), Cobie Smulders (Turner), Aldis Hodge (Espin), Danika Yarosh (Samantha), Patrick Heusinger (The Hunter), Holt McCallany (Col. Morgan), Judd Lormand (Local Deputy), Christopher Berry (Onlooker at Diner), Hunter Burke (Onlooker at Diner), Jason Douglas (Sheriff), Lizeth Hutchings (Smuggled Woman), Marisela Zumbado (Smuggled Woman), Alexandra Lucchesi (Smuggled Woman), Madalyn Horcher (Sgt. Leach), Robert Catrini (Col. Moorcroft). IMDb Rating (02/07/17): 6.1/10 from 52,558 users
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
