Jack Reacher didn’t light the world on
fire, but it’s fine for what it is—a stripped-down, mid-budget, star-driven
actioner. Despite the fact that Tom Cruise is all of 5’7” and the titular
character in Lee Childs’ series of novels is a hulking 6’5”, he has—even with
my father’s constant rantings and railings on the subject—the metaphorical
stature to play the role. Through not a bank-breaking success, the first
picture made enough cash to warrant a sequel, and we all wanted to know if
Cruise could pull it off again in Jack Reacher: Never Go
Back.
The short answer is that yes, Cruise pulls it off one more
time, though boring and convoluted, the surrounding movie sucks all of the the
joy out of his performance. When we pick up with the titular badass this time
around, the former Major of the Army Military Police is just kind of walking
the earth, righting wrongs, jacking dudes who get in the way of justice and piss
him off. Working loosely with his replacement, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), when he tries to meet her in person, he finds out she’s been framed
for espionage, which kicks off a blandly twisting wannabe thriller woefully
lacking in thrills.
There is, however, a great deal of running. So much running.
This is a Tom Cruise movie after all, and he must have it written into his
contract that he has to spend at least 1/5 of any given film sprinting at top
speed. It’s a comical amount of running.
More obnoxious than the tepid, flavorless brew of the plot
is the shoehorned-in add-a-kid. In the process of trying to uncover the
conspiracy surrounding Turner, Reacher discovers he may be daddy to 15-year-old
juvenile delinquent and burgeoning pickpocket, Samantha (Danika Yarosh). Overt
emotional manipulation, and wholly unnecessary, this tagalong side quest adds
nothing but avoidable length, sighs, and groans to the already pointlessly
bloated Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. I can only assume
they’re setting her up for her own spin-off called Lil’
Reacher, but we’ll have to wait and see on that front.
Cruise doesn’t flex any new muscles here. The Jack Reacher
role provides a mixture of deadpan wisecracks and raw physicality that the
54-year-old can play blindfolded and asleep. Maybe the last true movie star in
the classic sense, his charm, charisma, and Tom Cruise-iness carry many of his
scenes. But he can only legitimately be expected to do so much heavy lifting,
and every other element drags the movie kicking and screaming to the bottom of
the sea like an anchor tied around its neck.
Nothing stands out about Jack Reacher: Never Go
Back. Not director Edward Zwick’s (Glory,
The Siege) competent but unremarkable visuals, Patrick
Heusinger’s attempt at an intense adversary who lacks all motivation, nor the
half-hearted attempt to address entrenched, systematic misogyny in the military.
Turner is much less hapless than movies of this ilk usually let female
characters be, but the script introduces this thematic aside then there’s the
distinct sensation everyone involved just waved their hands, said, “Fuck it,”
and wandered off. Even the plot holes, unjustified narrative leaps, and a
timeline that never quite adds up, aren’t egregious or ridiculous enough to
pack much entertainment.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back isn’t exactly
lazy, but every element is too easy, unambitious, and the whole package leaves
the lingering impression that no one involved except Tom Cruise gives a shit. And
even that’s up for debate. [Grade: C-]
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