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    Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    I can’t recommend “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” but if you like it, I won’t argue with you. If you don’t see the flaws that jumped out to me, that’s fine. There is some good aspects present; I just think we could’ve done better.

    This sequel to 2012’s “Jack Reacher” has the titular character (played by Tom Cruise) helping his friend, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) She’s been accused of espionage. He suspects that she’s been framed. Learning that he has a 15-year-old daughter (Danika Yarosh as Samantha) only complicates things. As Jack dives in waist-deep, he finds that his involvement in this case now puts the young woman in jeopardy as well.

    I’ll give credit to this picture that the action sequences are pretty good. Can you believe that Tom Cruise is 54? He looks like a million bucks and is capable of pulling off the various kicks, punches, and shootouts present in the film convincingly. As Jack Reacher, he’s got some funny lines reminiscent of the stuff we found in 80’s action films and he’s involved in a mystery that’s compelling enough that you want to see it all the way through. It’s not a great film, but he’s good in it. However, the one to keep an eye out for isn’t the lead; it’s Cobie Smulders. Her character is more interesting. Partially because of her meaty interactions with the other characters and also due to some nice moments where we get to learn more about what makes her tick.

    This film has numerous flaws. For one, the players involved in this game of deception, mystery solving and murder aren’t all that compelling. Samantha, for instance. She’s largely useless. Sure she adds some satisfactory drama during the quieter scenes (And even then, not all that much) but for the bulk of the picture, she’s just a hindrance. Either she’s making stupid decisions that force our heroes to go on the run again, or she lands herself in peril. I know teenagers aren’t particularly bright and are prone to disobeying orders (I should know, I used to be one), but come on, this young lady’s life is literally on the edge. Assassins are chasing her… and she still doesn’t behave? I say just let her die. She’s too dumb to live.

    What this film desperately needed was a great villain. Instead, we have a generic baddie. He’s just evil for the sake of being evil. Patrick Heusinger’s got nothing to work with here. The man’s just a killer with a gun that murders people left and right. No interesting motivations. He doesn’t even look cool. It doesn’t help that the plot is very generic. You can foresee many developments coming from far away. It’s hard to describe the bad writing that’s present here because it’s not like there are many glaring plot holes, it’s more that everything’s just so convenient. When the villain needs to be threatening, Samantha will make a stupid mistake and be in a spot where her cell phone cuts out. Oh no! The meanie is coming her way… and she can’t call for help! When the film needs to be tense, critical information will only be divulged at the very last second. Does Jack need to get out of a sticky situation? That’ll be someone else’s cue to make a mistake. In a good movie, actions lead to other actions, it all flows smoothly. Here, it feels artificial, like this stuff shouldn’t be as effortless as it appears to be, but someone high up in the sky has a bias towards Jack and decides to help him out every time. Then, the story reaches its climax, and it’s just no good. Characters disappear entirely so we can have one last bone-crunching showdown. Meanwhile, if these events were happening in real-life, the kind of thing that happens here would land our hero in jail.

    I had heard good things about the first film and desperately tried to watch it in order to get some context for the actions that would take place in this sequel. I loaded up my ultraviolet account and struggled for a couple of hours to watch the first film, eventually giving up when the clock rang midnight and my TV turned back into a pumpkin. As such, if you tell me I’m missing something here, I’d almost believe you. Almost. The film’s just not on a level that stands out, particularly when you compare it to any number of high-energy, creative action films, many of which have starred Cruise himself.

    One aspect of “Jack Ryan: Never Go Back” that amused me is the fact that it takes place on and around Halloween Night. People who love action movies more than “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “Scrooge” have “Die Hard”. Now, if those same people want a mediocre action film to watch on October 31st… and they don’t like “Halloween” or “Trick R Treat”, they can catch this one instead. “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” is too formulaic and uninspired for me to endorse it, but I don’t hate the film either. (Theatrical version on the big screen, November 8, 2016)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  14.11.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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