Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

In my case, the fact that Cobie Smulders appears here helps a lot, as I really like her and always enjoy seeing her. It's quite action-packed, Tom Cruise doesn't seem to lose anything with age, or at least it's presented in a way that it looks like he doesn't lose anything. However, it is still a nice thriller mainstream. (18/04/2017)

The first film definitely has its issues (the first half without tension, a number of unexplained things at the end), but so does this one, so I did not really notice any major qualitative drop. Perhaps only Kreamer's musical motif was a bit lacking for me, and the main villain could have been more charismatic. However, Tom Cruise is still convincing, Edward Zwick knows how to do the action and the other scenes, and that made me like the final restaurant unraveling in addition to the night shootout. (23/04/2017)

The first installment of Jack Reacher didn’t dazzle me in any way, even though the action scenes were one of the best I’ve seen in the last few months. I tried the second installment to see if anything had improved. And it didn’t. Quite the opposite. There is less action and Jack Reacher is still the same unavailable guy and the worst character Tom Cruise has ever portrayed. And that’s despite the fact that the screenwriter invented a supposed daughter for him and tried to make the second installment a little more personal. It didn’t work and truthfully, it was worse than I thought. (28/06/2017)

This is a confirmation of the preconception that Zwick has a mastery of kitschy, visually-based, epic stories, but in terms of the thriller genre, he pretty much misses the mark with everything. The first half-hour is pure goodness, as Jack Reacher rides the wave of comedy, with Cruise acting with gusto and outdoes every genre film of recent times with his wit. But when everyone gets serious, when the parental dilemma and the criminal plot take over, Zwick proves pretty clueless, making it look like a bargain-basement spy drama that sort of carefully takes from everywhere but fails to find its own image all the way to the end. The first film was not great in terms of plot, but it captivated me with its unique old-world guy feel. This is filmmaking timelessness that would have fallen into the average in any decade. Much is actually saved by Cruise himself, who for perhaps the first time in his career is seen to have really aged. And surprisingly, also by Cobie Smulders, who has broken free from the snares of television and the comic book cult and projects a surprising amount of feminine charm and military charisma into an interchangeable character. I want a more distinctive director for the third film. PS: The airport check-in is a unique filmmaker lapse of logic. (19/10/2016)

A decent sequel. It’s obvious that Reacher is Tom’s favorite character. Rough as sand paper, a bit of a bull in a china shop, but a clever vet who always has the situation under control. Seeing part 1 encouraged me to read the series of books, so the much denied height disparity really bothers me, but also I’m surprised that he only makes films according to the inferior books in the series. I thought Never Go Back was just average (it disappeared from my mind terribly fast), and the only interesting storyline was with the kid. This made the movie an even more pleasant surprise. The brisker story, loads of old-school type action and great lines. Even the road trip moments work excellently. A pleasant return to the nineties. Tom is beginning to show his age, so he’s a bit puffy after the Men, but he convincingly walks all over the younger competition in fights, beating them hands down. A really fine ending. In terms of acting, well done. I hope Reacher earns enough for another sequel. These movies are evergreens, not box-office hits, but the type of movie you can watch more times during your life than many an Oscar-winner. (20/10/2016)