by Frank Calvillo
There was a time when Jack Reacher: Never Go Back would have been relevant. It would have been considered an adrenaline-filled ride full of impressive action sequences and thoroughly drawn out characters. I’m not sure when that time would have been exactly, but I believe it would have been somewhere in the early ’90s when the film’s star Tom Cruise was the most popular actor around and the book series on which the film is based on was flying off the shelves. However this is 2016, and in the 21st century Jack Reacher: Never Go Back feels about as passe as they come, with plot moves and dialogue which re-define the term “dated.” While I assume everyone on board (especially Cruise, who serves as the project’s producer) believes in what they’re doing here, no such aspirations register in what it is undoubtedly the most lackluster offering of his impressive career.
The titular character is back this time around for a plot that places him smack dab in an Army conspiracy where Jack (Cruise) must fight to clear both his name and that of Sergeant Turner (Kobie Smulders) when both are accused of treason and murder. Adding to the complications is the revelation that Jack may be the illegitimate father of a troubled teenage girl named Samantha (Danika Yarosh) who is also in danger.
What’s interesting about Jack Reacher: Never Look Back is that it isn’t a bad film by any means. The shots are well done, the action is appropriately choreographed, and there is an adequate amount of humor at just the right moments. The main problem the film just cannot overcome is that it’s simply average. Apart from an intriguing opening which sets the stage for a multi-layered and involving tale of action and mystery, the whole of the film is seeped in a by-the-numbers mentality that it clings to. Sequences involving Jack trying to relate to either Turner or Samantha, beating up henchman, or trying to allude authorities all seem to have been lifted from other, better films which have now passed their sell-by dates. Even the film’s finale, which sees Jack going up against the main villain billed only as The Hunter (Patrick Heusinger), fails to add much color, despite being set against a New Orleans backdrop.
In spite of the never ending strain of nothingness on hand, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back does have enough energy to satisfy two core groups of audiences. The first are fans of the book series who will no doubt be as accepting of this adaptation, which feels more literary than cinematic most of the time. The Jack Reacher series has spanned nearly two dozen novels over the course of two plus decades, showing strong longevity from its author Lee Child and intense devotion from its readers. Many of them may have problems with a number of the film’s various details, but they will certainly turn up to see their favorite fiction action hero do what they love him doing. The other group of course is older female fans of Cruise’s — the group of middle-American women who have been with the actor since his Top Gun days, but who disapprove of the current state of action movies today. For them, this is the Tom Cruise they adore, and the action, however bland it may read to modern-day audiences, will give them that right kind of powerhouse Cruise fix they crave.
At this point, Cruise can play this kind of role in his sleep. And it shows. Many instances in the film show its leading man on autopilot, while at other times Cruise seems to be giving the kind of performance that could be considered a collection Ethan Hunt outtakes. Smulders is a complete bore and brings virtually nothing memorable or endearing to neither her character, nor the overall film. Yarosh is arguably the most committed of the cast, but even she gets lost in the blandness of it all with her game attitude coming off as Jennifer Lawrence-lite.
It’s incredibly sad when an actor’s latest movie does nothing but make you think of his or her better times on screen. That’s just what happened to me midway through Jack Reacher: Never Go Back as Tom Cruise personal trivia started popping up in my head, such as: What was the first Tom Cruise movie I saw in theaters? What is my favorite Tom Cruise performance? What Tom Cruise movie wasn’t given a fair shake? What was the last Tom Cruise movie I enjoyed? For the record, the answer to all these questions in order are: Far and Away, Interview with the Vampire, Knight and Day and Edge of Tomorrow. I’m unclear as to whether or not the actor is simply clocking in time until the next Mission Impossible sequel and the hotly-anticipated Mummy reimagining, but Jack Reacher: Never Go Back may well be one of the few Cruise vehicles many, save for a select few, will fail to remember ever existed.
