Movie Reaction: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Formula: The 90's * Jack Reacher

Movie star Tom Cruise shined the brightest in the 90's. He was part of Hollywood's biggest 'it'-couple. He dominated the box office with a diverse collection of hits from Mission Impossible to Jerry Maguire to A Few Good Men. His three Oscar nominations all came between 1989-1999. This was before his divorce(s), the infamous Oprah appearance, and Scientology brought him back down to Earth in the eyes of the public. So, it makes perfect sense that he would want to retreat back to the 90s on occasion, and Jack Reacher is the perfect opportunity to do that.

I didn't love the first Jack Reacher movie, although I respected what it was trying to do. It was a transparent movie that totally gave into being pulp entertainment. Never Go Back is very much the same.

It begins with Jack (Tom Cruise) maintaining a chummy/flirtatious correspondence with Lt. Turner (Cobie Smulders) of the Military Police. On the day when he decides to finally meet her in person, he discovers that she's been arrested. While investigating into this, he uncovers a conspiracy with a private military contractor that puts him and Turner in their cross hairs. He busts her out of prison, and they go on the run until they can clear their names. There's also a sub-plot about a teenage girl (Danika Yarosh) they pick up along the way who might be Reacher's daughter. I won't go too deep into the conspiracy itself because it's all just noise to move between chases and fight scenes.

Everything about this made me feel like I was watching an action thriller from the 90s. The 80s were about going over the top with films like Rambo and Commando. The 00s moved into lethal efficiency and stealth like Jason Bourne. Reacher is something in between. The 90s were more about investigators who could take a punch. Jack Reacher is a tougher Ethan Hunt or a smarter version of Arnold Schwarzenegger from True Lies or Eraser. Just everything, from the episodic feel of the story, to the ability to always find another person during a chase scene no matter how crowded the busy street, to Reacher's ability to leave any fight little more than winded and with a cool looking cut feels like it wasn't made for a modern audience.

It's a throwback, which isn't a pejorative. Never Go Back is entertaining. Tom Cruise is really good at this super-spy thing. Cobie Smulders, through her work in the Marvel movies, is well prepared for a prominent role in an action movie. If anything, she's almost too rigid in her military demeanor. I'm not crazy about the 20 year age gap between the stars, but most of the movie treats them like partners rather than romantically linked (although some of that is there). The villains are as nameless as in the first movie. Really, that can be said about any of the characters not played by Cruise, Smulders, or Yarosh.

The movie isn't any more concerned with the plausibility of the plot than it should be. The assorted chases and fights are well and traditionally staged. While the first film attempted to stand out a little bit with it's chosen aesthetic, Never Go Back is happy to blend in as much as possible. I want to make this clear. While I'm not the target audience for this movie, it's a good version of what it's trying to be. It's a mild drop off from the first movie, but still a fun 2 hours.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend