*Originally written October 21st, 2016*
Wow. That was not good. While the first Jack Reacher is hardly a masterpiece, it was at least fun, had some decent action and an engaging story. Never Go Back has none of that. It's a bland, boring and forgettable thriller that barely goes above the level of straight-to-DVD fodder.
Nothing about this film is above mediocre. Sure, Tom Cruise does his usual thing, but something feels off about his performance. He's nowhere near as commanding as he was in the first. All the detective work and mystery elements are gone in a favour of a boring "Go here, fight people" loop until the story fizzled out and ended.
I really expect more from Edward Zwick, who has made some really great stuff, but this feels like it was a made by anybody. None of the action had any lasting effect. I saw this an hour ago and I honestly cannot recall any of the action.
The story is pretty straight-forward, lacking any real surprises compared to the twisty fun of the first. There's also a completely tacked on sub-plot involving Jack Reacher's maybe daughter that could have been cut completely. It felt long and boring at 2 hours, maybe cutting out this 20 minutes could have improved things. I'm not sure what the point of her was, especially considering the ending.
Werner Herzog might not have been an amazing villain, but he at least had a memorable presence. No one here had an impact. There was a guy from Prison Break and some henchman who seems to have a complete hatred for Reacher and I'm not entirely sure why?
The biggest problem with Never Go Back is that it just feels formulaic. If Jack Reacher was a TV show, then Never Go Back would be a forgettable episode that you won't remember after you watch it. A complete shame and the probable nail in the coffin for the potential Jack Reacher franchise, but then again, who knows. Maybe this'll do big business at the box-office and we get a director who does something interesting for a third.
4/10 Dans
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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