‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (PG-13, 2016, 1118 minutes, SKYDANCE/PARAMOUNT PICTURES)

I used to enjoy hating Tom Cruise. This is mainly due to the fact that my first girlfriend (we’re talking waaaay back in high school, when we still writing on stone tablets and eating brontosaurus burgers) was infatuated with that damnable pretty face of his.

Recently, though, I’ve found it difficult to not like him. EDGE OF TOMORROW (released on video as LIVE DIE REPEAT), the last few MISSION IMPOSSIBLE flicks—hell, I loved him in TROPIC THUNDER—all seem to have been made with Tom’s tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Like he suddenly became self-aware, and is letting you in on some private joke.

I dare say that the second installment in the JACK REACHER series is better than the first (I gave the first film a “B-“, and bashed him a bit in my initial review). There are a couple of scenes that stuck with me from the first film.  Surely they were meant as tent-pole action sequences:  the diner fight and the end piece in a gravel pit. Here, we get a little of the same (including an unstoppable/badass henchman, which seems to be the earmark of the series), but less of Cruise trying to be Cruise.

It pays off.

Since the first film, Reacher (Cruise, of course) has been wandering the U.S. with a toothbrush and loose change. He soon gets wrapped up in what has become quite the over-used plot device when it comes to the ‘Used To Be A Government Employee Genre’ (see: every stinkin’ Bourne film) - someone from within the government doing something illegal. This time around, he gets paired up with another tough-as-nails female (and this seems to be a recurring theme in Cruise films as of late—no one did it better than Emily Blunt in TOMORROW), played with convincing tenacity and a military edge by Cobie Smulders (every AVENGERS film) (and yes, she smolders…). Major Turner (Smulders) is being framed, and Reacher, whose code is “help those who cannot help themselves”, steps in to prove her innocence. Along the way, they pick up a girl that may or may not be Reacher’s daughter (Danika Yarosh of “Shameless”).

There are several things here that you have seen before: a loner’s inability to connect with a surprise teenage daughter, the stereotypical bad guy, the usual government cover-up, tough-guy dialogue, the predictable “show someone one defensive move that you know is going to come up later” bit… however, the film is entertaining enough for you to look past these shortcomings. This is not a morality tale or an indie film set upon changing your life views—it is an action film, which is what Cruise has become best at.

There are several special features, the first of which deals mostly with adapting the original book by Lee Child, and how they picked which one to do, and another dealing with Cruise’s characterization of Reacher, and how he progresses here from the way he played him the first time around. There are a few others, but the first two are the most informative.

Cruise’s next foray into the action genre is a re-make of THE MUMMY, and then another MISSION IMPOSSIBLE film. Nothing has been announced concerning another Reacher installment, but based on the success of this one (roughly 162 million worldwide), I (and Sweet Baby Hey-Zeus, I hate admitting this) am looking forward to the next one.

Film Grade: B

Special Features: A

Blu-ray Necessary: Most Definitely

-- T.S. Kummelman