“I’m the guy you didn’t count on”
“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” finds Tom Cruise going back into the role of Lee Child’s wandering ex-military policeman with a penchant of getting into trouble, causing trouble – or both. “Never Go Back” describes Jack Reacher as “anti-establishment”, “anti-authority”, and “anti-lawyer” – but is Jack Reacher an antihero? Well, he’s not exactly a nice guy who doesn’t do things by the book, as it showed in the 2012 film where Reacher doesn’t care about the law, doesn’t care about proof. He only cares about what’s right – even when he’s no longer wearing the uniform that doesn’t fit him anymore.
“Never Go Back” continues that formula with Reacher answering the call of Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), who’s being charged with treason and espionage, and it is up to Reacher to clear her own name – and his own when he becomes the person of interest in another case involving a woman who accused Reacher of being a “deadbeat dad” to her teenage daughter that he and Turner must now protect against the same people that wants all three of them dead. But is Jack Reacher the father? He may no longer be a soldier, but Jack Reacher is still a fighter from beginning to end.
“Never Go Back” may have the eternal lone Reacher as the Lone Ranger once more, but the character Turner is no one’s damsel-in-distress, as Smulders was finally able to flex her action muscles more outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Maria Hill. Still, Jack Reacher remains a legend in the tradition of the Lone Ranger, Batman, Captain America, and The Equalizer.
Overall Rating for “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back”: 3.5 out 4 stars