Military/espionage films are something we all have seen time and again, especially in these tumultuous years when global security is at risk whether it is coming from other countries or from our own. The trust factor is more tenuous today than ever before, which makes a film like "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" an even more popular fare for today's audience. The original film aptly titled, "Jack Reacher" was so popular, it spawned a sequel. But who can resist a film about a strong individual fighting--quite literally, wrongs to make right?
In this installment of the original film, Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) works to exonerate Maj. Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) after she is accused of treason. Subsequently, Reacher is charged with murder for killing those that are attempting to terminate Turner because of political reasons. So the two end up on the lamb, and their quest leads them to conspiracy involving the murder of soldiers by their own soldiers. As they dig deeper in the situation, they only end up removing more and more layers like a onion with so many people involved which causes a huge cover up that mushrooms to the point that both Reacher and Turner find it expressly difficult to believe or trust anyone that comes their way.
Others to round out the cast are Aldis Hodge as Espin, Danika Yarosh as Samantha, Patrick Heusinger as The Hunter, Holt McCallany as Col. Morgan, Robert Catrini Col. Moorcroft, Maralyn Horcher as Sgt. Leach, Jason Douglas as Sheriff and Judd Lormand as Local Deputy.
This was intensely directed by veteran Edward Zwick ("Glory" '89, "Legends of the Fall" '94, "Courage Under Fire" '96, "The Siege" '98, "The Last Samurai" '03, "Blood Diamond" '06, "Defiance" '08, "Love & Other Drugs" '10, "Pawn Sacrifice" '14) plus others and TV. I believe what makes this character, Reacher so popular with audiences today is that he doesn't go by the rules as much as he does what he does to right wrongs. If that means he's not necessarily PC about it, he doesn't care, and this rings so true with people since we live in such an incredibly PC world where it is suffocating individuals, and this is clearly the product of effective directing which Zwick succeeded in spades. It was effectively written by Richard Wenk, Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. These are seasoned writers as the script can purport, and with that, this storyline flowed well. Of course, there were a couple of places of disunity and just a bit of slow in places, but al in all, this script rocked! Cruise was born to play the role of Reacher, as his steely character where he has played in other films simply rang true and played out well.
This is great escape fare that is total action fluff and one where, in this day and age of going through tough times as people do, people need this kind of escapism to, not only get them through the day, but also to get through life in general. Grab the popcorn and enjoy!
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 118mins.
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