Stars Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh, Aldis Hodge, Patrick Heusinger, Holt McCallany and Robert Knepper Directed by Edward Zwick Tom Cruise reunites with director Edward Zwick (they worked together on The Last Samurai) for a sequel to Jack Reacher, which officially makes this Cruise’s second franchise series following the Mission: Impossible film series. And Cruise delivers in terms of performance and character, firmly establishing Jack Reacher as his own, quite separate from super spy Ethan Hunt… except for the running. Taking the movie as it is without any reference to the source novel, Never Go Back relies more on the performances of the stars and their characters rather than the fairly pedestrian plot that occasionally slips into the background in favour of a secondary wrinkle. While the main story is revolving around Reacher helping Major Turner (Cobie Smulders) who may be caught up in some military conspiracy, Reacher also has to deal with the possibility of one young Samantha (Danika Yarosh) being a daughter he never knew about. The dynamics of the characters involved here and the pseudo-family that emerges puts Reacher in a whole different world than he’s used to, and that drives the story more. While it may seem like director Zwick is going through the motions of a director-for-hire, he does manage to elevate the material a little more with the staging of action-beats and some creative editing to maintain the momentum of the story itself. His eye for character also helps draw out strong performances from Smulders and Yarosh, each holding their own against their superstar co-star; physically so, in the case for Smulders who has to keep up with Cruise in running and fighting scenes. There is little fault to be found in this rather entertaining flick, almost as if it’s just another episode in a rather excellent and successful TV series, keeping things mostly low-key and effects free. The reliance on old-school stunts is carried over from the previous film, and given the overload of effects-laden flicks all summer (and some after), this is like a breath of fresh air. Rating: **** /5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here.
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