Starring
Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge, Danika Yarosh, Patrick
Heusinger, Holt McCallany, Robert Knepper, Jessica Stroup. Directed
by Edward Zwick. (2016, 118 min).
I never cared for most of Tom Cruise's early career (no, not even Top
Gun), unable to escape the notion that his roles
were customized to fit the image he had of himself. Even in the more
"prestigious" movies where he attempts to be taken
seriously as an actor, his meticulously self-cultivated movie-star
persona makes that impossible. He's simply too Tom Cruisey to be
accepted as anything else.
He
must have come to the same conclusion years ago and finally dropped
all pretenses of being anything other than TOM CRUISE, which nobody
does better. I've grown to appreciate that and have really enjoyed most of his 21st
Century films, which could just-as-accurately be titled like Friends
episodes: The One Where Tom Cruise Battles Aliens, The One
Where Tom Cruise Runs from Aliens, The
One Where Tom Cruise Dangles from an Airplane, The One Where
Tom Cruise Hunts Hitler, etc. Without really stretching himself,
Cruise has evolved a superlative action star.
Not only that, these movies are remarkably consistent because we never question his utter dedication (something we could never say about
Bruce Willis). Even in such marginal movies as Knight and Day
& Oblivion, we're certain Cruise is giving it everything
he's got.
 |
| To Tom's horror, the in-flight movie is Cocktail. |
Though
not exactly a blockbuster, 2012's Jack Reacher (a.k.a. The
One Where Tom Cruise Takes the Bus to Save the Day) was
quintessential Cruise, albeit a bit more down-to-Earth than the
Mission: Impossible series. No classic, but a solid
action-thriller that allowed Tom to further perfect his head-exploding stare
while kicking everyone's ass, offer groan-worthy threats to hapless thugs
and outwit everyone in the room. The film itself was just standard stuff,
but his utter earnestness was entertaining enough (and often
quite funny) to make it a home video hit.
Jack
Reacher: Never Go Back isn't as
fresh or fun as the original. Sure it's great to see Cruise
jump off the bus and commence cracking skulls, but the plot is a bit
more convoluted and predictable. This time, he comes to the aid of Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), who's been framed for the
murders of two subordinates in Afghanistan. After Reacher is
framed for her lawyer's brutal murder, the two become fugitives,
hunted by police, the Army and a mysterious assassin (Patrick
Heusinger) hired to kill them before they uncover the truth behind
the Afghanistan murders. Complicating matters is Samantha (Danica
Yarosh), a 15-year-old who may or may-not be Reacher's daughter.
 |
| Since the beginning of his career, Tom has run 1,254,555 miles. |
The
plot is fairly standard stuff, devolving into the usual shady drug
and weapons deals before all is said and done. As Reacher, Cruise is
his usual intense self, and when left alone to dispatch thugs and
almost single-handedly uncover clues, this sequel is a lot of fun.
However, he is saddled with an obnoxious teenage kid who mostly
exists as a plot device, doing stupid things which
repeatedly puts them in danger. Samantha's frequent switches from
smart & resourceful to dumb-as-dirt (depending on what the scene
requires) sometimes threatens to torpedo the whole movie. Major
Turner, on the other hand, is a tough, terrific character who nearly
matches Reacher's stoic badassery.
But
it's still Reacher's movie, which of course mean it's Tom Cruise's
movie (he's fast becoming his own little genre). I confess
I've not read any of the Lee Child novels on which these films are
based, but while Tom Cruise didn't create the character, he's made it
his own. As such, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back more-or-less delivers as
promised and, like the first, probably plays better at home than it
did in theaters.
EXTRA
KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES:
"Reacher
Returns" (Cruise, director Edward Zwick, producer Don Granger &
author Lee Child talk about the sequel);
"An
Unexpected Family" (this features focuses on some of the new
supporting characters);
"Relentless:
On Location in Louisiana"
"Take
Your Revenge First: Lethal Combat"
"No
Quarter Given: Rooftop Battle"
"Reacher
in Focus: With Tom Cruise and Photographer David James"
SHORT
STORY: "Everyone Talks" by Lee Child (illustrated
paperback)
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW
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