Paramount Pictures
2012’s Jack Reacher was a pretty solid crime-thriller written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie based on the series of novels from Lee Childs. Tom Cruise played the eponymous ex-military badass investigator and had a formidable supporting cast made up of Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, and David Oyelowo. The plot was flawed but intelligent enough, the action tight and clean (including one of the best car chases in recent memory), and Cruise played his role with this subdued doggedness that made you want to see much more of the character by the end of the sizeable 130 minutes.
The film was a modest box office and critical success, not nearly as successful in both respects as it could have been. Marketing for the film was substantial, but audiences weren’t very familiar with Lee Child’s “Jack Reacher” series to begin with, and those that were had trouble associating Cruise’s Reacher with the Reacher from the novels (Childs’ Reacher is described as six foot five inches tall, weighing 250 pounds, significantly bigger than Cruise). Furthermore, the film seemed to be a little plain and flat at times, with some of the potentially best elements of the film bottlenecked. But we still wanted more. All of this works in favor for the good-enough better-than-average thiller/actioner that’s so modest but enjoyable we can’t help but want to see a second, more-improved try. And rejoice, because that’s exactly what we are officially getting.
READ ALSO: Success came too late, but Jack Reacher sequels are still possible
Paramount has announced the sequel to Jack Reacher, titled Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, has officially begun production and the studio also released a cast list. Tom Cruise reprises his eponymous role and welcomed in are new cast members Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh, Patrick Heusinger, Aldis Hodge, Austin Hebert, and Holt McCallany. The sequel is based on Child’s 18th entry in the series, and although Paramount hasn’t released a synopsis themselves, ScreenCrush reports that the official plot is as follows:
“Former military cop Jack Reacher makes it all the way from snowbound South Dakota to his destination in northeastern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. The old stone building is the closest thing to a home he ever had. Reacher is there to meet — in person — the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner, so far just a warm, intriguing voice on the phone. But it isn’t Turner behind the CO’s desk. And Reacher is hit with two pieces of shocking news, one with serious criminal consequences, and one too personal even to think about.”
One of the more interesting and potentially improved changes to the sequel is that Ed Zwick will be directing while Chris McQuarrie will only fill a role as a producer. Zwick’s ability and style is a welcomed change from the subdued and safe direction of McQuarrie. Zwick has proved time and again that he is a very capable director, being able to convey and handle epic scope and grand visuals like he did with The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond. This may be the necessary improvement and direction for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in order to elevate the film beyond modesty, which its predecessor was unable to accomplish. While the sequel surely won’t contain the same scope or grandeur as the aforementioned films simply because of the source material, Never Go Back could truly be what audiences are craving this time around if Zwick can provide that necessary boost in style and assuredness. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back arrives in theaters October 21, 2016.
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