WIRED Movie Review: Jack Reacher, Never Go Back

[Narrator] Jack Reacher Never Go Back

is a strange title for the second installment

of a potential franchise.

(dramatic music)

But while that subtitle may seem like a subtle warning

to avoid a sequel,

it's still worth checking out

if you like hammy, uncomplicated action films.

Jack Reacher is adapted from Lee Child's series of novels

about a former military police officer turned drifter.

[Policeman] Mr. Reacher.

[Narrator] Tom Cruise produces and stars

once again as Reacher,

who arrives in Washington D.C. to find that Susan Turner,

the object of his gentlemanly affections

played by Cobie Smulders,

has been relieved of her command

and arrested for a crime she did not commit.

(grunting)

[Jack Reacher] These men are here to kill you.

[Narrator] As a dangerous conspiracy unravels,

they go on the run as fugitives.

Soldier, you know who I am!

[Narrator] Jack Reacher has a rugged appeal.

He's the kind of jerk who tells his foes

exactly how he's going to kick their ass.

It's a haircut.

All you contractors go to the same barber?

[Narrator] And smugly proceeds to execute that plan

with surgical precision.

But never goes back trades the appealing, jerk routine

for heartwarming chastity.

I left explicit orders for you to stay away.

Orders?

[Narrator] With only playful banter

between Reacher and Turner,

and an emphasis on paternal instincts.

(dramatic music)

But, there are still some brutal fight scenes,

which makes Cruise look like a beast of a stunt man.

How's it going?

I don't like being followed.