There are a lot of shows out there that follow this same formula and that is why I can say that while the show is something where the action comes fast and furious, ultimately it is very predictable and you don't really need to watch the movie in order to know how it is going to turn out. This is the problem I have with all the Bourne films, Mission Impossibles, and even John Wick. It's a foregone conclusion how it is going to end, it's just a question of how they get there.
This doesn't mean that a movie isn't going to be fun though because this movie is still fun.
Tom Cruise produced this film with his own production company and probably had a hand in everything that happened other than directing it. He has that sort of money and clout and considering how much money is involved I would imagine that if it had been almost anyone else, that this film wouldn't have seen the light of day.
I say this because the original Jack Reacher film ended in a rather conclusive manner and although it was a rather major success at the box office, there wasn't a lot of faith or public interest in a follow up. I have no idea how they come up with these statistics but that was the general consensus and I concur. When you consider that Never Go Back cost 30% MORE to make than the original, and took in $100 million less at the box office, likely barely making a profit after advertising and other factors are put in, I would say there probably isn't much of a chance that there will be a Jack Reacher 3. Who knows, Tom Cruise is arrogant enough to try to pull it off I guess.
What makes this film entertaining is that the action comes pretty quickly with very little downtime and the character Jack has the same appeal as any of the aforementioned heroes of sorts. He's just a bad ass and seems to pull of these crazy things with relative ease.
One thing that I found very amusing is that there is one point in the film where Jack has broken a Major out of prison and is on the run. When the Military Police put out a APB for everyone, they describe Jack Reacher and his accomplice Susan Turner by all aspects of their person other than how tall they are. We all know how self-conscious Tom Cruise is about the fact that he is not tall and this was just humorous to me.
Tom Cruise almost always hand-selects all of his co-stars which can be problematic with female costars since women in films generally speaking are above average female height. Cobie Smulders is pretty close to the same height as Tom but he is a teensy bit taller than he is. Therefore, almost any time they appear in the same shot, Tom is in the foreground. They don't do anything crazy like have Tom stand on a stool if they appear side-by-side, which they do occasionally. But there are instances where they are in a car together and top is always either very active, our slouching, to hide the fact that he is not a tall man. Imagine that? All that money and the only thing that you fixate on is something that everybody already knows and you can't change about yourself.
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At the minimum, Tom has to be standing on his tippy-toes in this scene
Anyway, Tom's insecurities about his height aside this movie is your typical Hollywood action film and everything that you expect is going to happen once you are introduced to the main characters is exactly what does happen. La-dee friggin da!
Should I watch it?
This is a good film to have on in the background while you are doing something else like cleaning your living room or maybe just dicking around on your phone. The story isn't important nor is it particularly difficult to follow. The action sequences are pretty damn awesome though, just like all other films that are carbon copies of this same formula. There are no surprises in this but still it was visually appealing and I looked up from my phone to "check in" from time to time.
For those expecting something different and unusual: This is not that.
