Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Plot

After dismantling a human trafficking ring, former military investigator turned vigilante drifter Jack Reacher returns to his old military headquarters to meet Major Susan Turner, whom he has been working with during his travels - only to learn from Colonel Sam Morgan that Turner has been accused of espionage and detained.

Turner's attorney, Colonel Bob Moorcroft, reveals that there is evidence that Turner is involved in the murders of two soldiers in Afghanistan, but Reacher believes she is being framed. Moorcroft also reveals an old acquaintance of Reacher, Candice Dutton, has filed a paternity suit against him, claiming he is the biological father of her 15-year-old daughter, Samantha Dutton. Reacher tried to reach out to Samantha, but she rebuffs him, believing he is after her biological mother due to her past as a prostitute.

Moorcroft is later killed by an unknown assassin. Reacher is framed for Moorcroft's murder and arrested and transported to the prison where Turner is being detained. An assassin arrives to kill her, but Reacher neutralizes him, rescues her and they escape to Morgan’s house, having deduced he is involved in the conspiracy, to extract information. After they leave, the assassin, revealed to be working with Morgan, kills Morgan and frames Reacher which he learns about from a friend, Sergeant Leach, when he asks her to investigate a military contractor.

Reacher and Turner uncover surveillance pictures of Samantha and surmise she is in danger, arriving at her home to find her foster parents dead and Samantha hiding in the kitchen. Reacher and Turner decide to escort Samantha to Turner's old private school for protection, but discover that she has her mobile phone with her and that the enemy probably knows exactly where they are. They discard the phone and make a quick exit, during which Samantha steals a backpack from one of the students to use the credit cards.

Reacher, Turner and Samantha travel to New Orleans in search of Daniel Prudhomme, the only eye-witness to the murders for which Turner has been framed. They find him in a derelict warehouse filled with drug addicts and learn that Prudhomme is connected to Parasource, a private military organization that is trying to cover up the murders. Reacher contacts Turner's friend, Captain Anthony Espin, to move Prudhomme into custody, but they are ambushed by assassins and Prudhomme is killed, while Reacher rescues Espin and finds out that the assassins are Parasource contractors. Parasource's CEO, General James Harkness, then sends the hunter to capture Samantha after she uses a credit card to order room service.

Reacher and Turner, along with Espin, acting on information provided by Prudhomme, intercept a flight of weapons due to enter the country, where they confront Harkness and his men and accuse them of corruption. Upon opening the crates, however, Espin finds weapons as declared in the flight manifest. Before Turner can be re-arrested, Reacher opens up one of the weapons and discovers that they are filled with opium. They learn that Harkness framed Turner, who had been investigating his activities, for the murders of two soldiers who discovered that Harkness was selling weapons to insurgents and smuggling drugs into the United States. Espin and his men then arrest Harkness, clearing Reacher's and Turner's names.

The hunter and his men locate and chase Samantha through the streets to lure Reacher into a confrontation. Turner kills one of the assassins, whilst Reacher takes out another one on the rooftop. The hunter captures Samantha and threatens to kill her, but she manages to escape and steal his gun. Reacher then tackles the hunter onto another rooftop, briefly incapacitating both of them, and they have a vicious fight that culminates with Reacher breaking the hunter's arm, leg and neck, before dropping him off the rooftop. Reacher then admits to Samantha he might be her father.

Following Harkness' arrest, Turner is reinstated in her old position and goes back to her office, where her colleagues and Captain Espin all welcome her back. Reacher promises to keep in touch before meeting Samantha at a diner to meet Candice, Samatha's mother, whom Reacher surmises he will recognize as he remembers everyone he has slept with. Samantha reveals that the waitress that had been serving him is in fact Candice and that Reacher cannot be her father as they did not recognize each other. Reacher and Samantha then reluctantly part.

While preparing to leave, a phone rings in Reacher's pocket and finds Samantha's phone, which she had slipped into his pocket, with a final goodbye. Reacher smiles as he hitches a ride to the nearest town.

Cast

Production

While Jack Reacher was intended to be a tent-pole for a film series, it was initially reported that a sequel would be unlikely due to its lackluster run at the North American box office. However, in February 2013, the possibility of a sequel became more likely after the film surpassed a gross of $200 million worldwide. On December 9, 2013, it was announced that Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media were moving forward with the development of a sequel reportedly based upon the 2013 Jack Reacher novel, Never Go Back.

On May 14, 2014, it was reported that Tom Cruise would reprise his role as Jack Reacher.

On May 19, 2015, Deadline reported that Edward Zwick would re-team with Cruise. Zwick would direct the film and rewrite the script along with Marshall Herskovitz, last scripted by Richard Wenk. Zwick and Cruise worked together in The Last Samurai before. On August 14, 2015, Cobie Smulders was added to the cast to play the female lead. On September 15, Danika Yarosh signed on to star in the film. On September 17, Aldis Hodge was added to the cast for an unspecified role. On September 22, Patrick Heusinger was cast in the film in the villain role. On October 20, Holt McCallany joined the film along with Austin Hebert. On November 12, 2015, Robert Catrini joined the film for an unknown role. On January 20, 2016, Robert Knepper was cast as General Harkness, a retired general and currently CEO of a private military firm.

Principal photography on the film began on October 20, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. On November 23, 2015, filming took place in Baton Rouge. In January 2016, filming also took place in St. Francisville.

Henry Jackman was attached to compose the film's music, making this Zwick's first film since Blood Diamond (2006) not to be scored by James Newton Howard.

Release

On June 14, 2016, Entertainment Weekly premiered a preview of the first trailer, with Cobie Smulders introducing the footage. The official Jack Reacher Twitter account announced that a full trailer would be released on June 22, 2016. A browser game, titled Jack Reacher: Never Stop Punching, was also released to promote the film.

In September 2015, Paramount set Jack Reacher: Never Go Back a release date for October 21, 2016.

Box office

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back grossed $58.6 million in the United States and Canada and $102.8 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $161.4 million, against a production budget of $60 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside Ouija: Origin of Evil and Boo! A Madea Halloween and was projected to gross around $20 million from 3,780 theaters in its opening weekend, with the studio expecting a debut of about $17 million. It earned $1.3 million in midnight showings at 1,850 theaters, which was slightly above Oblivion's $1.1 million and under Edge of Tomorrow's $1.8 million. In total, the film opened to $23 million, finishing in second place behind Boo! A Madea Halloween. In its second weekend the film dropped by 58.2% grossing $9.6 million, finishing third at the box office behind A Madea Halloween ($16.7 million) and newcomer Inferno ($15 million).

Outside North America, the film was released in 42 countries in conjuncture with its United States and Canada debut, which represents about 75% of the film's total marketplace internationally.

In 30 markets, the film posted the biggest opening in the series. Outside of the United States and China, the United Kingdom and Ireland ($3.3 million), France ($2.8 million), Australia ($2 million), Russia ($2 million), Indonesia ($1.9 million), Taiwan ($1.6 million) and the UAE ($1.3 million) posted the top openings.

Critical response

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 37% based 201 reviews with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Monotonously formulaic, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is one action thriller sequel whose title also serves as a warning." On Metacritic, the film has a score 47 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Home media

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was released on Digital HD on 17 January 2017, and on Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD and DVD on 31 January 2017.