Summary
Jack Reacher: Never Go Backsees Tom Cruise’s title character gain a new friend while also serving his own brand of justice.The second live-actionJack Reacheradventuresees the wandering avenger trying to clear the name of Major Turner (Cobie Smulders), his replacement as commander of the110th Special Investigations Unit.Turner has been framed for the death of two soldiers, and while investigating her case, Reacher is himself framed for murderby vicious mercenary The Hunter (Patrick Heusinger).
Compounding Reacher’s stress is that a former lover has filed a paternity suit against him, claiming her daughter Sam (Danika Yarosh) ishischild.Jack Reacher: Never Goes Backsees Reacher, Turner and Sam all going on the run, and learning that PMO Parasource is behind Turner’s framing. Things later come to a head in New Orleans, with Reacher and Turner exposing Parasource’s crimes, while Reacher rescues Sam from the vengeful Hunter. In the final scenes,Turner’s name is cleared and she returns to her old job, while Reacher hits the roadonce again.
No, Sam Is Not Reacher’s Daughter
Never Go Back’s biggest subplot still ends on a sweet note
Never Go Back’sbig emotional hook revolves around the relationship between eternal loner Reacher and Sam. The two form a close bond while dodging bullets together, butthe Ed Zwick-directed sequel leaves the mystery of whether Sam is Reacher’s daughter to the very end. This sees the two in a diner talking about Sam’s mother, and Reacher tells her that if he truly knew her mother, he would recognize her if they met again.
Tom Cruise previously worked withJack Reacher: Never Go Backdirector Ed Zwick on 2003’sThe Last Samurai.
Sam then reveals the waitress who served them was her mom, meaning Reacher isn’t her fatherafter all. While this probably comes as a small relief to Reacher, he can’t help but seem disappointed by the revelation. His road trip with Turner and Sam is the most he’s connected with people in some time, and he began to recognize some of himself in Sam, including her resourcefulness.
The Meaning Of Sam’s Final Text
Jack Reacher 2 allows Tom Cruise’s hero some growth
One of the useful things aboutLee Child’sJack Reacherbooksis that they can be read in basically any order. A given novel might reference events or characters from a previous story, but they’re largely self-contained.The books almost always finish with Reacher hitting the road again, catching a bus or hitching a ride to his next unknown destinationand misadventure.Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’sending sticks to this formula - but with a tweak.
Considering Reacher’s nomadic way of life and reluctance to form any emotional bonds, his response to Sam’s text is a small sign of growth.
After their final meeting, Reacher hits the road but then hears a phone buzzing in his pocket. That’s becauseSamantha slipped a mobile into his jacket, and texted him “Miss me yet???“Reacher then beams that famous Tom Cruise smile, before sticking out his thumb for a ride. This implies Reacher actually will maintain a connection with Sam. Considering his nomadic way of life and reluctance to form any emotional bonds, his response to Sam’s text is a small sign of growth,
Why Turner Was Framed By Parasource
Parasource learn too late not to mess with the Special Investigators
Amazon’sReacherseason 2 adaptedBad Luck and Trouble, where Alan Ritchson’s hero reunites with the survivors of his former 110th Special Investigators Unit. Their motto was “You do not mess with the Special Investigators,” since Reacher’s team was an elite unit. Turner took over the unit from Reacher when he exited the army, with the two becoming phone buddies as he occasionally helped her with cases. Naturally, the moment Turner is accused of murder inJack Reacher: Never Go Back, he doesn’t buy it for a moment.
After Reacher breaks Turner out of custody and they go on the run, the trail of dead bodies leads them to Private Military Organization, Parasource. This is fronted byGeneral Harkness (Robert Knepper), who - in addition to framing Turner - has sold military weapons to insurgents in Afghanistanandruns a drug smuggling operation. Of course, the evil General didn’t take Turner’s friendship with Reacher into account before framing her, resulting in his downfall.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Cast & Character Guide
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is the second film in the series and features several new and returning faces that audiences may recognize.
Parasource’s Drug Smuggling Operation Explained
Reacher and Turner expose the PMO’s activities
Needless to say, it was Harkness who sent The Hunter after Reacher and Turner too. Much ofJack Reacher: Never Go Back’ssecond half involves the duo trying to expose Parasource. This comes to a head when Turner confronts Harkness with the aid of some military police at a base, claiming a crate of rocket launchers linked to Parasource will be empty. She believes they have instead been sold to insurgents, but to her shock, all the crates are indeed loaded with weapons.
Reacher being Reacher, he knows it can’t bethatstraightforward, especially since Harkness is so clearly guilty. Digging deeper,Never Go Back’stitular antihero discovers Parasource has been smuggling drugs into the U.S. hidden inside these weapons crates, and the killings have been Harkness' effort to cover his tracks. That’s the end of the General and his PMO - though The Hunter is still on the loose.
The Hunter Is Reacher’s Evil Mirror Image
The Hunter is who Reacher could have become
The Hunter loves the chase and enjoys killing, to the point where he kidnaps Sam and lures Reacher into a fight despite his boss Harkness having already been arrested.
Just likeA.M.inBad Luck or Trouble, The Hunter could be considered a twisted version of Reacher himself. If the latter had no morals or honor, he could have turned his skillset and talent for violence into a job.Never Go Back’sThe Hunter is shown to be a savvy, resourceful killer, but while Reacher tries to be logical and unemotional, his enemy appears tolovehis job. He loves the chase and enjoys killing, to the point where he kidnaps Sam and lures Reacher into a fight, despite his boss Harkness having already been arrested.
He could walk away and disappear, but his hatred for Reacher and the need to prove himself superior won’t let that happen.LikeJack Reacher: Never Go Back’smain character, The Hunter is something of a ghost; his real name is never revealed, while his military background is thinly sketched.
How Reacher Finally Kills The Hunter
Reacher is a man who keeps his promises
BeforeNever Go Back’sfinal battle, Cruise’s hero makes The Hunter a promise. After deciding to hurt Sam just to punish him, Reacher coldly lays out how The Hunter will die.
I’m gonna break your arms. I’m gonna break your legs. I’m gonna break your neck. What you hear is excitement.
They finally come to blows on the rooftops of New Orleans, and while the assassin puts up a robust fight, he’s no challenge for a furious Jack Reacher.Reacher makes good on his threats too, breaking all The Hunter’s limbs while saving the assassin’s neck for last, giving him a moment to register his impending demise. With Parasource’s assassins all defeated, Reacher, Turner and Sam are now safe.
2012
$218,340,595
2016
$96 Million
$162,146,076
The director of the originalJack Reacher, Christopher McQuarrie, envisioned the films as gritty, R-rated affairs. Sadly, neither entry sported that rating, as Paramount wanted them to play to a broader audience, despite the brutality of Child’s books. Speaking withEmpirein 2020, the filmmaker spoke of wanting to move the movie franchise into darker terrority had it continued.
Tom and I were talking about, had the series continued, to take Reacher to a place where, in the post-Deadpool, post-Joker world, Reacher could have been an R-rated movie and an R-rated franchise and really fed into the brutality of those books. We were fully ready to lean into that.
McQuarrie has suggestedWorth Dying Forwould have beenhischoice forJack Reacher 2, had he directed it as originally planned. McQuarrie also feltNever Go Backwas a bad choice for a sequel, since the relationship with Sam was too big of a subversion so early in the franchise.
Child himself toldEmpire(viaDark Horizons) way back in 2011 that the rough plan forJack Reacher 3was to adaptBad Luck and Troubleand introduce the fan favorite character of Neagley. The author also suggested that61 Hours- the 14th in the series - would be adapted for the then-unproducedJack Reacher 2,beforeNever Go Backwas selected.Bad Luck and Troublewould eventually get adapted for the second series of Amazon’sReacher.
What Jack Reacher: Never Goes Back Changed From The Book
Jack Reacher 2 made some snips to Lee Child’s work
A movie has less time to play around with than a TV series, soJack Reacher: Never Go Backhad to condense much of the book’s plot. While the Sam subplot is still part of the novel, the movie makes it the emotional backbone, which is not the case with Child’s source material at all.The Hunter himself was created to giveNever Go Backa more straightforward antagonist- and somebody for Reacher to have a showdown with.
8 Biggest Changes Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Makes To The Lee Child’s Book
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back made many changes from the original Lee Child book, from character behavior to plot details to major players and more.
The sequel dropped some story threads entirely too, including stealing the car of a drug dealer and then drawing the ire of the man’s family.Jack Reacher: Never Go Backis broadly faithful to the novel in terms of characters and plot, but the drug smuggling operation is simplified, with Harkness being a combination of other villains from the original story.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Cast
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is the sequel to the 2012 original based on the Novel by Lee Child. Finally trying to meet face to face with his support over the years, Jack heads to Washington to meet Major Susan Turner, only to discover that she has been accused of treason and arrested. Jack quickly deduces that she is being framed - and after helping her escape, the two team up to get to the center of a deadly government conspiracy.
