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radioSimon Dillon reviews the adaptation of the Lee Child novel.
Edward Zwick takes the directorial reins for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back; an agreeably average action thriller elevated a little by the central relationships between Reacher (Tom Cruise), framed-for-espionage Major Turner (Cobie Smulders - best known for her role in the Avengers movies), and is-she-or-isn't-she-his-daughter Samantha (Danika Yarosh).
Lest we forget, Zwick isn't just responsible for cinematic gems like Glory, The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond, but also the woeful Legends of the Fall (truly one of the worst films I have ever seen). How does he acquit himself with a blockbuster thriller with lots of running, jumping and fighting? Well, for the most part pretty well. The plot isn't as strong as in the previous movie, but the afore-mentioned relationships make this an entertaining watch. The machinations of the plot concern Turner framed for espionage and later murder (along with Reacher himself). Both end up as fugitives and attempt to unravel the conspiracy against them, which involves decommissioned weapons shipments, drug smuggling and. oh, the usual nonsense.
Tom Cruise hardly needs to try in a role like this, but his banter with Smulders and the wonderful Danika Yarosh provide the best scenes in the film. It is hardly groundbreaking, but Never Go Back is a satisfying additional adaptation of the Lee Child novels. There are plenty of loud and violent fight scenes which push the 12A rating in agreeable fashion, whilst cleverly keeping the nastier bone-crunching offscreen.
In short, an agreeable and intermittently exciting diversion. 
Simon Dillon was born the year Steven Spielberg made moviegoers terrified of sharks He loves books and films, writing the former and reviewing the latter. His novels include Peaceful Quiet Lives, Children of the Folded Valley, Spectre of Springwell Forest, and Uncle Flynn. Simon is a fully committed Christian, but doesn’t like to “identify” with any particular denomination. He doesn’t do hugs, and generally prefers moody, sombre Gregorian chants to bouncier Christian music (with a few exceptions). In his reviews, he isn’t interested in counting f-words and miniskirts, but he attempts to unpack the message of the film, with faith issues in mind.
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Simon seems like an agreeable person, having used the term in as many paragraphs. That Legends of the Fall was, "truly one of the worst films," he had ever seen suggests to me that he has not seen many truly bad films and confirms another piece of good writing advice: what is said in parenthesis, should probably not be said. Beyond these small matters, I found Simon's review to be quite helpful to me.