272: Jack Reacher + Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

[00:00:00] Hello everybody, welcome back to the Film Buds podcast. This is episode number 272 and my name is Henry and it is just me this time around. We'll be for a couple weeks. Our schedules have been a little crazy. Home life's been a little busy and chaotic and so Elle

[00:00:33] will be back on in a couple weeks for the Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man show and then hopefully from there on out. But we had to play a little bit of catch up. Things have

[00:00:43] just been a little scattered. So hope you all are sticking with us. Hope it's okay that it's just me this time. That's not such a bad thing, I don't think, hopefully. Thank

[00:00:51] you so much for joining us. We have had a big jump in new listenership, so please make sure to subscribe to the show right now if you haven't already. Follow us on social media

[00:01:01] at Film Buds, all that good stuff and also on Bandcamp at thefilmbuds.bandcamp.com. That's where you can get premium content. But yeah, thanks for being here and this time around for the next couple weeks these are going to be maybe slightly more random reviews but

[00:01:16] some of them I'm picking because we missed them when they came out or I really wanted to review them way back when but never did. So they're a little bit random. Hope that's okay but hopefully there will still be great discussions. This time around I'm going to

[00:01:29] be talking about the Jack Reacher franchise series, whatever you want to call it, with Tom Cruise. So Jack Reacher and then Jack Reacher Never Go Back. There is the Reacher show on Amazon which maybe I'll do at some point but I figured these being the movies,

[00:01:45] I'll stick to those for now. So yeah, it should be a great time. I think there's some interesting films and some cool points to talk about. Definitely variations in quality, all that

[00:01:55] good stuff. I have a few other things I watched. All the normal stuff. So yeah, it should be a great time. And it will be a shorter show, you know, the normal because obviously it

[00:02:03] is just me but that's nothing wrong with that. Hope you all are doing all right out there. One big thing as I was just mentioning, we have or I have been doing a lot of bonus content

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[00:03:10] tell your friends about Filmbuds. We would really appreciate it. Not much really going on. I guess these shorter shows will be more like a bonus show where there's not as much of an intro, what's going on but not much going on that's worth mentioning really.

[00:03:23] I'm on leave right now. So getting a little bit of a break, which is nice. Other than that, catch it up on sleep, recording a lot of Filmbuds stuff. So again, keep an eye out

[00:03:32] for all that on our Bandcamp page and spend time with my wife Elle who's also a co-host and our dog. So it's a nice time, nice break. Hope you all are doing alright out there as

[00:03:43] well. Glad it's finally starting to get a little cooler. It's pretty hot here in New Mexico. Looking forward to the fall and the winter but that's really about it. I wish I had more interesting stuff to say but that is about it. So I guess without further ado,

[00:03:54] let's just get to the reviews. Why not? Let's get to Jack Reacher and we do have a clip. So take a listen. Mind if I share your table? I'm Sandy. So was I last week on a beach in

[00:04:15] Florida? What's your name? Jimmy Reese. You don't look like a Jimmy. What do I look like? I don't know but not a Jimmy. So you're new in town? Usually. It's kind of loud in here.

[00:04:44] Do you want to maybe go someplace quieter? I have a car. You're old enough to drive? I'm old enough to do a lot of things. I'm out of budget Sandy. What? I can't afford you. I'm not

[00:04:59] a hooker. Oh then I really can't afford you. Seriously, I work at the auto parts store. Jack Reacher came out in 2012. It is directed by Christopher McQuarrie who also went on to do the three most recent Mission Impossible films as well as the upcoming one which is

[00:05:16] part two of Dead Reckoning. So he's definitely gone on to work almost exclusively with Tom Cruise, you know, at least in Tom Cruise led movies. Of course, it stars Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David O. Yellowell, I can never say that name right,

[00:05:33] Jai Courtney, Robert Duvall. That's about it I think. And the synopsis is a homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper responsible for a mass shooting. So I heard about Jack Reacher, I love crime and investigatory movies like this anyways. I heard

[00:05:53] about Jack Reacher first because of my mother loved the books. There's a huge book series, novel series on this. I haven't read any myself yet but I would like to. But she loved him and

[00:06:03] I knew other than that I had no real knowledge of Jack Reacher. I love Tom Cruise. I was like I'm very interested in this. Really didn't know anything about it going in. But overall,

[00:06:14] I've seen the movie, I don't know, a handful of times at least and I feel like it is just one of the most rewatchable kind of pulpy entertaining crime dramas or crime thrillers,

[00:06:28] action thrillers, whatever you want to call it that I've seen at least around that time period. Because I think there's just something, I mean Tom Cruise, at least from what I know the character,

[00:06:36] he is much more imposing, much taller, much bigger. Whereas Tom Cruise, obviously a fit guy but he doesn't really fit the Jack Reacher description from at least from the books from what I've heard. Which I understand, I think Tom Cruise is still a really good Jack Reacher just

[00:06:49] for in the context of the movie and he definitely has a lot of fun one-liners and I think he fits the character in a lot of ways. So I don't have a problem with that. I understand why people feel

[00:06:59] that way but I don't have a problem with that. I think again, I don't know what exactly makes it feel this way but it just has this very pulpy, fun, like almost noir-esque investigatory tone and

[00:07:14] atmosphere that is love. That makes it so easily watchable, very intriguing. I love the mystery of it. I think all the characters are very memorable. Some of them are more cartoony than others like

[00:07:25] the Werner Herzog criminal character, Jai Courtney. I do really like the teenage girl in this who he meets. I think the writing for her is fun. I think the actress is quite... There's just something

[00:07:37] about her that's very interesting and memorable. So I think the casting and the writing is very, once again, very pulpy and very fun and I really enjoy everybody in it.

[00:07:48] I don't love Jai Courtney. I think he's a bit of a bland actor but he's okay in the movie. It's just a hit man kind of guy. But Robert Duvall is excellent as the gun range owner or runner.

[00:08:00] I love that sequence and then he teams up with Tom Cruise. Anytime there's a car chase in this movie, it's amazing. The sound... I'm not a big car guy but anytime you hear the sound of the cars

[00:08:11] in this movie, it is amazing. Like just those old kind of muscle cars are amazing and of course, Tom Cruise doing all of his own driving and stones, all that stuff. It's very entertaining,

[00:08:22] very immersive. I'm really just waiting for some of those car chases. And I think the one where he gets out of the car, gets into the crowd of people and then gets on the bus is a very classic

[00:08:32] Jack Reacher sequence. And then Jack Reacher is this untraceable, untrackable military veteran. And I think the character just himself is very interesting and I think the Reacher show as well, from what I've seen even compounds on that and makes the character even better. Very good score.

[00:08:50] It looks very good. How the mass shooting is presented and the flashbacks of that where Tom Cruise is telling the stories of the different victims and their stories and where he thinks

[00:09:02] the sniper would have shot from, where he would have... All that back and forth I think is very interesting in trying to figure out the case. I love the scene where he meets the teenage girl in

[00:09:12] the bar and then he goes outside and fights with the guys and he's like, just remember you wanted this and then he just kicks their butt. I think all that stuff is really, really fun and funny.

[00:09:21] Tom Cruise is great at humor and there's a lot of really good one-liners as I said, good humor in this movie. So just a very, to me, pretty underrated Tom Cruise performance,

[00:09:31] Tom Cruise movie overall. I feel like every time I watch it, I'm just never really tired of it. There's just always something to enjoy, to latch on to. For what it does, it sets out to do very,

[00:09:42] very well. And so I'll always go back to it whenever it's on TV or whenever I see it on a streaming site. I typically will watch at least some of it because it is just a great time to me

[00:09:51] and I feel like it just didn't do well enough to where more people know about it as opposed to something like Mission Impossible, which obviously has a much bigger draw financially. And we'll get to the sequel. Unfortunately, it's not up to these standards but still,

[00:10:05] if you haven't seen it, I definitely would check it out. I feel like so much of the movie is memorable to me. I don't know why exactly again. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's

[00:10:13] the strength of the direction, the writing, I don't know, but the interest in the reacher character, but it just works for me really. And it never gets old as I said. So very solid movie.

[00:10:25] Wish they would be making more of them with Tom Cruise because even though I think the show of what I've seen is very good, I miss Tom Cruise as Reacher. Maybe that's just because I love

[00:10:35] Tom Cruise but he's great as Reacher to me. So that one is a heavy four out of five, heavy four. All right. So jumping right ahead, let's get to Jack Reacher Never Go Back. And we do have a clip as well. For this one, take a listen.

[00:10:51] Military ID expired. 38 bucks and a toothbrush. No home address. In other words, homeless. Aggravated assault is a second degree felony in this state, Mr. Reacher. First name Jack, no middle name. You're looking at 10 to 20 years once those boys you beat out

[00:11:22] there are fit to testify. Process him, get him to county. Two things are gonna happen in the next 90 seconds. Excuse me? First, that phone over there is gonna ring. Second, you're gonna be wearing these cuffs on your way to prison.

[00:11:45] All right. So Jack Reacher Never Go Back came out in 2016, four years later. It's directed by Edward Zwick who also did Pawn Sacrifice, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, Glory, a lot of big films. So, you know, pretty

[00:12:02] established director, renowned director. It stars Tom Cruise, of course, as well as Kobe Smulders, Aldous Hodge, Robert Knepper. Honestly, not a lot of big names in this one. Jason Douglas. Sorry if I'm forgetting anyone.

[00:12:17] And the synopsis is, Jack Reacher must uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear his name while on the run as a fugitive from the law. Of course, loving having really enjoyed the first one.

[00:12:30] I was very excited about this one. I really like Edward Zwick. He worked with Tom Cruise on The Last Samurai, which I'm a big fan of, as well as some of his other movies. I was sad that Christopher McCrory wasn't coming back,

[00:12:41] but also he was doing Mission Possible at the time. So understandable. I mean, I still haven't read any of the books, but I didn't know anything about the story this time aside from it just being another Jack Reacher adaptation, sequel,

[00:12:52] spinoff or whatever you want to call it. And of course, you know, one big thing with Jack Reacher, the character, is that he just seems to know things that others don't. He's always one step ahead. And even though he's this very traditional, does everything off the grid,

[00:13:09] he just somehow manages to be a step ahead of all the people who are using the super advanced technology and all this stuff. He just uses brain power and muscle power to get through. And somehow he does. I like that he eats at IHOP.

[00:13:22] I think that's pretty funny in this. I think the scene that's in the trailer where he's at the diner and how that sequence plays out where he gets arrested. Very good. But I don't know what went wrong with this.

[00:13:35] And I think this speaks to how, you know, the novels themselves, at least from what I understand, solid novels, you know, pulpy, cool, dark, at times crime thrillers. But end of the day, they are just these bestseller crime stories.

[00:13:50] And so they're not some groundbreaking, amazing story, but it's the writing that makes them so successful and strong and stand out. Whereas, and I think that in the first one, and you know, I think that speaks to Christopher McCrory's adaptation of the novel because he elevates it.

[00:14:09] He shows the strengths of that writing. Whereas in this one, it feels the exact opposite. I think it is honestly, it's just terrible. There's almost nothing redeemable about this movie. I think even just the direction, like Edward Zwick again, very established, celebrated director with a big filmography.

[00:14:28] I don't know what went wrong here. It's just choppy. I don't think anything that a lot of it feels kind of incoherent, like the action, like especially compared to the first one. It is just not even like, especially compared to the first one.

[00:14:43] There's just no comparison. Like the editing, the direction is bad. The writing sucks, which sounds mean, but it's true. Like I don't know what, especially with Tom Cruise at the lead. I just don't know why things just completely crashed and burned with this one.

[00:15:00] I think the story with his daughter is just really lame. It's poorly put together. The actress is not good at all. You just don't care about that relationship for whatever reason. And I think that might be a culmination of factors, but it just doesn't work.

[00:15:16] Whereas you look at the relationships in like the first one with Jack Reacher and Rosamund Pike or other characters. And for the most part, it's not amazing, but it's fairly solid. But in this, it's like people are irritating.

[00:15:29] You don't know anything about them. You don't care about them or they're just obnoxious. It's just there's almost no memorable action sequences aside from maybe the part towards the end with the parade.

[00:15:40] But really, it almost feels like the majority of the movie, it's just characters running to different places, driving to different places. There's just not much happens. I feel like most of the Reacher-isms that are present in the first movie are not in this one.

[00:15:54] He feels more just like a typical action lead, action guy, vanilla guy, just getting the job done, beating up some people and that's it. There's not really those quirks. And even from his performance, I feel like there's not...

[00:16:07] And maybe that is more so the writing's fault where he just doesn't have that much to work with. But all those Reacher quirks and isms from the first one, I feel are just gone from this.

[00:16:17] So Jack Reacher as a character in this is not really that interesting. Score isn't as good, doesn't look as good. The tone is much more flat. So yeah, just really... That sounds so critical, but like I feel I've seen it twice now

[00:16:31] and it just... There's no saving it. I wish I loved it. I wish I could defend it. It's like, no, people are so wrong about this. It's a worthy sequel, but no, it's not.

[00:16:41] And I wish that it was a lot better because I think it kind of killed the series for Tom Cruise. And that's why maybe they did go with the Reacher series on Amazon.

[00:16:49] But... And so that's another reason why it's so disappointing is because it did seem to kill the franchise for him, both critically, especially critically and financially. The first one wasn't a huge moneymaker, but the second one even more so.

[00:17:02] And you can't really... I hate to say it, but you can't title a movie Never Go Back and not have it be a good movie because every review that I've seen is, please never go back to this.

[00:17:14] You can't set yourselves up for that and not have the movie be great because you're just setting yourself up for a bunch of easy one-liners bringing the movie down. And so that's too bad because it is not good and I wish it was better.

[00:17:30] There are maybe little parts of the movie that are good. I don't love Colby Smulders as well, just in general. I don't... Her role in Marble is pretty bland and she's pretty bland in this. I just don't... I don't love her as an actor really.

[00:17:42] So... And she's not as interesting as Rosamund Pike in the first one, at least in terms of the partnerships, comparisons. So yeah, not a very good movie. Not one I feel like I ever need to re-watch after having reviewed it here.

[00:17:54] I just... Unless maybe we're going through them and we just have to get through it. I don't feel the need to ever re-watch it. I'll always watch the first one and I'll definitely keep watching the Reacher series, which I would recommend even having only seen a couple episodes.

[00:18:07] It is pretty solid and eons better than Never Go Back. And I'll even say it, please never go back to this one. Yeah, please, I would love to go back to the Tom Cruise films.

[00:18:17] I don't think we're ever going to get a third one, considering where Tom Cruise is at in his career and of the other films he's focusing on now. But never say never, you know, pun there.

[00:18:27] Just a strangely terrible movie, considering the cast and crew involved, which is a shame. Very disappointing. I'll go one and a half for that one. Barely one and a half. Just awful. And maybe at some point, as I said, I'll do the Reacher series, like the first season,

[00:18:45] maybe as a bonus show or just as a regular episode. We'll see, because I think it is a pretty interesting series. That is it for the reviews and I will just end off with some stuff I've been watching. I re-watched The Departed, Martin Scorsese, fantastic movie.

[00:18:59] One of a great Leo and Matt Damon presentation for them. Really a huge cast across the board. Probably one of Mark Wahlberg's better performances as well. I think this is one with Martin Scorsese. Even if people who I talk to don't know who Martin Scorsese is,

[00:19:15] I feel like The Departed is always one that's brought up. Like, oh, The Departed, yeah, I love that one. And so I feel like this is one of the more crowd-pleasing films that he's done.

[00:19:24] Seems to be a bit of a fan favorite when it comes to this kind of film, like crime cop movies. And I've seen it a handful of times and it's always pretty solid. At times gets a little messy.

[00:19:35] Jack Nicholson is, of course, great and at one of his best, in my opinion. The ending, the last 20-30 minutes of the movie are amazing. Just how shocking and surprising some of the moments are with the kills and who gets shot, who dies.

[00:19:47] All that stuff is really powerful at the end and it does tie together fairly well. Great movie. I also watched AMC miniseries called The North Water starring Colin Farrell and Jack O'Connell. And this is based off a novel about whalers traveling up to the Arctic to hunt whales

[00:20:06] and bring back oil and anything else they can to sell. And it is a, I guess the closest thing I could compare it to is like In the Heart of the Sea. Maybe a little bit of Master and Commander in there. Overall, pretty solid series. Very, very grim.

[00:20:20] I think it's five episodes, not overly long. A very dark, depressing show. So it's not one that everyone's going to want to enjoy. If you like period shows, if you like, there is some murder mystery stuff in there.

[00:20:33] If you like that aspect of it or if you like naval or stories about old sailing vessels, check it out. Colin Farrell is fantastic in it especially. I don't, Jack O'Connell is always pretty solid. I don't love him but I think Colin Farrell is amazing.

[00:20:48] I think it honestly could have been a movie instead of a miniseries but it's, again, it's only about five episodes. So not too bad. Pretty solid show. Flawed but still definitely left a mark on me. Some really shocking moments and good performances. Looks very good, good score.

[00:21:06] An interesting story in how it's written. Check that out on AMC Plus if you got it. And then I've just been watching some more of The Office, re-watching The Office which never gets old. I feel like that's the show almost everybody loves. But yeah, never gets old.

[00:21:22] Always a great time. Always cheers me up. Been watching the early seasons of that. And that's about it. Again, you know, this is a shorter show.

[00:21:29] We're not going to be doing this consistently just because, again, life has been a little chaotic and Elle will be back on in a couple of weeks. Don't worry, it won't be stuck with me for the long term.

[00:21:39] Please make sure to check out our Bandcamp page, thefilmbuds.bandcamp.com. There's a ton of content there. 30 plus shows and counting. Subscribe, donate, whatever you want to do.

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[00:22:01] All that good stuff. You know, follow the FilmBuds. Tell everybody about it. Post on social media. We hope you'll stick around. We love having you here. All right. Hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did and see you next time y'all.