BLU-RAY REVIEW: JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK
01/29/2017

OVERVIEW: “Tom Cruise is better than ever” (Pete Hammond, Deadline) in the "breathlessly exhilarating”(Simon Thompson, Forbes) action-thriller JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK, which hits the road on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand January 31, 2017 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Hailed as “a fun action-packed ride” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), fans can be the first to get it two weeks early on Digital HD January 17.

The JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Combo Packs are loaded with over 80 minutes of exciting bonus content, including in-depth interviews with the cast and crew, plus detailed explorations of Lee Child’s iconic character, filming on location in Louisiana, the intense action sequences and much more. Buy JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK on Blu-ray Combo Pack and get an exclusive illustrated version of Lee Child’s short story “Everyone Talks” for a limited time only. The film also boasts a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack* remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.

SYNOPSIS: Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) returns to enforce his bold brand of justice in the action-packed sequel based on author Lee Child’s best-selling series. When Army Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is framed for treason, Reacher discovers she’s the target of a massive government conspiracy. With help from Turner and a mysterious new ally, Reacher risks everything to take down a powerful organization that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets.

FILM REVIEW: As we watched a commercial preview of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back on TV the other day, I was prompted to bring up the discussion of Tom Cruise's place in the list of all-time big screen badasses with my boys. After throwing out names like Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, Jason Statham, Matt Damon, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Liam Neeson, Wesley Snipes, as well as classics like Arnold, Sylvester, Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme, we started realizing that Tom Cruise is either at the top or damn near close to it. His body of work spans decades and is chock full of badass characters that he has made his own. From Naval fighter pilot to NASCAR racer, from Last Samurai to Minority Report, from Collateral to Knight and Day, from Oblivion to the Edge of Tomorrow, and from Ethan Hunt to Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise is a true personification of action movies and a Hall of Fame icon for that genre. Mind you, those flicks mentioned above are just his action movies. Now we are treated to another episode of Jack Reacher and many of you might ask, "why the heck does this guy keep making these movies, like how many Mission Impossibles have there been already?" My answer to you is stop hating and just about all his movies do very well at the box office and lastly just about every one of his action movies are excellent, no matter how many sequels there are. I can't explain how he does it, but everytime I have thought to myself, "geez, another one?", I am pleasantly surprised at just how entertaining his action movies are. So guess what, this one is good too. This film is entertaining to say the least, it is action packed and thrilling. An added bonus is the pretty good storyline with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is multi-dimensional which gives it an added depth that most action movies lack.

The casting job for this film was well done. Cobie Smulders has proven to be an actress that can hold her own in action films and she does really good work in this one. Her character compliments Jack Reacher in way that he is just not accustomed to. Cobie does a good job at being direct and a no-nonsense Army Officer. And then there's relative new-comer Danika Yarosh in the role of Samantha. Without giving away too much, let's just say that Samantha fits quite well in this film's collection of characters. In addition to that, Danika has quite a future ahead of her. She is stunning and talented and she shines in just about every scene she's in. She keeps up with Cobie and Tom quite well.

Director Edward Zwick has quite the resume . . . Glory, Legends of the Fall, Courage Under Fire, The Siege, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, and Defiance just to name a few. Needless to say he does a fine job directing this one too, but obviously you can't claim this to be his best work. As far as comparing this one to the first, which I watched recently to brush up on the subject, well I've been pondering that since I finished watching the second one and I cannot decide. Let's just say that it is at least as good as the first and if you enjoyed the first, you won't be disappointed.

Review By Cine Marcos 
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles - English, Latin Spanish, Parisian French, Brazilian Portuguese

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Reacher Returns

An Unexpected Family

Relentless: On Location in Louisiana

Take Your Revenge First: Lethal Combat

No Quarter Given: Rooftop Battle

Reacher in Focus: With Tom Cruise and Photographer David James