Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

[AzStevenCal]

Which is fine because they simply aren't the same thing. I never watch a movie and judge it by the book, I don't like headaches that much.

The movie was decent, not great IMO, but Cruise worked well in that role. And despite the oh so obvious physical differences, his character still felt like Reacher to me in most ways. It was poor casting regardless because Jack's personality and approach to problem solving is very much the result of his size but that's typical Hollywood.

 

[Stout]

As long as the spirit of the character is true I know I don't care but I guess for some it does.

When looks are essential to the character--and, from what book readers describe, Reacher's size is absolutely essential to the character--then it is not the spirit of the character. What you're arguing is you don't care what the character's like in the book because you didn't. That's a big difference, though valid for you.

If you didn't read the book, or did and can accept a watered down version, then no big deal about the casting. Either way, no skin off my back. Like I said, I only ever watched the movie, and enjoyed it, but I can understand how people can be so ticked that a main character turned into something completely different to make a movie out of the book.

 

[Covert Rain]

I read the first book after the movie. As usual the book was better and I never said the movie was great.

Not for one second did it change my view that Cruz wasn't reacher in the film. It still felt like the same character to me size or not. I started to read Die Trying but realized I was breaking my own rule about reading the books before I see the movie. I didn't at that time know which book they would adapt next. I guess it's safe to read that now.

Not to mention Lee Child agreed that Tom captures the character so whom am I to disagree?

"And so there's nobody, really, who would've done it better, so we decided to forget about the external physicality of Jack Reacher and instead try to capture the internals, the intangibles. And I think Cruise -- because whatever else Cruise is in terms of a superstar and celebrity and all that kind of stuff, he is also technically a very fine actor -- and so he was able to capture the inside of Reacher perfectly, I thought."

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Speaking of reading the books after seeing the first movie...another thing I dislike is that the first film was book 9 and this "sequel" - which I am currently reading - is book 18. Weird choices.

 

[Covert Rain]

Speaking of reading the books after seeing the first movie...another thing I dislike is that the first film was book 9 and this "sequel" - which I am currently reading - is book 18. Weird choices.

Oh see I don't know the order. My buddy and I booked swapped. He lent me those two books and I lent him a couple Timothy Zahn Star Wars novels.

 

[Stout]

I read the first book after the movie. As usual the book was better and I never said the movie was great.

Not for one second did it change my view that Cruz wasn't reacher in the film. It still felt like the same character to me size or not. I started to read Die Trying but realized I was breaking my own rule about reading the books before I see the movie. I didn't at that time know which book they would adapt next. I guess it's safe to read that now.

Not to mention Lee Child agreed that Tom captures the character so whom am I to disagree?

"And so there's nobody, really, who would've done it better, so we decided to forget about the external physicality of Jack Reacher and instead try to capture the internals, the intangibles. And I think Cruise -- because whatever else Cruise is in terms of a superstar and celebrity and all that kind of stuff, he is also technically a very fine actor -- and so he was able to capture the inside of Reacher perfectly, I thought."

Oh, so you have read it? Okay, since I haven't and you have, I'll bow to you on the topic. I thought the other poster on here was arguing against a non-book reader.

I will, however, take Lee Child's quote with a GIANT grain of salt. When you have established authors like Tom Clancy saying Sum of All Fears fit his vision exactly--when they turned the bad guys from Middle Eastern terrorists to Nazis, and the NSA that was sleeping with the President and ruining his judgment becomes Morgan Freeman--you tend to take authors who get a big payout with said grain of salt.

Not that I blame them, mind you. When I sell my novels, I'll probably sell out if I ever get the chance at a big juicy movie check too

 

[Covert Rain]

Oh, so you have read it? Okay, since I haven't and you have, I'll bow to you on the topic. I thought the other poster on here was arguing against a non-book reader.

I will, however, take Lee Child's quote with a GIANT grain of salt. When you have established authors like Tom Clancy saying Sum of All Fears fit his vision exactly--when they turned the bad guys from Middle Eastern terrorists to Nazis, and the NSA that was sleeping with the President and ruining his judgment becomes Morgan Freeman--you tend to take authors who get a big payout with said grain of salt.

Not that I blame them, mind you. When I sell my novels, I'll probably sell out if I ever get the chance at a big juicy movie check too

I agree to a extent but Lee Child has a reputation for speaking his mind. If he thought it was a bad idea he probably wouldn't hesitate to say so.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Release date: October 21, 2016
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Edward Zwick
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and action, some bloody images, language and thematic elements)
Screenwriters: Richard Wenk, Edward Zwick , Marshall Hershkovitz, Marshall Herskovitz
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Website: JackReachermovie.com| Facebook| Twitter| Instagram

Starring: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge, Danika Yarosh, Patrick Heusinger, Holt McCallany, Robert Knepper

Plot Summary: Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) returns with his particular brand of justice in the highly anticipated sequel "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back." Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is the Army Major who heads Reacher’s old investigative unit. She is arrested for Treason and knowing that she is innocent, Reacher must break her out of prison and uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear their names and save their lives. On the run as fugitives from the law, Reacher uncovers a potential secret from his past that could change his life forever. Based upon "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back," author Lee Child’s 18th novel in the best-selling Jack Reacher series, that has seen 100 million books sold worldwide.

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[Brian in Mesa]

Cobie Smulders is taller than Tom Cruise ?! LOL

Enjoy this one fellas, I am passing for obvious reasons once again.

Now back to reading Personal - featuring the real Jack Reacher.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I liked the first Jack Reacher but this one was just dreadful. Beyond predictable and more damning, just flat out boring. Surprising for a Tom Cruise movie. At the very worst, I expect to be entertained.

 

[Stout]

Eh, it was fun for pulp purposes. I can forgive the low-level action movie thing, and the 1,000 plot holes. The one thing that killed it was the cheesy callback thing.

Spoiler

The 'show the girl one move' shtick, and of course she manages do to that move on the bad ass main villain. Sooooo eye roll worthy.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Eh, it was fun for pulp purposes. I can forgive the low-level action movie thing, and the 1,000 plot holes. The one thing that killed it was the cheesy callback thing.

Spoiler

The 'show the girl one move' shtick, and of course she manages do to that move on the bad ass main villain. Sooooo eye roll worthy.

Oh yeah. You knew from that moment they tried it in the hotel it would be one of the final moments of the entire movie.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Eh, it was fun for pulp purposes. I can forgive the low-level action movie thing, and the 1,000 plot holes. The one thing that killed it was the cheesy callback thing.

Spoiler

The 'show the girl one move' shtick, and of course she manages do to that move on the bad ass main villain. Sooooo eye roll worthy.

My favorite plot hole was... well... ANYTHING in the airport sequence. She's got stolen credit cards.. great. She still has a DIFFERENT name then the credit cards, Reacher and Smolders were pretty much the biggest fugitives from justice in THE country, none of them had fake ids... and they just breeze through airport security?

I can forgive plot holes. The Accountabt had multiple you could drive a Semi through. What I can't forgive is pure boredom.

 

[AZ Native]

I know I am late to the party. I somehow missed this thread. I have been reading all of the Jack Reacher series, but I am reading them in chronological order.

Want To Read The Jack Reacher Novels In Chronological Order?

1. The Enemy (2004) [Amazon]
   • Prequel set eight years before Killing Floor
2. Night School (2016) [Amazon]
   • Prequel set when Reacher is 35
3. The Affair (2011) [Amazon]
   • This is another prequel set just before Killing Floor
4. Killing Floor (1997) [Amazon]
5. Die Trying (1998) [Amazon]
6. Tripwire (1999) [Amazon]
7. Running Blind (2000) [Amazon]
   • UK Title “The Visitor”
8. Echo Burning (2001) [Amazon]
9. Without Fail (2002) [Amazon]
10. Persuader (2003) [Amazon]
11. One Shot (2005) [Amazon]
12. The Hard Way (2006) [Amazon]
13. Bad Luck and Trouble (2007) [Amazon]
14. Nothing to Lose (2008) [Amazon]
15. Gone Tomorrow (2009) [Amazon]
16. 61 Hours (Spring 2010) [Amazon]
17. Worth Dying For (Fall 2010) [Amazon]
18. A Wanted Man (2012) [Amazon]
19. Never Go Back (2013) [Amazon]
20. Personal (2014) [Amazon]
21. Make Me (2015) [Amazon]

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I know I am late to the party. I somehow missed this thread. I have been reading all of the Jack Reacher series, but I am reading them in chronological order.

Want To Read The Jack Reacher Novels In Chronological Order?

1. The Enemy (2004) [Amazon]
   • Prequel set eight years before Killing Floor
2. Night School (2016) [Amazon]
   • Prequel set when Reacher is 35
3. The Affair (2011) [Amazon]
   • This is another prequel set just before Killing Floor
4. Killing Floor (1997) [Amazon]
5. Die Trying (1998) [Amazon]
6. Tripwire (1999) [Amazon]
7. Running Blind (2000) [Amazon]
   • UK Title “The Visitor”
8. Echo Burning (2001) [Amazon]
9. Without Fail (2002) [Amazon]
10. Persuader (2003) [Amazon]
11. One Shot (2005) [Amazon]
12. The Hard Way (2006) [Amazon]
13. Bad Luck and Trouble (2007) [Amazon]
14. Nothing to Lose (2008) [Amazon]
15. Gone Tomorrow (2009) [Amazon]
16. 61 Hours (Spring 2010) [Amazon]
17. Worth Dying For (Fall 2010) [Amazon]
18. A Wanted Man (2012) [Amazon]
19. Never Go Back (2013) [Amazon]
20. Personal (2014) [Amazon]
21. Make Me (2015) [Amazon]

I still refuse to see any film with Cruise as Reacher. Just not going to happen.

I am in between Personal and Make Me, but I have read them as they were released. So, currently, I've read everything except Make Me and Night School. Of course, I've read the short stories featuring Reacher that are not on this list, too.

Taking a break from the Reacher series to read a book called Sandstorm by Alan L. Lee. Then, back to Make Me...

 

[UncleChris]

It was ok. It certainly wasn't the worst movie I have ever seen.... I actually kind of liked it that every minute involved a fight scene.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I agree to a extent but Lee Child has a reputation for speaking his mind. If he thought it was a bad idea he probably wouldn't hesitate to say so.

You're exactly right.

“There won’t be any more movies with Tom Cruise… Cruise, for all his talent, didn’t have that physicality.” - Lee Child

“I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He’s a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun, but ultimately the readers are right. The size of Reacher is really, really important and it’s a big component of who he is." - Lee Child

 

[AZCrazy]

I'm in the middle of rereading the series too. What a great character. The Midnight Line and Past Tense are both worth additions since this thread was started.
What were your favorite books in the series? My top three for most enjoyable were The Affair, Persuader, and One Shot.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I'm in the middle of rereading the series too. What a great character. The Midnight Line and Past Tense are both worthy additions since this thread was started.
What were your favorite books in the series? My top three for most enjoyable were The Affair, Persuader, and One Shot.

Love those three also. I'd add in Bad Luck and Trouble and 61 Hours. I really haven't disliked any of them. Good reads.

 

[AZCrazy]

That whole four book arc was a unique story thread with some terrific "Reacher" moments. 61 Hours/Worth Dying For/A Wanted Man/Never Go Back all take place within about ten day's time.

 

[NJCardFan]

Here's my take on Cruise playing Reacher. Sometimes you just have to let it go. Case in point, when I heard that Gal Gadot was being cast as Wonder Woman, I immediately went into "oh, hell no" mode believing Gadot to be too bony to play the Amazon Diana Prince. Then I saw her in BvS and was pleasantly surprised and admitted I was wrong then in her own movie, she nailed the character. Also, movies change book characters all the time. The first Silent Hill movie, the protagonist was a woman when in the game it was a man(Harry Mason isn't even mentioned). In Hannibal, Vergers sister isn't even mentioned even though she was a big part of the book. Now, there have been movie adaptations of some of my favorite books were terrible. Case in point, I'm a big Michael Crichton fan and 2 of my favorite books by him were Sphere and Timeline and both movies crapped on the books. Anyhoo, I guess it's a matter of taste.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Here's my take on Cruise playing Reacher. Sometimes you just have to let it go. Case in point, when I heard that Gal Gadot was being cast as Wonder Woman, I immediately went into "oh, hell no" mode believing Gadot to be too bony to play the Amazon Diana Prince. Then I saw her in BvS and was pleasantly surprised and admitted I was wrong then in her own movie, she nailed the character. Also, movies change book characters all the time. The first Silent Hill movie, the protagonist was a woman when in the game it was a man(Harry Mason isn't even mentioned). In Hannibal, Vergers sister isn't even mentioned even though she was a big part of the book. Now, there have been movie adaptations of some of my favorite books were terrible. Case in point, I'm a big Michael Crichton fan and 2 of my favorite books by him were Sphere and Timeline and both movies crapped on the books. Anyhoo, I guess it's a matter of taste.

Gal Gadot would have been closer in size to Reacher than Cruise. True story.

Seriously, liberties are taken from time to time with characters, especially with ones played by Cruise. For example, just look at Minority Report: In the short story John Anderton is a 50-year-old balding, out-of-shape police officer who created Precrime, while in the movie Anderton is in his late 30s, handsome, drug addict, athletic, with a full head of hair who joined Precrime after his son's kidnapping.

I still maintain that with Reacher his size is part of his character. It's emphasized and focused on in every novel. Those who have read the material understand.

Casting Cruise as Reacher would be like casting someone like Peter Dinklage to be Andre the Giant. In reality, any actor hired to play Andre should be a giant actor and not a tiny one. Cruise as Reacher is as striking of a difference as those two would be. Because Reacher is fictitious people are quick to dismiss his characteristics. Much quicker than if it dealt with a real man who was 6'5 250 lbs.

 

[NJCardFan]

Gal Gadot would have been closer in size to Reacher than Cruise. True story.

Seriously, liberties are taken from time to time with characters, especially with ones played by Cruise. For example, just look at Minority Report: In the short story John Anderton is a 50-year-old balding, out-of-shape police officer who created Precrime, while in the movie Anderton is in his late 30s, handsome, drug addict, athletic, with a full head of hair who joined Precrime after his son's kidnapping.

I still maintain that with Reacher his size is part of his character. It's emphasized and focused on in every novel. Those who have read the material understand.

Casting Cruise as Reacher would be like casting someone like Peter Dinklage to be Andre the Giant. In reality, any actor hired to play Andre should be a giant actor and not a tiny one. Cruise as Reacher is as striking of a difference as those two would be. Because Reacher is fictitious people are quick to dismiss his characteristics. Much quicker than if it dealt with a real man who was 6'5 250 lbs.

Question, then: Do you think Chris Hemsworth is a good choice to play Hulk Hogan?

 

[AZCrazy]

Better question: Why is a movie being made about Hulk Hogan?

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Question, then: Do you think Chris Hemsworth is a good choice to play Hulk Hogan?

A lot of wrestling people don't think so. He's big and buff even though he is still 4 inches shorter than Hogan and not "big enough" physically. Others feel he is "too pretty" to be Terry Bollea. He likely got the gig because Hulk Hogan has said he wanted "that guy who plays Thor" to play himself as early as 2013.

Will be sought out and watched by wrestling fans as this is a made for Netflix production. They'll likely be watching it with a critical eye as many of them are fanatic about wrestling and the wrestlers they grew up watching. Those who never watched wrestling won't care who plays Hulk as they aren't as familiar with his career (other than Rocky III or his post-wrestling reality TV stuff and post-career drama).

Wrestling fans can't picture Chris Hemsworth as Hulk Hogan

https://canoe.com/entertainment/movies/wrestling-fans-cant-picture-chris-hemsworth-as-hulk-hogan