Tom Cruise’s “dull” action flop becomes a worldwide Netflix hit
Tom Cruise’s “dull” action flop Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is a worldwide hit on Netflix, after becoming one of the most-watched movies on the streamer across the globe.
A follow-up to the 2012 film Jack Reacher, which also starred Cruise in the titular role, the 2016 sequel follows Cruise as the ex-Military Police Investigator.
Based on the Jack Reacher book series by Lee Child, the synopsis reads: “When he learns that his friend has been accused of murder, Jack Reacher suspects a vast conspiracy — and soon finds himself on the run alongside her.”
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Unlike Prime Video’s hit action series Reacher, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back underperformed at the box office, killing any chance of a third movie in the franchise.
Despite being a critical flop, the film has found a new audience since being added to Netflix and is currently the number two most-watched movie on the streaming service globally according to FlixPatrol. Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite currently occupies the number one spot.
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At the time of the film’s release, The Standard gave it a measly two stars out of five, writing: “Tom Cruise’s latest action spectacular is so dull that I found myself willing on the baddies.”
The film has a low rating of just 37% on Rotten Tomatoes from 244 reviews, with critics noting the film’s unremarkable nature.
“Here it is: the sequel no one asked for to the movie that no one quite remembers,” penned Entertainment Weekly, while AV Club said it was “almost parodically generic, starting with its absurd title”.
“As crime thrillers go, it’s an inferior product with a predictable plot. It succeeds because of its memorable characters and their shifting relationships. There’s some nice action and offbeat humour,” wrote The Philadelphia Enquirer.
Flavorwire called the sequel “a bland and generic action flick, not just forgettable after the fact, but during”.
Speaking in his memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood, director and co-writer Edward Zwick opened up about the flop (via Variety).
“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which Tom Cruise and I made in 2016, fizzled at the box office,” he explained. “I blame myself (and my willing accomplice, Don Granger) for thinking the audience might enjoy a mash-up of ‘Jack Reacher’ and ‘Paper Moon,’ when in fact they just wanted more red meat.”
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is streaming on Netflix.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
