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Parents' Guide to

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Violent Tom Cruise sequel has a high body count.

Movie PG-13 2016 118 minutes
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 5 parent reviews

MarvelDAD
MarvelDAD Parent of 9 and 11-year-old
June 9, 2021
age 10+

Great movie!

This movie is the best! The only bad thing is a few explosions, fist fights and several s words. Me and my son thought it was brilliant! I am quite excited to watch mission impossible with him when he is 12. I think that the violence in this is not as brutal and heavy as the mission impossibles. So if you want to watch a Tom Cruise movie that is not so sexual and violent as Top gun and mission impossibles, try this with your daughter or son! If it gets to graphic for your son (Which I would be surprised with) than just look away. Otherwise great movie and awesome plot, fortunately not as violent as the first one.

This title has:

Too much violence
Chance M.
Chance M. Adult
February 21, 2017
age 13+

A good flick but falls just short of the original

This was a very good film but just a LITTLE worse than the original. This one had a good plot but they toned down the brutality of the first one (There was only one scene that was as brutal as the first where a man breaks someone's back on their knee then as they gasp for air breaks their neck. Parents keep in mind that this was the normal in the first one) But this one had just as much blood where it's smeared on walls and other places. There was lots of fist fights with various weapons. This is a quite violent film but this is what we watch them for but some of your little ones may not be okay for this one but no matter what do NOT show them the original. The original was amazing but BRUTAL with many R rated murder/torture scenes. As a whole just keep the young ones away from the series and keep any of your kids/teenagers (even if mature) away from the first. (Note: you can watch the second without watching the first one and will still make sense) Reacher has never been a role model becuase of his torture/brutal murder tacticts but he is a little bit better in this film. One scene where a person trying to seduce a man but nothing comes of it

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Tom Cruise is back in the title role in JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK, a sequel to 2012's Jack Reacher. This time around, Reacher's old friend Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is accused of espionage. It's up to Reacher to find out the truth. The former military cop realizes both he and Susan are being hunted by a shadowy weapons contractor and uncovers a plot that stretches from Afghanistan to New Orleans. Could it reach all the way to the top of the U.S. Army chain of command?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (11 ):

This action sequel is an odd mix of thrilling and inert: It's entertaining enough, and the fight sequences are heart-pumpingly good, but the pacing is sometimes glacial and the plot predictable. The leads keep Jack Reacher: Never Go Back from going completely off the rails. Say what you will about Cruise, but he's as charismatic as ever -- and therefore compelling. No one has mastered a steely gaze like he has. Smulders bristles with contained energy, making for the perfect partner, and Danika Yarosh -- as the teen they both assist -- holds her own.

Still, Reacher is a joyless character. He barely cracks a smile -- which, in a way, serves the plot. But you can't help longing for a glimpse of the Cruise of yore who could tap into a well of cocky naughtiness (Cocktail, Risky Business) to balance the brooding. It's as if Cruise isn't allowed to have any fun at all, even in scenes that are meant to be flirtatious (though still brooding, given the character). In a film that's not especially original, the patented Cruise charm could very well have lifted it out of its doldrums.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the fight scenes in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. How do they compare to what you've seen in other action movies? Is the violence presented as justified? Do you agree?

  • Reacher uncovers a nefarious plot that goes all the way to the top. How are the people in power abusing their authority? What's a law-abiding person supposed to do when the authorities can't be trusted?

  • Talk about the subplot revolving around a teen: What role do drugs play in her situation? How does she respond to her circumstances?

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