Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Director Knows Who To Blame For The Movie's Failure
To paraphrase all those singing nuns, how do you solve a problem like Jack Reacher? If you're Christopher McQuarrie, you hire your movie star pal, Tom Cruise (despite the actor's notable height difference from the character as depicted in author Lee Child's novels — more on that later), and make a fabulous, still-underseen '70s-style political thriller/neo-noir film. If you're showrunner Nick Santora, you develop a TV series for Prime Video, hire the biggest Mack truck-looking dude you can (hello, Alan Ritchson), and make "a sharp, self-aware action caper," as /Film's own Valerie Ettenhoffer described it.
However, if you're Edward Zwick, you team up with your old "The Last Samurai" cohort Cruise and attempt to follow up McQuarrie's film with something a little bit different, seeing if there may be more to Reacher beneath his brooding brutality. Sadly, this approach failed to connect with audiences when Zwick's film, "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back," hit movie screens in October 2016. Although "Never Go Back" wasn't a massive financial failure — it made $162.1 million over a $60-96 million budget — it was the result of it not lighting up the box office, combined with its tepid critical and fan reception, that effectively signaled the end of the Cruise "Jack Reacher" film franchise, leading to the development of the highly successful and well-received Prime series.
Recently, Zwick revealed that he understands why "Never Go Back" was unsuccessful, and more than that, knows exactly who to blame for that failure: none other than himself.
Zwick takes the L for Never Go Back
In his recently published memoir entitled "Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood," Zwick reminisces on his time in Hollywood making films like "Glory," "Legends of the Fall" and "Blood Diamond," as well as television shows like "thirtysomething." When it comes to discussing the disappointment surrounding "Never Go Back," Zwick is the first to fall on his sword. In his own words (via Variety):
"'Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,' which Tom Cruise and I made in 2016, fizzled at the box office. 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."
Indeed, the "Paper Moon" comparison in the context of "Jack Reacher" is jarring just on the face of it, let alone seeing it in action in the movie itself. Where Peter Bogdanovich's 1973 film about a con man taking a young girl under his wing (played by real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal) has its edges, it's by no means a gritty action film. Still, in this writer's opinion, the dynamic between Cruise's Reacher and the girl who is assumed to be his daughter, Samantha (Danika Yarosh), is a charming one, and the faults of "Never Go Back" lie more with the fact that the movie feels like a television pilot when compared to McQuarrie's blisteringly cinematic vision. There's not much that can be done about Zwick's directorial approach to the film, but perhaps the "Paper Moon" aspect could be appraised better now than back in 2016; after all, we're currently inundated with many such "Lone Wolf and Cub" dynamics in action media at the moment, with it turning up in series and films like "The Mandalorian," "65," "The Last of Us," "The Creator," and more.
Another reason Never Go Back may have failed
Zwick is quick to state that, despite the film's reception, he thoroughly enjoyed making "Never Go Back," and subtly points out another point of contention that audiences seemed to have with both his and McQuarrie's films:
"I had a wonderful time working with Cobie Smulders, and I certainly don't blame Tom for not being six two — as the novelist Lee Child described his protagonist — and should Tom happen to call about making a third movie together, I'll definitely pick up."
That pesky height difference has been a sticking point for far too many people ever since Cruise was first announced for the role of Reacher back in 2011. Fan outcry has sadly been an issue with casting news since at least the late 1980s when so many whiny people were vocally upset about Michael Keaton landing the role of Batman. At first, the backlash over Cruise taking on the Reacher role seemed to be just another example of this phenomenon, yet the 2012 film didn't completely silence these complaints (even though it should have) and there are still a number of people who believe Cruise should have never been given the part at all. It's perhaps this petulant, pedantic nonsense that truly hurt the theatrical release of "Never Go Back," and maybe Zwick is just being diplomatic in blaming himself as well as one aspect of the movie that, contrary to his remarks, is pretty successful.
In any case, Zwick is obviously game for more Jack Reacher should it ever happen, a likelihood that is honestly pretty low given the Prime series' success. Still, never say never, and I feel qualified enough to say that not only will Cruise and Zwick continue to make more films (possibly with each other!), but Ritchson will very likely not be the last actor to play Jack Reacher. For whichever actor is standing in his shoes, it's the character of Reacher that looms large.