Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Review - 3 Ups & 6 Downs

2. It Avoids The Cliched Romance

As great as Cruise and Smulders are in the movie, it's a pleasant surprise that the script doesn't opt for the ultra-cliched route of pairing them together romantically.

While this is actually hinted at throughout the film, it's cleverly subverted several times, such as one scene in which Susan talks to Reacher while wearing a bathrobe. It looks like things could get hot and heavy, but we're pulled back from it and their dynamic is all the more satisfying as a result.

Instead, Jack and Susan basically end up playing a**-kicking surrogate parents to Samantha, which while not executed with as much panache as it could have been, is at least a million miles away from a PG-13 sex scene that bonds the two leads together forever more.