2012's Jack Reacher was released amid a wave of controversy. Many felt that leading man Tom Cruise wasn't right for the part of novelist Lee Child's famed detective, and its so-so reviews and modest box-office probably go some way to supporting that theory. You can't keep a good Cruise down though, because a sequel is now set to start filming in November. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTBsZxdXbXE The original movie was directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and played like an old-school throwback to the sort of hard-boiled, quippy sixties cinema associated with Steve McQueen. I personally loved the movie, both Cruise's performance and the narrative had a distinct "no bulls**t" aura hanging around them, and it kick-started with one of the best cold opens of recent years. Apparently Jack Reacher was quite a hit in ancillary markets, which coupled with Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation's strong on-going performance, probably goes some way to explaining why Paramount's green-lit the sequel. McQuarrie isn't on duty here, but Ed Zwick (who previously worked with Cruise on The Last Samurai) is a safe set of hands with which to defer. It's unclear which of Child's books (if any) will serve as the basis of the story, although a while ago 2013's Never Go Back was listed as a potential candidate. As long as Zwick sustains the hard-hitting, uber-traditional tone introduced in the first movie, it shouldn't matter though. The pot-boiler narrative really only acted as a way to hang together a variety of strong action beats and opportunities for Cruise to exhibit his tough-guy chops. Jack Reacher 2 is expected to beat yo ass sometime in late 2016.
