Two rubbish films governed by the fate of a daughter

On Friday evening 21^st October 2016, I needed a break from serious activity and went to see the second Jack Reacher film Never go back which I understand is based on one of the 22 other novels. I did see and reviewed (13^th September 2013) the first production based on the first book of the 22-book series to-date by author Jack Child’s concluding that it was an enjoyable but of my childhood’s B movie tradition.  My reaction to Never Go back was mixed and has not changed over days of reflection. I liked the story line albeit familiar one of USA Military people abusing their power by making personal wealth at the taxpayer’s expense and putting the public at great risk. There have been other films on the same theme covering the aftermath of the second world war through to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this instance a former associate of Jack Reacher, a female Major responsible for monitoring and tackling action on the abuse of power and a series of disturbing events occur when two colleagues go to Afghanistan to investigate.  She is arrested with her life endangered I am still not clear why Reacher gets involved and how is lifestyle is funded other than he has a very good pension and ongoing sponsorship.

It is being a baddy making huge amounts of money by illegal means that a proportion is spent on hiring assassins and others prepared to risk their life and serious injury on behalf of someone else’s cause. A key aspect of the film is hiring another soldier of fortune who is a match for Reacher’s Marshal arts abilities and where there is a build-up of confrontations until the final you or me but where the outcome cannot be in doubt given the ongoing activities of the hero. To addition suspense there is an issue of whether Reacher has a daughter who became one of the targets of the clear up operation of the criminals involved and played by Danika Darosh who plays is she, is she not daughter an although her behaviour is somewhat of a stereotype and has some implausible aspect as the threat to her increases, I thought she does very well

18-year-old Danika comes from an actor family and made her name in the USA TV show Shameless and comes across as a very athletic and adventurous individual starting as a dancer learning to be a pilot, owner of a motor cycle and involved with boxing and archery, this will not be her only film.

Although Tom Cruise is now fifty, rising to public attention thirty years ago in Top Gun, he still has a young face but even the most ardent of his fans will question if Tom - you are too old for this? As was said by the male to the female couple as they left the cinema.  Yet there is talk of Top Gun 2 and he is involved in the production of the two films which I believe he hoped they would be able to cash in more than they did with the first, taking three years before the appearance of second.  The demise of the paid assassin is spectacular fashion does not result in the mystery of the disappearance of an arms shipment of not required weapons back from Afghanistan to the USA under a private contract.  At the end of the film it also looks as if assumptions about what has been going on are wrong and the General in charge is right to be indignant about the accusations. Of course, it is Tom to works out that the financial numbers and risks involved do not add up, and why. Will I go again.  Not unless I am in the same need for a couple of hours of rubbish film.

This was also the reason why I stayed up last night (24th October 2016) just to see how bad a film was called Cradle  2 the Grave  and made in 2003 and which by coincidence  featured the kidnap of the daughter of one of lead roles in the film of thieves falling out  and involves the establish Marshal arts actor as well-known as Bruce Lee called by his stage name of Jet Li a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion who was born in Beijing. He is now a naturalized Singaporean citizen.   After three years of intensive training with Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring from Wushu at age 19, he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982). He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films, most notably as the lead in director Zhang Yimou's 2002 Hero and the Once Upon A Time in China series, in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung.

The thief hero is played by another well-known individual Earl Simmons (born December 18, 1970), professionally known as DMX, an American hip hop recording artist and actor. In 1999, DMX released his best-selling album ...And Then There Was X, which included the hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)". He has been featured in  other films -Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, and Last Hour. In 2006, he starred in the reality television series DMX: Soul of a Man, which was primarily aired on the BET cable television network. In 2003, DMX published a book of his memoirs entitled, E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX.

The school age daughter in this instance is played by Paige Hurd before she became a teenager and now over a decade later  she is an established female actor,  aged 24 year, born in Dallas to an African American father and Puerto Rican mother. She was featured in the comedy Beauty Shop (2005) starring Queen Latia^[1] and portrayed Tasha, next door neighbor of Chris in the Chris Rock-produced TV series Everybody Hates Chris,  as  Denise in The Cat in the Hat, a 2003 comedy film loosely based on the 1957 book of the same name, by Dr. Seuss. She has appeared in music videos including one by Justin Beiber.

The story of the film is about the value and the ownership if a large black diamond and its potential use and centers on rescuing the daughter after her abduction and as a vehicle for the talents of lead actors Does one care at any point what happens. No. As the films progressed one had the sense that this was start of a new franchise rather like the A Team lost of action but no gory deaths or believable physical harm. Although its doubled its money, the temptation to make another was resisted.