Reacher Review: Lee Child's Jack Reacher gets a bingeworthy adaptation with Alan Ritchson's impressive act

Reacher

Reacher Cast: Alan Ritchson, Malcolm Goodwin

Reacher Creator: Nick Santora 

Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video 

Reacher Stars: 3/5 

For every Lee Child fan, the scarred memories of watching Tom Cruise take on the role of Jack Reacher in a movie franchise remain haunting. Not only did the actor feel miscast in the role but the way the novels were adapted into the films, the outcome was beyond underwhelming. After it was confirmed that a new Amazon series is being made on Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, it seemed to a great idea given that the series format can promise how every little detail from Child's engaging storytelling can make it to the screen. 

The new show is titled Reacher and it seems apt given that in the novels, Child writes how the character of Jack Reacher was called merely Reacher by his mom. Introducing Alan Ritchson as the ex-military, vigilante, the show scores more points as the actor not only complements the role with his physicality but also his acting skills. One of the best things about Nick Santora's adaption is that he seems to remain extremely faithful to Lee Child's text and hence the casting of Rirchson seems perfect given how he fits the novel description of the character. 

Reacher's first season is based on Lee Child's first Jack Reacher book which was titled Killing Floor and released back in 1997. Divided into eight episodes, the show promises to build up the suspense and appeal of Ritchson's Reacher at an amazing pace. The show takes off with Reacher (Alan Ritchson) getting arrested in Margrave, Georgia as a suspect for murder. After it becomes clear that Reacher in fact hasn't committed the crime and has a rather painful personal relation to the victim, he stays on in Margrave to help nab the killer by teaming up with detective Oscar (Malcolm Goodwin) and cop Roscoe (Willa Fitzgerald). 

Reacher establishes its plot perfectly well in the first episode itself with Reacher's arrest and eventual release as he puts on his Sherlock Holmes-esque skills on display while trying to figure out how the murder took place. True to his character as seen in the books, Reacher is a man of few words, whose physical presence is daunting given his 6'5 feet height and a chiselled body. In a small town like Margrave, Reacher catches attention in no time and the ex-military man who describes himself as a "hobo" as opposed to a vagrant is not too bothered by it. 

The good thing about Santora's show is that while he focuses on making it perfect for Lee Child fans by getting into the details of bringing the famed novel character onscreen, he also makes sure to set up the show in a way that feels equally enjoyable for viewers who haven't read the books. Even as the crime/murder mystery genre seems overdone when it comes to web series, Reacher turns out to be a breath of fresh air with its honesty. The show doesn't get into any artifices to come across as anything apart from what Child's books promise, a sense of pure adventure. 

It's while watching Reacher that you may realise why Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher franchise failed. It was mainly because with Cruise, the film's looked nothing less than his Mission Impossible dramas where the actor goes above and beyond to show off his action skills. Although with Reacher, the action remains physical in the most gruesome way as the character keeps going for his giant head thrust moves to break bones. The action sequences particularly get better as the episodes progress and you begin to get attuned to the bone-crushing sounds added for the desired effect. 

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Reacher's plus point is its casting and Alan Ritchson does a fine job as the lead. The actor successfully finds a balance in conveying Reacher's deductive skills and his personality of attracting trouble everywhere he goes well. For the first few minutes into the pilot episode of the series, we see Ritchson remain absolutely silent but his body language is enough to convey what's going on in his head. The supporting cast of the series also consists of some good performances from Malcolm Goodwin and Willa Fitzgerald.

Nick Santora tries his best to deliver a version of Jack Reacher on screen that is closest to the way author Lee Child presents him in his novels and while there's no denying that it's a daunting task, I'd credit Santora for at least trying harder than what we have seen in previous adaptations. With an unpredictable climax, Reacher does leave us decently satisfied as a show in the crime/murder mystery genre and one can expect it to receive another season.