TV Review: ‘Reacher’ On Prime Video

Review by James Lindorf

If you don’t know him from any of the 26 books written to date or the two Tom Cruise lead movies, there is one thing you need to know about Jack Reacher. His defining character trait is that Jack Reacher is brutally efficient. Whether it is with a word or his actions, everything is done to achieve his goal as quickly and effectively as possible. Every bit of that quirk is on display in the fantastic new Prime Video series “Reacher” that premieres on February 4th.

Jack Reacher was presented to the world by author Lee Child 25 years ago when “The Killing Floor” was published in March 1997. Now that first novel is being turned into an 8 episode series starring Alan Ritchson as the titular hero. Ritchson has a history of playing action heroes from his time on “Smallville” to most recently as Hawk on DC’s “Titans.” The 37-year-old actor has the background, son of a U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, and the looks, 6’3”, fair hair, light eyes, and a physique that looks capable of bench pressing the bus Reacher rides in on. More important than the look, no matter what anyone says about the Tom Cruise movies, is that Alan captures the essence of what fans love about Jack Reacher. He nails the smug swagger of a highly intelligent and capable man. The most significant difference between the character on the page and how Alan plays the role is an air of unkindness that you usually don’t see in the books. Given the story that unfolds, you can understand why Reacher may want to hit below the belt when the opportunity presents itself. But there is a time or two where it feels a bit mean-spirited for the straightforward hero.

The series will follow the events of “The Killing Floor” with 90% accuracy. They change just enough to keep fans of the books from knowing exactly how everything will unfold. The story starts with Jack Reacher coming to the small town of Margrave, Georgia. Reacher, a retired military police investigator who recently entered civilian life, lives as a drifter. He has no home address; he carries no phone, spare clothes, or driver’s license while traveling the country he once served. He came to town in pursuit of a late breakfast, what they claim to be the world’s best peach pie, and information on the blues musician Blind Blake. Instead, he finds himself under arrest for a murder he couldn’t have committed. No attachments make an alibi challenging to prove. If he doesn’t clear his name quickly, he will become another victim of the town’s deep-seated conspiracy.

The town may be small, but the first murder in 20 years will draw a lot of attention. Can Reacher trust Chief of Detectives Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin, iZombie)? What about the attractive and possibly overly friendly Officer Roscoe (Willa Fitzgerald, The Goldfinch)? What about the town leader Mayor Teale (Bruce McGill, My Cousin Vinny), or businessman and head of the Kliner Foundation Mr. Kliner (Currie Graham, Murder in the First) or his son KJ (Chris Webster, Most Dangerous Game)? No matter who is against him, with his keen mind and hard-hitting fists, they picked the wrong guy to take the fall.

It is clear that with the monster that is “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and its rumored $425 million budget Amazon may be trying to save money where they can. The town looks like a set, which kind of fits the Pleasantville Stepford Wife feel the city is supposed to have but is also a bit distracting early on. Another place you can see the lack of budget is in the casting. The 2012 movie was headlined by Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, and more. No one in the series approaches that level of name recognition and monetary demands. While their names may not light up a marquee, an excellent cast was assembled. Bruce McGill and Currie Graham continue to prove that they are easy to love and even easier to hate. Malcolm Goodwin has a solid arc and gives a quality performance as Finlay. He and Ritchson have good respectful and maybe even friendly banter, think Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in “Lethal Weapon.” They are a pain in each other’s butts, but they respect the other for their capabilities, and one kind of scares the other. The second critical relationship is between Reacher and Roscoe. Ritchson and Fitzgerald have believable romantic chemistry, and they balance each other well. Reacher is calculating boarding on cold, and Roscoe is a talker; her anger sways her, and she loves the small town of Margrave.

“Reacher” was written for television by Emmy-nominated writer Nick Santora (Scorpion, Prison Break), who also executive produces and serves as showrunner. Santora and his fellow producers, including Lee Child, did an excellent job with this adaptation. The action is well above average for television and most movies. It may not be “John Wick,” but it is one of the best examples since. The realism and brutality incorporated into various scenarios and the mixture of gun and hand-to-hand fights make the series special. The acting is pretty great in modern-day from the talented cast of character actors. The quality takes a noticeable dip when they flashback to tell us more about Reacher as a kid. Thankfully the scenes are not frequent enough to bring the showdown. We are only five weeks into the new year, but it will take a lot of work to knock “Reacher” off the best new show of the year pedestal. When the final episode closes, the only mystery left to care about is just how long we have to wait for Reacher to stalk the highways as a spector or justice in a second season. “Reacher” is a 4.5 out of 5 and should get Prime Video off to possibly its biggest year ever.