I have been very excited for Reacher since it was announced that Alan Ritchson was cast in the title role. I am a big fan of his and his presence as Hank/Hawk on Titans really cemented the fact he was perfect for the role of Jack Reacher. I enjoyed the two Tom Cruise movies, but he was a far cry from the way that Jack Reacher was described in the books.
How to Stream or Download Reacher
You can stream it or you can download Reacher from Amazon Prime using the Amazon Prime Video app. Click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Movie Review
Reacher is brought to us by Amazon Prime and it is far more faithful to the work of Lee Child. Some people have said that it is perhaps a little “too faithful” to the source material, but I would have to disagree with that. At eight episodes long, there is no filler here and it is the kind of show where you want to jump straight into the next episode once one is done.
The plot of Reacher actually follows from the book Killing Floor. Jack Reacher visits what he thinks is a sleepy little town for some “R&R” however, things go very wrong. He ends up being accused and framed for a murder he did not commit and thrust into this corrupt criminal conspiracy.
Well, these people did not know who they were messing with as Jack goes to extreme lengths to prove his innocence. What we have here with Reacher, is just a really fun show, it is action-packed, but it is also smarter than you would think. The trailers do kind of give off this “meathead” action movie vibe, but that is not actually the case here.
This is a very clever and witty action drama that if you have not read the book, will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing the whole time. Now as great as that is, it does bring with it a problem for those of us that have read the book. I like how it tries to be as faithful and authentic to the book as possible.
However, the end result is that there are very few surprises for those of us that have read the book. Hey, as an adaptation is it is fantastic and I have no complaints about how they brought the story from the book to our TV screens. Yet at the same time, I do see where some people’s criticisms are coming from.
I really do not think there was a more perfect actor than Alan Ritchson to be Jack Reacher. He was already in amazing shape, but he got in even more incredible shape for this role. He brings it in the action scenes, but I feel that Ritchson is quite underrated as an actor and he also manages to bring it in the more dramatic scenes as well.
Reacher is another hit for Amazing Prime, so much so that a second season was announced just a couple of days after they launched season one! I had a fun time watching this and while I did get a kick out of how faithful they were to the Killing Floor book. I do hope that with the second season they take a few risks and try to shock those who are familiar with the Jack Reacher stories.
