Streaming on Amazon Prime
In 1997, author Jim Grant (under the pen name Lee Child) published the first of over twenty novels following the exploits of one Jack Reacher: a retired MP wandering the country who occasionally stumbles upon a mystery to solve or a person who needs saving. Reacher is described in the books as towering over six feet tall, incredibly built, and has a mind as sharp as Sherlock Holmes. He doesn't care about the law, only about what's right. Then, in 2012, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, late of The Way of the Gun and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, came out with a feature-film adaptation of one of the books (One Shot) simply titled Jack Reacher, starring...wait for it...Tom Cruise.
Yes, I know, everyone and their mother has gone on and on about how Tom Crusie looks nothing like Reacher as described in the books, and while I tend to agree that he wasn't the best person to play Reacher in terms of looks and build, I still commend him for at least playing the role to the best of his ability. At the very least, the rest of the movie compensated for his miscasting with a compelling story, decent action scenes, and the opportunity for Christopher McQuarrie to sharpen his directing skills. And, of course, the less said about the sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, the better.
I was intrigued by the character of Reacher and have been genuinely interested in seeing more of the character on screen. It took ten years for someone to get the ball rolling for reasons beyond my understanding. Well, having watched all eight episodes of the Amazon Original Series, I can proudly say it was well worth the wait.
Plus, they got a guy who actually looks like Reacher!
Based on the first book in the series, Killing Floor, our hero, Jack Reacher (Alan Richson), pays a visit to Margrave: a fictional small town in Georgia, after receiving word from his brother. Upon arriving, he is immediately arrested under suspicion of murder. After his alibi checks out, Reacher discovers not only the workings of a dangerous plot threatening the good people of Margrave, but the murder victim happened to be someone close to him. Now, Reacher is on the prowl for the criminals intending to make them pay however he can.
Jack Reacher can best be described as an empowerment fantasy character. Someone who can do many things well and has the power to make things happen and the fortitude to make things right, no matter how high the odds may be stacked against him. Many writers, mostly the insecure ones, tend to create characters like this, and most of them are incredibly dull. There is a tendency to want a flawless and super-powerful character who can literally do anything without fear of death. In most cases, these characters are boring and one-dimensional because they have no flaws or anything that makes them human or relatable.
In the case of Jack Reacher, while he is indeed a super-powered dude in his own way, he is far from dull.
Reacher is one of those rare power-fantasy characters who feels genuine and authentic. Mainly because he does things we all wish we could do and always does so not for money or anything selfish, but because it's the right thing to do. Many of us feel powerless against evil, but we often forget that we are not powerless at all. We all can be like Reacher in our own way; we just don't see it as clearly often enough.
The show does a remarkable job presenting Reacher as described in the books. More importantly, it also does a great job with everything else.
The mystery is exciting and genuinely tough to solve. The supporting characters are intelligent and relatable and are never made to be dumb for the sake of making Reacher look better. The action scenes are visceral with brilliant choreography and very little use of cheap gimmicks like shaky-cam.
If you have an Amazon Prime account, absolutely check this one out. It's totally binge-worthy! I genuinely hope to see more of this series in the future.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
7/14/22
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