SERIES REVIEW – Lee Child’s powerful character Jack Reacher is better suited to the small screen.

The idea of a streaming series based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels seems so evident that you wonder what took so long – until you think of the ill-fated attempt to turn the novels into a film franchise starring Tom Cruise. Even those of you who have never read the books will probably remember the casting controversy that erupted when Cruise was announced for the big screen as Reacher. The character is a 6’5″ giant muscle colossus in the books. Tom Cruise… is not, to put it mildly. That might not have mattered so much if the films had been well received, but neither critics nor audiences were overly impressed, and the franchise collapsed after a relatively fair first and a mediocre second.

When size matters

To the uninitiated, the size of the actor may seem insignificant. But Reacher is such a stripped-down, elemental character that taking away his imposing stature is an unforgivable sin. Reacher’s persona exemplifies the novels in which he appears, which are reliably solid but built on familiar elements. This is not meant as a criticism; many novelists would sell their grandmother to be able to do what Child so effortlessly created. The Reacher books are an ideal lectionary precisely because you know what you’re getting and are unlikely to get bored.

In that respect, Reacher is a solid adaptation that is a great time for fans of classic thrillers. The series, available to watch on Prime Video, is an enjoyable comfort watch based on a long-running series of books, with plenty of action – nothing too taxing on the good old brain cells. The first season is a straight adaptation of the book that launched the Reacher series, Killing Floor. In the first episode, it doesn’t take long to establish the character and his world: Jack Reacher (no one calls him by his first name, not even his mother) is a former special investigator for the Army Military Police, now a drifter who carries nothing but a toothbrush. He loves the blues, and in the opening of Reacher, he gets off a bus in Margrave, Georgia, only to hear that bluesman Blind Blake might have been murdered there.

The man who trouble always finds

As in most novels, Reacher doesn’t look for trouble, but trouble finds him. When he stops at a diner for coffee and peach pie, his snack is interrupted by being arrested for murder. (His efforts to get a slice of that pie to become a running gag throughout the season). Apparently, a body is found near the spot where Reacher was seen getting off the Greyhound bus; when the body is later identified, it turns out to be a person with a close personal relationship to Reacher.

The murder is only the first of many. When Reacher’s name is cleared, he stays in town to find out who is responsible, much to the chagrin of the local police, including Boston-relocated Detective Chief Inspector Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) and Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald), a young policewoman with deep family roots in Margrave. The trio eventually team up to investigate a link between the murders and an international counterfeiting ring run from a prestigious local shop despite their initial distrust.

A superhero without the costume

When developing Reacher for television, writer-syndicator Nick Santora didn’t want to disappoint fans with a mental image of the title character. Alan Ritchson, perhaps best known for his role as superhero Hawk in HBO’s Max’s Titans, is undoubtedly a good fit for the role. He towers over his fellow actors, boasting the hulking physique familiar from the pages of Child’s books. His acting abilities are difficult to judge at first, but eventually, his natural, innate sympathetic demeanour quickly wins you over.

Humanizing Reacher is essential, as the character is a superhero without a costume. He has the deductive mind of Sherlock Holmes, but you can expect at least one scene per episode where he beats up five guys attacking him simultaneously. Some of the fights are more inventive than others, and plot twists tend to arrive right on schedule, but it’s all part of what makes Reacher work well as a television adaptation of a pulp novel. It’s a relatively straightforward thriller, reminiscent of the eighties, with an interesting investigation, plenty of action, a reasonable amount of twists and turns and a fine cast. It won’t revolutionize the genre, but there are times when we need just such a hero and adventure.

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