Reacher
I won’t speculate about how Amazon Studios’s Reacher will play for those unfamiliar with Lee Child’s books or fans of the Tom Cruise films based on the same character. I am a fan of the books, and while I find things to admire about the Cruise films, their biggest drawback has been that the star does not come close to embodying the nomadic modern knight.
Reacher’s defining characteristic is his size. His sheer bulk is intimidating. To be honest, the books play off the stereotype of the dumb grunt, since the former military policeman has brains to go with his brawn. Cruise’s persona has always been a mix of irascible charm and maybe a streak of mischievous energy. Reacher is all earnestness. He is not above deception when it suits his purpose, but he is not a trickster nor a prankster. And although he is not beholden to the law, he has codes of chivalry and gallantry that make him appealing to readers (and now viewers) along a wide swath of the political spectrum.
Alan Ritchson does not merely have the body type to play Reacher, he understands the character and makes the viewers like him. The Reacher books (and this series) are brutal in their depiction of violence, and they differentiate themselves from modern action/horror sensibility to the extent we care about the hero. Reacher is fearless not because he is invincible, so the brutality is not meant merely to justify some sort of yet more violent retribution from the hero; it is also meant to make us genuinely fear for him and those in his circle should he fail.
I have viewed the entirety of Season 1 and it follows very closely the plot of the first Reacher book, Killing Floor. There are some points sprinkled in from other books, but these are blended appropriately to introduce us to facets of the character and not merely added as fan service. Reacher arrives by bus in a small Georgia town where he wants to find information about a Jazz legend. Almost immediately upon his arrival, he is arrested for suspicion of a murder at the town’s outset. There is enough plot here to develop at a fair pace over ten one-hour episodes. The season feels neither dragged out nor rushed, and although Reacher is the only constant from book to book, the series, like the book, gives ample time to develop the supporting characters. Are they mostly stereotypes (female cop, beleaguered sheriff, scare civilian, corrupt local bureaucrat)? Sure. But they aren’t flat, and the writers and performers pay close attention to the distinguishing details of the character types that make them human. We have to not just care about Reacher, we also have to believe he cares about them.
For those not familiar with Reacher, part of the pleasure of any good show is the joy of discovery, so no potential spoilers other than to say, yes, I did (eventually) get Reacher Bingo!
