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Creator (Platform): Nick Santora – based on the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child (Amazon Prime Video)
Publisher (Release): Amazon Studios (2022)
Length: 8 episodes
Genres: Adult; Thriller; Mystery; Action; Romance
❗️Disclaimers❗️:
strong violence and body mutilation
this review contains low-level spoilers
recommendation: must watch
👍 Pros 👍
Follows the source material closely
Alan Ritchson is the perfect choice for the titular character
Frenetic action
👎 Cons 👎
None for me
👀 Synopsis & Trailer 👀
Fresh off the bus in the idyllic little town of Margrave, Reacher is exploring his newfound freedom from the Army when he’s arrested for a murder he never committed. Forced to battle with his want to leave and his need to do the right thing, Reacher goes to war with a town with an incredibly dark secret under its sunny veneer.
🛎️ Introduction 🛎️
I was trying to remember if I’d ever watched the Tom Cruise movies that adapted the character, but either I didn’t or the casting was so off I completely forgot about it. Regardless, not many stories get a second chance, and Reacher nails it. Alan Ritchson proves he should’ve been the titular character all along as he’s thrown into a small-town conspiracy he wants nothing to do with. Twisty and turny, new viewers will delight in it while readers will be impressed with just how faithful and fresh it is.
🧩 Plots 🧩
Exploring themes of freedom, season 1 of Reacher robs our towering man of muscle of his and places him front and centre in a bloody war in small-town Georgia. It’s brilliantly paced, beginning and ending at just the right moments, driving the viewer hungrily into the next episode. Frenetic action delivers some brutal fights that shocked even me with their viciousness and showcases tight choreography.
Someone has made a huge mistake
Reacher, however, flies high thanks to its attention to detail. It brings author Lee Child’s Killing Floor to life so vividly that, when the writers did switch it up, I felt betrayed in the best way possible. A terrific job is done at lulling the viewers into a false sense of security only for the rug to be pulled out from under them and a boot dug into their stomachs.
Finishing up with an epic and fiery finale, Reacher wastes no time in delivering a satisfying conclusion that ties all its threads into a nice little scarlet bow.
Frenetic action delivers some brutal fights…
🎭 Characters 🎭
Like I said, Alan Ritchson is Jack Reacher. From the physique to the pitch-perfect delivery, he balances the stone-cold, no-nonsense warrior with a man with a big heart. Even when facing certain death, Ritchson conveys a strangely effective mixture of confidence, monotone lines, and charm. Reacher’s development throughout is less a progression from point A to B, but a return from the latter to the former. The events in Margrave might take away his long-sought freedom, but they give him what he’s really after – his soul.
Alan Ritchson IS Jack Reacher
Supporting characters are made up of wildly talented individuals such as Malcolm Goodwin as Oscar Finley and Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe Conklin, just to name a couple, and small bouts of humour crackle the chemistry, building a small but tight unit of morally grey heroes out to save the ignorant from themselves.
Outmanned and outnumbered
I am curious about the show’s future, though, especially given Reacher’s tendency to wander. Will this lightning cast return, at least in some capacity, or will the creators attempt the arduous task of recreating the depth with a new roster?
Alan Ritchson is Jack Reacher.
🧠 Final Thoughts 🧠
Season 1 of Reacher is loyal to its source material, smartly fresh for those familiar with it, and anchors itself with excellent casting. Alan Ritchson (and I’ll say it till I’m blue in the face) embodies the titular character with affable confidence, heightening the brutality of the well-paced action that comes with its own crisp choreography. A dash of twists here, some bonding there, and Reacher joins a short list of properties that should be regarded as the templates for adapting something to small or big screens.
The Phoenix Project 
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