Reacher, season 1

Neagley: "You're gonna kill a whole lot of people, aren't you?"
Reacher: "Already started."

release year: 2022
genre: action/drama (8 episodes)
viewing setting: home streaming 2/4-5/22

synopsis: Ex-military cop Reacher drifts into a small Georgia town and decides to figure out why more and more dead bodies keep showing up.

impressions: Given that this book series is one of my favorite of all time, the instant I found out that a TV series had been made, I started counting down the days until its release. Thanks to the magic of online streaming post-pandemic, I was able to watch the entire thing in a less-than-24-hour span. Overall, I was very, very happy. They captured the essence of the character, and the first book, in eight episodes that were filled with mysteries, great lines, and most importantly, plenty of ass-kicking. Reacher averages more than one physical altercation per episode, and due to his size, training, experience, and plain old ruthlessness he always comes out ahead.

acting: No disrespect to Tom Cruise, who did a great job with the attitude in the two previous movies based on this character, but Alan Ritchson nails both the sheer size/physicality as well as the attitude of Jack Reacher. Malcolm Goodwin is also great as the quiet, orderly detective who ends up working with him. Willa Fitzgerald is another cop who teams up with them, and also develops an attraction to Reacher. Bruce McGill and Currie Graham are two of the town big-shots/bad guys, while Chris Webster is a young punk who's also insanely violent. Maria Sten is a former co-worker of Reacher's who helps out, and can also kick ass.

final word: If you like mystery-solving mixed with action, you will probably like this. If you like the book series, you will definitely like this.

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