TV Review: Reacher (2022)

Reacher (2022) adapted for television by Nick Santora from the novels by Lee Child

Retired military cop Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) is a lone wanderer in America with one ID, some cash, and the clothes on his back. He arrives at the small southern town of Margrave, Georgia. Ostensibly, he's searching out a blues musician. He quickly discovers that his brother has been killed in the town. The investigation by the local cops is not going well because they are corrupt. The town is dominated by a fairly new company that has some shady dealings both in town and out of town. The local mayor is on the side of the corrupt. Reacher meets two uncorrupt cops: long-time Margrave resident Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) and transplant-from-Boston Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin). The trio work to solve the eventual pile of murders as people keep on getting killed through the eight-episode story arc.

Reacher is an interesting combination of tough guy and smart guy. The actor is physically huge and is able to deliver the laconic dialog and reserved attitude of the character from the books. The other actors do a great job too. The main trio play off each other well. Roscoe becomes a love interest for Reacher mostly because that's what's expected (like James Bond or Indiana Jones always getting a girl). Reacher and Finlay have a great dynamic as the two "outsider cops" dealing with local small town life. They both respect each other and can't stand each other. The actors make it work well.

The plot is a little too complicated for its own good and does not quite hang together like it should. The show is more meant as an action thriller, at which it excels. Some of the fights (and some of Ritchson's shirtless scenes) seem gratuitous but they are all exciting. How many low-level thugs are in this town? Don't they ever warn each other not to mess with Reacher? Some of the off-screen violence by the bad guys is very graphic and the aftermath (i.e. the police investigation) gets into some squalid details. Of course, the good guys win at the end in a big battle that lets everyone have their moment. I don't think anyone reads the books for an ingenious plot or scheme; the show follows in those footsteps.  

Recommended for fans of the books who can handle the violence, language, and the one sex scene. This show is not at all kid-friendly.

Streaming on Amazon Prime.