TV Review: Reacher Season 2 (2024)

Reacher Season 2 (2024) adapted for television by Nick Santora based on the novel Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child

Before Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) was a wandering do-gooder, he was in the US military heading an investigative unit. Some of his buddies from the unit have been found dead. Their bodies were discovered in the middle of a New York State forest with injuries that indicate they had been tortured and then thrown out of a helicopter. A member of the unit finds out and alerts everyone else to come to New York City for one last investigation. A third member of their team is also missing but no body has turned up. Their investigation leads them to a shady military technology company whose security is headed by Shane Langston (Robert Patrick). Viewers discover immediately that Langston is the mastermind behind the killings. He's trying to cover up some pending deal he's got going. The conflict gets hot and heavy as the conspiracy gets bigger.

This series has a much bigger supporting cast for Reacher. A lot of flashbacks to the military unit fill in the characters' relationships (and pad out the eight-episode series). Viewers see some of the bad guy's plans but not enough to fill in all the gaps that Reacher's team struggles to discover. Reacher has a testy relationship with a New York City cop, Guy Russo (Domenick Lombardozzi). Russo is caught between corrupt cops (including his higher ups) and Reacher's outside-the-law shenanigans. Russo is the most interesting and most sympathetic character in the show. Sure, Reacher is fun to watch but he has plot armor and his physique, while amazing to look at, seems like it would be a hinderance to running, jumping, being stealthy, and other action hero attributes. The show throws in some sex scenes for him just because that's expected though they are more implausible than usual and unnecessary to even minor subplots. 

The main plot moves along at a good pace though it is impossible for viewers to guess where it is going because the answers are a bit improbable. The action scenes get over the top, especially in the final episode, where he does some things that don't seem likely for even the most capable normal human being. The show feels a bit like a mild version of Fast and Furious, with its Road-Runner-like action sequences that are enjoyable but also laughable (interesting trivia from wikipedia--the first Road Runner cartoon was called Fast and Furry-ous). The show is enjoyable but it is eye-candy not soul-nourishing. The show has too many unbelievable moments to be taken seriously like it wants to.

Mildly recommended.