Primetime Picks… REACHER

Home » Primetime Picks… REACHER

Feb 03, 2022 Posted by Kyle Nolan in Features | Comments

Prime Video has just launched the entire first season of the new series Reacher, which is based on the first novel of Lee Child’s bestselling Jack Reacher series, “Killing Floor”. Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson, Titans, Blood Drive, Blue Mountain State) is a retired Army Major/military police investigator, who now spends his time wandering wherever the wind takes him. He travels light, without any bags or even a car or cell phone, living off his pension, which he has wired to a nearby Western Union. This time, Reacher’s travels have taken him to the small town of Margrave, GA, home to famed blues musician Blind Blake, whom Reacher has become interested in. However, shortly after his arrival, Reacher is arrested, taken into custody, and accused of murder. Since he was on a bus at the time of the murder, Reacher’s alibi is solid, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Chief Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin, iZombie)—even after banker Paul Hubble (Marc Bendavid, Good Witch, Dark Matter) confesses to the murder. Reacher can tell that Hubble is obviously lying, and is actually trying to get into jail for some reason. But he doesn’t really want to get involved, and plans to leave town as soon as he is released. However, when the case becomes personal, he decides to stick around, and assist the cops (even if they don’t want it), so that he can get justice or revenge, whichever comes first.

Five years ago, a rich benefactor named Kliner (Currie Graham, Desperate Housewives) moved into town, investing in the local businesses and winning favor with the locals, who now see him as this benevolent savior of the town. Kliner now has the people and government officials of Margrave wrapped around his finger, particularly Mayor Teale (Bruce McGill, MacGyver). The people of Margrave don’t take too kindly to a stranger like Reacher coming into their small town and stirring up trouble, especially Kilner’s spoiled son KJ (Chris Webster, Most Dangerous Game), who has had it out for Reacher as soon as he stepped off the bus. Chief Detective Oscar Finlay is also an outsider to the citizens of this small town. He is a Harvard grad who recently moved to Margrave from Boston. He has a very particular way of doing things, always dressed formally in his tweed suit, never curses, and avoids all of the junk food that Reacher seems to constantly chow down on. As the bodies start to pile up in Margrave, the police chief looks to Finley to close the case as quickly as possibly, asking him to blame things on some recently-released criminal, to give the citizens some peace of mind.

As the number of murders increase, Finlay doesn’t really know who he can believe, and who’s a part of a larger conspiracy. The only person Finlay really trusts is rookie officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald, Dare Me, Scream: The TV Series). She is tough and honest, but a little green. She’s also the only person who seems to like Reacher, so Finlay assigns her to keep an eye on him. Finlay reluctantly partners with Reacher to secretly investigate the murders while also appeasing the chief by pretending to explore his list of preferred suspects. However, Reacher doesn’t let simple things like laws get in his way. He’s got military training and skills, and will do whatever it takes to complete his mission, even if that means leaving a pile of bodies in his wake. To give him credit, he does always offer his potential attackers a chance to bail before they initiate contact, though no one ever seems to heed that advice.

As the trio investigates, they find that they are quickly becoming targets themselves. Can Finlay, Roscoe and Reacher figure out who is behind the murders before becoming the killer’s next victim?!

While I had heard of the Jack Reacher books and films, I didn’t really know anything about the character, so I decided to check out the Tom Cruise films before watching this series. That wasn’t really necessary in order to fully understand and enjoy the series, but it did give me a bigger appreciation for Alan Ritchson in this role. The films are enjoyable, and Cruise is entertaining, but he is missing that dominating and intimidating physical presence that Ritchson brings to the role. Ritchson not only has the charm to pull off the funnier aspects of the character, but he also has physical presence to lend credibility to the reactions Reacher gets when he enters a room, and makes the fights look very believable. The action and fight sequences in this series are really well done and are often quite brutal to watch. No matter how many people line up to attack Reacher, he has his Army skills to rely on and can easily clear out any wave of attackers, often leaving them with cracked bones, broken faces, or even dead. (See the Prison Brawl clip from the premiere below.) Reacher can be stoic, only speaking when he wants to, or hilariously dropping these great one-liner puns. A technique he often uses in order to tell the truth when Finlay asks him about what he’s been up to, without revealing the details of the numerous illegal activities he’s been partaking in. Ritchson is just so perfect in this role!

Throughout the season, we also get flashbacks to Reacher and his brother Joe as they were young Army brats, often getting into trouble as they moved from place to place with their parents. These flashbacks usually tie into something Reacher is doing for the case, and also serve to show how he got to be the way he is today. At the same time, the series also finds Finlay and Roscoe dealing with their own dramatic personal issues.

There is this really fun dynamic that quickly forms between the three main characters. Alan Ritchson, Willa Fitzgerald and Malcolm Goodwin have this excellent chemistry—it’s a joy to watch them play off of one another. Willa Fitzgerald is delightful as Roscoe, who is loyal and determined, and constantly trying to prove herself. No matter how many times Reacher tries to ditch her when she’s following him, she never gives up, and slowly wears him down. There is a definite connection and appreciation that forms between these two right from the moment Reacher is first arrested. Malcolm Goodwin is also given a lot to do with Detective Finlay. The character has an interesting and complicated past, but there are also many moments to inject humor into the performance. From the start Finlay doesn’t like Reacher, and is often at odds with him. Though he may just be a bit jealous—Reacher is a great investigator and fighter, he doesn’t have to follow the laws, he’s jacked despite eating all kinds of junk food, and curses freely. There is this fun, adversarial friendship that slowly develops between these two characters. The cast also includes Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) as quirky coroner Jasper, who doesn’t seem to have a lot of experience dealing with murders, and Kristin Kreuk (Smallville, Beauty & the Beast) as Hubble’s wife Charlie, whom our trio is trying to protect. It’s a shame that this is more of an anthology series, with Reacher going to a new location for each story, because these are some great supporting characters/actors I would love to see again should there be a second season.

I can’t recommend this series highly enough. Each episode of the season ends with some big cliffhanger or reveal that makes you want to just keep watching. So make sure you clear out an 8-hour block of time, because once you start, you’re not going to want to stop!