Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Plot: When retired Military Police Officer Jack Reacher is arrested for a murder he did not commit he finds himself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy full of dirty cops, shady businessmen and scheming politicians. With nothing but his wits, he must figure out what is happening in Margrave, Georgia.
Review: There have been two major movies about the Lee Childs’ literary character Jack Reacher, both starring Tom Cruise. Fans of the books HATED this casting but I for one thought Cruise sold the personality, if not the physicality of the character very well. And the first movie is one I’ve repeatedly enjoyed while the second is a forgettable mess.
Amazon Studios collaborated with Childs and decided to release a series that more closely resembles the novels and the character. Alan Ritchson, last seen playing Hawk on the DC superhero television series Titans, takes on the role this time around and to say he fits the bill of Reacher is an understatement! Six foot five and probably close to three hundred pounds, the man commands a room when he enters it.
Ritchson does a wonderful job of bringing not just literal strength to the part but also the personality. Reacher isn’t just some muscled bound behemoth, he’s also smart, intuitive and decisive, a no nonsense man who in this case is drawn into a murder that turns into a massive conspiracy that involves the small town of Margrave. Teaming up with the equally smart and capable Roscoe (Willa Fitzgerald of MTV’s Scream series) and the new-to-town chief detective Finlay (iZombie’s Malcolm Goodwin) Reacher becomes personally entangled in this case drawn from Lee Child’s novel, Killing Floor.
Like Reacher I’m gonna get straight to the point and say I loved this! Eight episodes, each one an hour long, might be too much for some, but as a fan of suspenseful thrillers, both books and film, I had zero issues with the pacing. Each episode gave me just enough to keep the mystery interesting, not to mention that pitch perfect black comedy Reacher is known for with his sharp barbs, straight to the point demeanor and of course, ruthless efficiency in taking out the garbage.
For those of you coming into this hoping for electric fight sequences, you won’t be disappointed. I remember watching the fighting style Tom Cruise utilised in the Reacher films and finding it very believable a man his size could quickly take out opponents like this. The technique is called KFM or Keysi Fighting Method, designed to both attack and defend yourself at the same time. Brutally efficient are the words to best describe seeing it in action. Add to that Alan Ritchson coming at you like a freight train and its all smiles from this Reacher fan.
The mystery itself here was also intriguing with enough suspects to keep you on your toes. You won’t know more than they want you to from episode to episode and I was just fine with that. I love a thriller that challenges you this way and for the most part Season One will challenge you.
Well-written, paced and performed, I honestly have no real complaints. So here’s hoping we have a lot more Jack Reacher coming our way in the near future.
Sommer’s Score: 9 out of 10
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Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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