[TV] Jack Reacher

[BloodyAngel12]

[cubby]

I thought Cruise's acting ability carried him past the size issue - and only those people who knew the books would even know that part of the character. But this new guy looks like a great fit and I hope the series does well. I'll certainly be watching it.

[Ayirasi]

He's much larger and quippier. I've not read the books, but that's more accurate, yeah?

[Serpha]

I like Thad, I just hate the crap that Amazon keeps making. Almost every show they make looks like a low budget, made by straight out of school movie people, from a director to a boom operator.

[Xath]

Thad Castle as Jack Reacher I could see that looks like he got even bigger since BMS.

[bledgor]

I could find myself enjoying this, I never read the novels but hope it doesn't try to get too serious and just continues the over the top nature the trailer showed.

[Nerph-]

Not sure about this frankly, it just has this low budget feeling to it. The acting looks pretty stale.

[Shadowferal]

Bulked up a bit...make a good Thor.

[Stormcall]

He's much larger and quippier. I've not read the books, but that's more accurate, yeah?

Bigger yes, but not at ALL more accurate about quippier. Reacher is NOT quippy, he doesn't crack a lot of jokes, he's not comedic. Tom Cruise's portrayal of the character in the movie is nearly dead perfect...he just doesn't LOOK the part.

[Ayirasi]

Bigger yes, but not at ALL more accurate about quippier. Reacher is NOT quippy, he doesn't crack a lot of jokes, he's not comedic. Tom Cruise's portrayal of the character in the movie is nearly dead perfect...he just doesn't LOOK the part.

Ah, that helps, thank you. The trailer made Ritchson's Reacher seem quippy, and I was curious.

[cubby]

Bigger yes, but not at ALL more accurate about quippier. Reacher is NOT quippy, he doesn't crack a lot of jokes, he's not comedic. Tom Cruise's portrayal of the character in the movie is nearly dead perfect...he just doesn't LOOK the part.

The Amazon series did it. I thought they wouldn't be able to get past Cruise's solid acting ability in the two movies, but Thad Castle is Reacher - size, attitude, the whole package. The writing was solid - great pacing, kept each episode interesting all the while just covering one book for the season.

Can't wait for season two.

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Ah, that helps, thank you. The trailer made Ritchson's Reacher seem quippy, and I was curious.

Agreed. Trailer was a little odd, with all those quippy cuts, but after bingeing the series, it looks like the trailer was heavy on those scenes. Series is definitely worth the watch.

[RobertoCarlos]

The acting looks terrible across the board.

[Breccia]

I thought Cruise's acting ability carried him past the size issue

I never once got past the size issue. Reacher's physical presence is a huge HARDEE HAR HAR part of his character. The movie eventually drifted across cable and I saw parts of it, I didn't hate it, but I was still sore at Child for giving Cruise the role.

Having now seen the series and having read the books beforehand, I will say that, even for seven hours of air time the series still feels cut down. Reacher books are just that loaded with detail, and American audiences want fight scenes and fucking. The series did what they could under the restrictions they had to work with, and I think they did a pretty good job. Being more true to the book would probably have ended up with twelve hours, eight of which were slow, instead of seven hours, two of which were slow.

Any screen adaptation has that issue. This is just a better example because they had all the time in the world and it still felt compressed.

Don't take this as an anti-recommendation: I liked the series and would watch another. But it's not flawless. This version of Reacher has a shorter fuse, making him less likable than the print character. Other issues I have are the same as the written work (such as Reacher being right way too often) and the adaptation can't be faulted for that.

7.5 to 8 out of 10. Do yourself a favor and binge it straight through, if possible.

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it just has this low budget feeling to it.

I mean...the Reacher books are traditionally in realistic locations, like houses, diners, and offices. I can't think of a single part of a single Reacher book that would require CGI. Well, okay, one. Reacher describes shoulder injuries he got during a fire that blasted so hard the wind was tornado strength. And Reacher himself has a tendency to do a lot with a little. So feeling "low budget" is actually on brand.

...until the final episode. No spoilers, but you might change your mind if you saw it.

[Mardux]

The acting looks terrible across the board.

The author of the books has stated that the actors and writers did a better job portraying the characters than the writer himself was able to do in the books. Maybe its not the acting you have a problem with, maybe its the characters and story.

[RobertoCarlos]

The author of the books has stated that the actors and writers did a better job portraying the characters than the writer himself was able to do in the books. Maybe its not the acting you have a problem with, maybe its the characters and story.

You mean the guy that stands to make money off the success of the show says its a succuss. No way.

[Breccia]

maybe its the characters and story.

The villains were a little one-dimensional. It was one of the earlier books, after all.

[Puri]

Well, it's some utterly US patriotic predictable hero story. Yet I binged it, and found it quite entertaining to watch.

Just switch your brain off, first, then you can enjoy some feel good action with happy end.

[Tikishock]

Well, it's some utterly US patriotic predictable hero story. Yet I binged it, and found it quite entertaining to watch.

Just switch your brain off, first, then you can enjoy some feel good action with happy end.

Agree with this. Turn brain off and enjoy.

[cubby]

I never once got past the size issue. Reacher's physical presence is a huge HARDEE HAR HAR part of his character. The movie eventually drifted across cable and I saw parts of it, I didn't hate it, but I was still sore at Child for giving Cruise the role.

Having now seen the series and having read the books beforehand, I will say that, even for seven hours of air time the series still feels cut down. Reacher books are just that loaded with detail, and American audiences want fight scenes and fucking. The series did what they could under the restrictions they had to work with, and I think they did a pretty good job. Being more true to the book would probably have ended up with twelve hours, eight of which were slow, instead of seven hours, two of which were slow.

Any screen adaptation has that issue. This is just a better example because they had all the time in the world and it still felt compressed.

Don't take this as an anti-recommendation: I liked the series and would watch another. But it's not flawless. This version of Reacher has a shorter fuse, making him less likable than the print character. Other issues I have are the same as the written work (such as Reacher being right way too often) and the adaptation can't be faulted for that.

7.5 to 8 out of 10. Do yourself a favor and binge it straight through, if possible.

That was probably the toughest thing to overcome - and many couldn't. I'm a huge (lol) fan of Cruise so I just ignored the size issue and ran with it. Cruise is a solid actor as well, so he carried the character with ironically more depth than the books did - at least the earlier ones.

I would generally agree with your summary and recommendation numbers - and I binged it as well. I'm just glad they did a good job with it - that was about the best expectations I had for it when the previews started dropping.

[Kreuger]

Must have had strong viewernumbers, allready renewed s2