Prime Video’s smash-hit action thriller returns for a fourth season, and this time around, Reacher turns the volume all the way up. With his back against the wall and operating largely on instinct, adrenaline and sheer bloody-minded determination, Jack Reacher finds himself caught in a dangerous new conspiracy that pushes the series into some seriously high-octane territory.

Alan Ritchson is back beneath those broad shoulders as Lee Child’s iconic wandering hero, with Season Four adapting Child’s 13th Reacher novel, Gone Tomorrow. The result is an intense, fast-moving season that throws its hulking protagonist into unfamiliar territory and, crucially, leaves him largely to fend for himself.

Reacher, On The Run

For three seasons, Reacher has established itself as one of television’s most reliable action machines. The formula is deceptively simple: take a 6’5” former military policeman, drop him into a town crawling with trouble, and let him dispense his own particular brand of justice.

Reacher may be a drifter, but trouble has a habit of following him wherever he goes. So does his instinct to stand up for people who cannot stand up for themselves.

Season Four takes that familiar premise and gives it a welcome jolt. Set in Pittsburgh, the story sees Reacher caught up in a bloody conspiracy after failing to help an innocent woman pushed to breaking point. Before long, bodies are piling up and Reacher finds himself facing threats from every direction.

What makes this season particularly effective is how isolated he is. There’s no Neagley by his side and very little of the familiar safety net that has surrounded him in previous seasons. Instead, Reacher has his training, his instincts and his fists; although he does find unlikely allies in a couple of courageous cops and a determined blogger.

Better still, he’s now a fugitive.

With both the police and a collection of increasingly dangerous villains hunting him, Reacher develops an entertaining sense of urgency. His detective work becomes more run-and-gun than methodical, keeping the story moving at a hell of a pace.

Alan Ritchson Owns The Role

Alan Ritchson remains utterly flawless as Reacher.

There is something wonderfully assured about watching him slip back into the character. From the moment trouble comes knocking, Ritchson sells Reacher as both an imposing physical presence and a man who is constantly calculating three moves ahead.

The fists are obviously still there, and Reacher certainly gives them plenty to do, but Season Four continues to underline that this isn’t simply a character who punches his way through every problem. Reacher is smart, observant and ruthlessly efficient when he needs to be.

There’s also a little more levity this time around. Ritchson gets to inject Reacher with flashes of humour and, in places, this is arguably the most light-hearted we’ve seen the character. Thankfully, it never undermines what makes him work.

If anything, Season Four drives home the simplest truth about Jack Reacher: he’s a good man. He knows exactly what he stands for, and when someone preys on those who cannot defend themselves, Reacher is more than happy to step into the ring.

A Supporting Cast With Bite

The supporting cast once again gives the season plenty of muscle.

Sydelle Noel’s Detective Tamara Green makes for an excellent foil to Reacher. She’s smart, capable and carrying the weight of a past that has left her bruised, making her involvement in the conspiracy feel like an opportunity to rediscover her purpose.

Christopher Marquette’s Jacob “Jake” Merrick brings another interesting dynamic to the story. An essentially ordinary small-town cop, Merrick is suddenly thrown into Reacher’s orbit and finds himself having to square up alongside a man who operates on an entirely different level.

Then there’s Agnez Mo’s Lila Hoth, an intriguing and layered presence who brings an extra dose of spice and unpredictability to the season. Mo has enormous fun with the role, chewing through scenes with enough charisma to make Lila impossible to ignore.

The Action Hits Hard

For action fans, Season Four is everything.

The series has never been shy about delivering brutal, bone-shaking set pieces, but there’s an especially kinetic quality to this season. Reacher is constantly moving, constantly hunted and constantly improvising, giving the action an urgency that keeps the adrenaline flowing.

The punches hurt. The violence lands with impact. And when Reacher finally decides that enough is enough, watching him unleash hell remains one of the great pleasures of the series.

Reacher Season Four doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It simply straps a rocket to it. The conspiracy is bigger, the action is nastier, the thrills are larger and Jack Reacher is once again exactly where he belongs: standing between the innocent and the bastards who want to hurt them.

Final Verdict: Go Big or Go Home

Reacher Season Four is an utterly amped-up return for Prime Video’s muscle-bound action hero — a bloody, bruising and hugely entertaining adrenaline rush.

Reacher Season Four is streaming now on Prime Video.

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Check out the brand new trailer for Season Four of Reacher below:

Alan Ritchson is back once more as Jack Reacher, and Season Four of the hit Prime Video series is shaping up to be a really intense ride with Ritchson pushed into a dangerous new conspiracy as the action of Lee Child’s 13th novel, Gone Tomorrow get ready to hit Prime Video, and Ritchson throws plenty of muscle around the action in Reacher Season Four hits damn hard.

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Along with the upcoming action of Season Four of Reacher, long time Reacher fans are also in for a surpise with spin-off series Neagley which finds Jack Reacher’s closest friend and alley, and gifted investigator Frances Neagley (Maria Stern) pulled into a bold new mystery after an old friend dies in a suspicious accident, and which needs Neagley to square the account and make those responsible pay.

Watch the all-new trailer for Neagley below:

Stern looks on point as Neagley once again in this excellent spin-off series, and Alan Ritchson is set to guest star as Jack Reacher firming up this expanding Reacher-verse.

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It doesn’t get much better for action fans with the duel hit of Reacher and Neagley, with Reacher set to arrive on August 12 and Neagley on September 16.

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Watch the brand new trailer for Reacher Season Three below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Based on Lee Child’s novel Persuader, in the third season of the action-packed series, Reacher hurtles into the dark heart of a vast criminal enterprise when trying to rescue an undercover DEA informant whose time is running out. There he finds a world of secrecy and violence — and confronts some unfinished business from his own past.

The action is big this time as Reacher faces his BIGGEST threat yet in the form of the gigantic Paul ‘Paulie’ Masserella, a brutal killer portrayed by 7ft 2-inch Dutch professional bodybuilder Olivier Richters, and this is going to be an intense mano-o-mano fight with no rules and no mercy.

Set to the pounding rock beats of Kansas’ ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’, this captures the grand outlaw, western vibe of the character, and plays into Ritchson’s presence as the ultimate action hero badass. The fight scenes look brutal, and under the guidance of showrunner Nick Santora, you can bet that there’ll be plenty of sharp dialogue and some incredible twists in this all-new season that lie ahead.

 

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Brace yourself for a full-on rush when Season Three of Reacher arrives back on Prime Video on February 20.

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Watch the brand new teaser trailer for Reacher Season Three here:

Audiences have continued to be swept up in the action, drama and just sheer badassery of Prime Video’s Reacher, and following the events of Season Two’s explosive drama, Season Three will find Reacher back on the road and drawn into another dangerous conspiracy.

While series showrunner Nick Santora is keeping things pretty tight-lipped when it comes down to Season Three, from this first footage and behind-the-scenes material, it’s been confirmed that Ritchson’s Reacher will take on his ‘biggest’ adversary yet. That threat comes in the form of 7ft 2-inch Dutch professional bodybuilder Olivier Richters, who has been vast as hulking killer Paul ‘Paulie’ Masserella and who will seriously give Ritchson’s Reacher a fight in the third season, which is set to adapt Lee Child’s Persuader as its base narrative.

It’s shaping up to be a hell of a brawl in Season Three, with Ritchson and Richters going all mano-o-mano with this one, and you won’t want to miss out on this fight!

 

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Reacher Season Three will arrive on Prime Video on February 20.

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After more of his friends fall victim, Reacher (Alan Ritchson) forges an uneasy alliance with a dogged detective, and their only clue in the case leads the 110th to a troubling discovery.

Right from the start Season Two of Reacher has been a whole new different type of show. Lee Child’s wandering giant has proven that he can adapt to every situation, and so too has showrunner Nick Santora, who has stepped up the edge of the second season. Reacher, Neagley, Dixon and O’Donnell are now deep into the conspiracy that is seeing their teammates of the Special Investigators ending up dead. And in ‘Picture Says A Thousand Words’, they’re ready to hit back. And damn, is it one heck of a swing.

The action of Episode Three is proactive rather than reactive, as we’ve previously seen in the season. And damn, does it bring the BOOM. Throw in a homemade pipe bomb and plenty of firepower, and things get interesting. What’s really great is that this isn’t Reacher fighting alone; instead, we get to see each of the Special Investigators get in on the action. You’ve got Neagley’s clinical precision, Dixon’s double-tap, smashmouth gun style, and O’Donnell brings the rough and tumble thanks to his one-two combo of brass knuckles and switchblade! Bad guys, watch out. Ohh and Reacher also happen to take out an SUV with a barbecue, which is a hell of a lot of fun.

This mix of action is kept interesting with some great narrative points as well, not only do Reacher and his team form a defacto alliance with New York Police Detective Gaitano ‘Guy’ Russo (Domenick Lombardozzi), but we also get some notable flashbacks to the team’s military days and the introduction of their commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Hortense Fields (Josh Blacker) who has a big hold over the lore of the Reacher universe, and who has a role to play in how Reacher became Reacher. Santora and his team are not skipping out on the detail in this second season of Reacher, and it all adds to the complexity of the larger narrative.

One key narrative detail concerns the appearance of ruthless mercenary and arms dealer A.M. (Ferdinand Kingsley), known only by the initials of the various aliases he uses. A.M. is a calculating and sly killer with zero empathy, and he’s at the centre of the unfolding conspiracy in front of Reacher and his team. This conspiracy also points to corporate aerospace giant New Age hiding a dark secret courtesy of its head of security Shane Langston (Robert Patrick).

The action moves fast in ‘Picture Says A Thousand Words’, and the episode ends on a dynamic cliffhanger that shows just how deep and dangerous the conspiracy that Reacher and his team have wandered into.

Reacher steams on Prime Video.

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The investigation into Franz’s murder takes Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and the surviving members of his former Army unit to Atlantic City where the mystery deepens, danger awaits, and an old flame is rekindled.

Season Two of Prime Video’s Reacher started off with a bang, and a mysterious conspiracy is targeting Jack Reacher’s (Alan Ritchson) old army unit, the 110th Special Investigators of the United States Military Police. And Big Jack ain’t gonna let that slide. But this is no mere lone wolf mission, and Reacher’s got back up this time, being joined by former comrades Francis Neagley (Maria Stern) and David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos). And their burgeoning investigation sends them directly to Atlantic City. And a whole heap of trouble.

But before they get there, Reacher and his unit find the final member of the team in the form of the vivacious and gutsy Karla Dixen, who the gorgeous Serinda Swan portrays. And she’s a pitch-perfect casting for the series and Reacher’s attention. A former member of the 110th Special Investigators, Dixon’s speciality is forensic accounting; she also happens to be the one who coined the phrase ‘details matter’. Smart, switched on, and damn sexy as well, Dixon is the perfect combination of beauty and brains, plus brawn, as this lady can hold her own in a gun battle, and she perfectly completes the assembled members of the 110th. Swan is effortless in her presence, and you instantly pick on the history and the sexual tension between Dixon and Reacher.

Episode Two of Season Two, ‘What Happens in Atlantic City’ takes the remaining members of the 110th on a road trip to Atlantic City, and its an opportunity for Reacher to reveal his life to his former comrades. While Neagley, Dixon and O’Donnell have all managed to transition from the Army to civilian life with relative ease, it hasn’t been an easy path for Reacher and his life is lost on all of them. It’s an interesting frame from which showrunner Nick Santora allows us to view Reacher and Reacher’s life on the road, and his loner path leaves a massive impact on his former comrades, especially Dixon. There’s a sense of what ‘could have been’ with these two characters, and this only heightens the emotional tension that is shared between them.

One of the coolest parts of the growing second season of Reacher is that we get flashback episodes to his time spent in the Army, and we get to see a different side of him. This side investigation sees Reacher and the 110th investigating a clandestine conspiracy that is taking place during the War on Terror, and it helps audiences to see how Reacher’s methods came to be shaped. Santora also throws some Reacher lore at audiences, particularly around the character of James Barr, a rogue former sniper and the antagonist of Lee Child’s One Shot, and Ritchson has a special look of glee on his face as he mentions having wrapped up Barr a year previously. It’s a fun call out for Reacher fans and the history of the character that they’re sure to enjoy.

But ‘What Happens in Atlantic City’ isn’t just all emotional callbacks and flashbacks. There’s a whole heap of action both in the streets and under the sheets. The shadowy conspiracy that is threatening the 110th is hot on the tail of Reacher, and he and Dixon go head-to-head with them in a meaty and violent brawl that will spike your adrenaline. While Ritchson hits like a Freightliner, Swan’s Dixon is a far more lithe, nimble combatant, and her intelligence and tricky fighting ability see her take out a host of bad guys. It’s a hell of a tag team match with Reacher and Dixon, and they put some bad people down hard. But it’s then that things really get hot, as that bubbling sexual tension boils over, and passions get heated and in the kindling of a relationship that will get your blood going.

The action of Reacher’s second season is starting to move at a fierce pace, and Reacher and the remaining members of the 110th are honing in on their prey.

Reacher is streaming on Amazon Prime NOW.

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Watch the all-new trailer for Reacher here:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Reacher Season Two begins when veteran military police investigator Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) receives a coded message that the members of his former U.S. Army unit, the 110th MP Special Investigations, are being mysteriously and brutally murdered one by one. Pulled from his drifter lifestyle, Reacher reunites with three of his former teammates turned chosen family to investigate, including Frances Neagley (Maria Sten); Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan), a forensic accountant for whom Reacher has long had a soft spot; and fast-talking, switchblade-wielding family man David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos). Together, they begin to connect the dots in a mystery where the stakes get higher at every turn, and that brings about questions of who has betrayed them—and who will die next. Using his inimitable blend of smarts and size, Reacher will stop at nothing to uncover the truth and protect the members of his unit. If there’s one thing Reacher and his team know for certain, it’s that you do not mess with the Special Investigators. This season, get ready for Reacher and the 110th to hit back hard.

This time around, showrunner Nick Santora headlines an adaptation of Child’s 11th Jack Reacher novel, Bad Luck and Trouble, and it’s one of my all-time top three Reacher novels. And I couldn’t be more excited. Then we learnt that Ritchson would be joined by a stellar supporting cast, including the likes of the returning Maria Sten and newcomers Serinda Swan and Shaun Sipos, and damn, what a cast we have here! Everything has come together in Reacher Season Two, and this new trailer pumps up the excitement for a series I can’t wait to see more of.

After the overwhelming response to the debut season, the new instalment ups the ante with even higher stakes and action. The eight-episode season will roll out weekly, with the first three episodes premiering on December 15 and subsequent episodes dropping every Friday through January 19, 2024, exclusively on Prime Video.

Reacher is a series you have to be ready for, and this trailer has us amped for the action to kick off on December 15.

Images: Prime Video

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Having narrowly missed out on a grisly death, former military cop Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and Margrave police officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) team up and are ready to go on the hunt for answers. Margrave might have a sunny exterior, but there’s something rotten underneath and their investigation uncovers new clues and plenty of new leads. And Reacher zeroes in on the conspiracy that is causing the body count to skyrocket.

Episode Two of Reacher, ‘First Dance’ ended on a hell of a gnarly note with Reacher and Roscoe discovering that they’d been targeted for assassination by the team of killers who are stalking the shadows of Margrave and Roscoe is pissed! Not to be confused with a damnsel, this girl locks and loads and lends Reacher one hell of hand cannon in the form of a 50.cal Desert Eagle and the two set out to find out who their would-be killers are and put a bullet in them. Showrunner Nick Santora and his team aren’t mucking around with Reacher and episode by episode the intensity builds and the main narrative conspiracy is brought to light and it really shakes up the stakes.

The crux of the conspiracy lends into a massive counterfeiting operation and the discovery that Reacher’s deceased brother Joe was a former Secret Service director who was looking into the operation personally before he was killed. This new discovery also leads Reacher, Roscoe and Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) to Secret Service operative Molly Beth Gordon (Lara Jean Chorostecki) who provides the team with key information about Joe’s suspicions of the counterfeiting operation. Gordon is a new key character to the series and her reveal in ‘Spoonful’ showcases just how massive and dangerous this growing conspiracy is.

It’s not just the reveal of Molly Beth and the countefeting angle that will engage audiences in, but a showdown with the mysterious and suspicious Kliner family. While Reacher and Finlay pay a visit to Margrave’s benefactor and big time businessman Kliner (Currie Graham), Roscoe has to deal with KJ’s (Chris Webster) shifting advances and both scenes will have you hooked in. While Kliner at first entertains Reacher and Finlay, it soon turns menacing as he doesn’t like outsiders peering into his business and he sends them packing, but not before tiping off Reacher’s radar. Then there’s Roscoe’s run in with KJ, and this dead-eyed psycho has a dangerous lust for Roscoe and also tips her on Reacher’s past, planting the doubt that Reacher may not be the man he seems to be. The Kliner’s certainly aren’t clean in Reacher’s book and I have a feeling this suspicion is only going to grow.

Episode Three, ‘Spoonful’ keeps the suspense growing and it’s the episode’s penultimate ending where things get really interesting, Sensing that he’s being tracked, Reacher has a run-in with the hitmen who were earlier sent to kill him, and not mucking about he takes them out first. Two quick shots to the back, courtesy of a 50.cal Desert Eagle do the job. And it’s loud. This move by Reacher might not be the most heroic in the book, shooting another man in the back, but Reacher doesn’t mess around and I’m pleased that Ritchson and Santora show this side of him. Reacher’s plan is to win by any advantage necessary, he’s a functional, combat trained soldier and if he has the chance to take out a bad guy, he’s going to do it. This scene is a perfect reflection of that and showcases just how edgy and direct the Reacher series is going to be.

It’s starting to heat up in Reacher and Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher has got his finger on the trigger. The bag guys might have drawn first blood, but Reacher ain’t gonna let them get away with it, and he’s locked on target with a hell of a lot of firepower at his disposal.

Reacher is streaming on Amazon Prime NOW.

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Following the shocking revelation that his brother Joe was murdered in a violent and dangerous conspiracy, ex-military policeman Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) burrows his way into the growing investigation of the Margrave killings and the bloodshed has only just begun. After a new particularly bloody murder it’s clear to Reacher and Margrave cops, Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) and police officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) that they’re at the start of a particularly dangerous conspiracy and the three of them set out to find answers.

Episode One of Reacher, ‘Welcome to Margrave’, set down the gauntlet for a bold new standard in the action-thriller genre and Episode Two, ‘First Dance’ keeps the ball rolling with some particularly tense moments. Showrunner Nick Santora sticks to the outline of Lee Child’s gripping prose and the narrative moves forward quickly with Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher hungry for revenge and being forced into an unwilling alliance with the local Margrave cops who he assumes he can still trust. Santora keeps the pace of ‘First Dance’ moving fast and lose, mixing in moments of procedural investigation, character interaction and close quarter combat, and as an audience member, you don’t want to look away.

In his quest for justice, Jack Reacher falls into the Margrave investigation and another brutal murder soon occurs. This time it’s Margrave Chief of Police Edward Morrison (Peter Skagen) who suffers an unspeakable fate, but Reacher knows what’s coming. Found nailed to a wall and tortured to death, it’s the exact fate that jumpy accountant Hubble (Marc Bendavid) let Reacher know awaited him and this fact, and Reacher’s hesitancy to not reveal it, causes some severe friction between himself and Finlay. This friction between the two characters is interesting to watch and not content with having to deal with him, Finlay sends Reacher off with Roscoe to check in on Hubble’s family and it’s there where things get interesting. Knowing right away that Hubble’s wife Charlene ‘Charlie’ Hubble (Kristin Kreuk) is in danger, Reacher and Roscoe pack her and her family off to protective custody and it’s clear that the killing has only started in Margrave.

Along with the growing narrative, audiences are also introduced to several leading antagonists, although their exact antagonism is yet to be fully revealed. You have Bruce McGill as the pompous and arrogant Mayor Grover Teale who Reacher takes an instant dislike to. Then you have the slick suited and charming town benefactor Kliner (Currie Graham) who appears to be more than he actually portrays himself to be. Then there’s his dead-eyed son KJ (Chris Webster) who Reacher has a run-in with and who he severely doesn’t like, along with his shit-kicking cousin Dawson (A.J. Simmons). As KJ, Webster already has the shifty, psycho character down and while no punches are thrown, it’s certain that he and Reacher will get into it very soon. The atmosphere is building in Reacher and while there’s no clear villain yet, there are plenty of no-good suspects to fill the space.

‘First Dance’ is also an important episode in that it shines a light on the first interaction between Reacher and Roscoe. While there was a slight back and forth flirtation between the two of them in ‘Welcome to Margrave’, we now get a closer look at their interactions and there’s building chemistry between them. Along with an instant physical attraction both characters are drawn to each other’s investigative knowledge as police officers and this keeps things interesting. All throughout the episode the two are paired together and while following a lead, they’re forced to seek shelter at a motel, and while there’s no fun under the sheets just yet, the attraction is building.

Episode Two also goes back in time and we meet a young Reacher and see his growth as a character and his stance as a man who doesn’t like bullies, and who likes to stick up for the little guy. This trait is a defining part of the character of Jack Reacher and has been a cornerstone of Child’s series of books. Not only is this seen in Ritchson’s protective stance as Reacher throughout ‘First Dance’, but a nice little subplot develops with him looking out for a dog that is being abused by its owner. While Reacher fills the dog’s dry bowl with water and speaks some stern words to the owner, he makes it clear that he’ll keep an eye out on the dog. No punches are thrown, yet, but this little sub-plot is a key part of the reveal of Reacher’s character and we’ll see more of this come out in Ritchson’s portrayal as the series moves forward.

But ‘First Dance’ isn’t just all flirtations and lead following, Jack also gets his hands dirty again. Seeking to pay back dirty prison guard Spivey (Patrick Garrow), Reacher tracks him down to a bar and is set upon by a pair of hired killers, who he discerns are ex-South American military. What follows is a quick and sharp knife fight, where Reacher shows his stuff with an edged weapon and the slashing gets bloody. We also see Ritchson employ Reacher’s favourite technique, the headbutt, to good effect and his size and strength make him a natural fighter. From the start the fight choreography of Reacher has been too-the-point and unflashy, keeping very much in line with the style of combat Lee Child describes in his books. Reacher is a character who only cares about results, not showmanship, and everything he does is done to ensure that he wins. What does winning mean? It means he’ll do whatever is necessary to incapacitate or kill his opponent and we’re seeing Ritchson do this here in Reacher.

The narrative and action of ‘First Dance’ moves quickly and again audiences come to a hell of a shock ending. It’s starting to get dangerous in the streets of Margrave and no one is safe from the killers on the prowl. But these bay gays haven’t counted on one thing; a hulking 6’5, 220, ex-military cop who has got a hell of a score to settle and he plans to deliver it with extreme prejudice.

Reacher is streaming on Amazon Prime NOW.

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Stepping off of a Greyhound bus and strolling into the picturesque town of Margrave, Georgia is 6’5, 220 pound former US Army military policeman turned wayward drifter Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson). With a penchant for finding trouble, he ends up walking straight into a jail cell. Arrested for a murder he didn’t commit, Reacher soon finds himself with another suspect on the lifer floor of a Georgia State Prison and it kicks off quickly. Sensing a growing conspiracy he’s ready to throw the first punch, but a dark secret grabs hold of him and it’s clear that the killing has only just begun.

Adapting the first of Lee Child’s best selling works, Killing Floor, this is the audience’s introduction to the ultimate lone wolf hero, Jack Reacher. And Amazon Prime has done a terrific job in adapting the text. Showrunner Nick Santora has a deep knowledge of the work of Child and as a showrunner, he sticks to Child’s by the book prose and keeps Reacher in line with the classic hardboiled style that has become a calling card of the Jack Reacher series. And it shows. From the moment we set our eyes on Reacher you can tell that this isn’t gonna be your regular police procedural show. Just as Child shook up the literary world with Reacher, so too will Amazon Prime’s series re-shape the presence of the procedural-thriller and Episode One ‘Welcome to Margrave’ is a hell of a debut for this character.

Filling our Jack Reacher’s imposing frame is actor Alan Ritchson. And his casting is perfect. As a physical specimen, Ritchson is a perfect fit for the height and size of Jack Reacher, but it’s his attention to detail with the character’s mannerisms, movements and intelligence that stands him in the role. Ritchson carries the supreme confidence of Jack Reacher and his man of few words nature. It’s only when he has something of value to say that he speaks up. And when he does you should listen. Reacher is one of the most forceful heroes ever invented and Ritchson has this down. He portrays the immense intimidation factor of Reacher, along with his defined moral code and this is a guy who doesn’t like bullies and is ready to deal with them at a moment notice.

From the second he steps into the frame there’s no doubt that Alan Ritchson is Jack Reacher and he plays the part perfectly. While we’re only at the beginning of the series and Reacher’s journey as a hero it’s clear that Ritchson knows what makes this character tick and he lays the groundwork for what is to come. Mysterious, and yet approachable as a character all at the same time, Ritchson gets the classic hero style that defines Reacher. There’s no fluff with this former military cop and Ritchson delivers Reacher’s trademark quick wit and direct approach as soon as we meet him. It’s only the start here with Reacher, but as a long time fan of this character, trust me when I say that Alan Ritchson has nailed the portrayal of Jack Reacher.

Along with introducing us to this imposing, drifter hero, Episode One, ‘Welcome to Margrave’ also introduces us to the other key characters that are central to Reacher’s first story, along with the picturesque town of Margrave, Georgia, which is hiding a deadly secret. Malcolm Goodwin stars as s Oscar Finley, Margrave Police’s Chief Detective, who as a city boy from Boston is very much out of his depth in the town of Margrave and he takes an instant dislike to the wayward drifter. Then there’s Willa Fitzgerald as Margrave Police Officer Roscoe Conklin, a small-town country girl with a can-do attitude who realises that there’s more to Reacher than first glance and who takes a liking to the big new stranger who’s rolled into town.

While it soon becomes very clear that Reacher did not commit any kind of murder at all in Margrave he’s still sent packing to Georgia State Prison, alongside jumpy accountant Paul Hubble (Marc Bendavid) who has confessed to the murder. It’s in this setting where the first stages of a conspiracy start to show themselves and instead of being housed in solitary, Reacher and Hubble find themselves on the lifer’s block. And Reacher goes to work. First introducing his dominance to the things around him, he’s soon signalled out by a group of Neo-Nazi’s and it’s on. The result is a bone snapping, eye-gouging brawl where Reacher cuts a path through the gang of criminals who’ve been set on them and the violence is revved up. Ritchson throws himself into the first major action piece of the series and proves that he can handle himself and that Reacher isn’t going to hold anything back from its audience when it comes to action.

Surviving his weekend in prison and cleared of all charges Reacher makes to leave Margrave as soon as possible. But there’s also the growing conspiracy in front of him and the threat that Hubble received, that if he betrayed his employers he’d be nailed to a wall and tortured in front of his family. It’s a serious admission, and a stunning revelation from Reacher’s past is brought to light and it leads to a shocking end moment that only puts more questions in the mind of the audience. As an adaptation of its source material and the first episode of a building television narrative, Reacher is a show that packs in the goods and audiences will be hooked right from the start. Casting, story and direction are all spot on in Reacher and this first chapter of this bold new series lays the groundwork for a serious thriller series that is to follow.

Episode One, ‘Welcome to Margrave’ is a hard-hitting piece of thriller television and Jack Reacher fans will be very pleased with this new adaptation. Alan Ritchson proves he has the toughness to handle the part and damn can he throw a punch. I think we’re at the start of one of the most exciting TV thrillers to arrive in the last couple of years. Brace yourself for action because there’s a new hero in town and damn does he hit hard!

Reacher is streaming on Amazon Prime NOW.

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