Reacher - Amazon TV series 2022

[ianh]

Hi All,

Looks like Amazon have decided to cast a more Book like Reacher than the Tom Cruise films. Hopefully they stick with making one book per season but so far, whilst this Reacher looks "young" despite being an appropriate age (book Reacher is late 30's-early 40's, actor is 39), it also looks good.

 

[ianh]

It's ultimately forgettable - one part I do remember that struck me as odd was the fact Jack is a level headed guy but he and the squad were rampaging the Venezualan (?) parliament building in the final episode just gunning down all the guards with impunity, felt really out of character.

Probably because it's not a "Jack Ryan" story but another story previously written for another character in a different franchise which had the "Jack Ryan" name smashed into it at high speed to create a horrific jumble of two or more separately written stories which are forced to share the same character name. It's a genuine travesty what recent TV/Films have done to the Tom Clancy legacy!

 

[ianh]

Whilst I really enjoyed the Cruise films, well mostly the 1st one, to me Cruise was just playing a generic action character randomly called Jack Reacher whereas the TV show feels far closer "The" Jack Reacher from the books, irrespective of actor height size etc. So while the TV show hasn't got the acting, production or "sparkle" that the Hollywood films had, it's far closer to how I imagine Book Reacher to be which makes it "better" for me.

I really enjoyed the first episode and I'm interested in where this will end up.

 

[ianh]

Binged it last night/this morning - pretty good overall, some very VERY ropey CGI in Ep8 and a little it "seen it all before" as an overall wrap-up for the series TBF. Looking forward to what comes next.

 

[ianh]

Can't say I specifically noticed the CGI you're referring to.

Spoiler

All the fire, smoke and explosions in the climax just looked terrible to my old eyes and then the single tear after he leaves his mother in Paris looked just as bad.

 

[ianh]

Wait, wait, wait - They're already remaking Mr & Mrs Smith with comedy actor turned musician Childish Gambino replacing Brad Pitt and an 8st wet-through comedy actress replacing Angelina Jolie - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, this'll make billions I tell you, maybe even trillions!!!!!!!!!

 

[ianh]

It won't make anything...it's made for streaming to give content to Amazon prime customers.

I think that idea is very much changing - Just a few weeks ago Amazon's CEO started looking into why it's "Original Content" Prime TV shows were costing too much and yet bringing in far too little via new subscribers etc, so I think the original idea that these are being "made for content" looks to be rapidly changing into "this had better bring in money". It's claimed he's already axed 37 projects saving a potential $7 Billion already, thats some absolutely crazy numbers for TV shows -

Andy Jassy Is Reportedly Asking Questions About Amazon’s Content Spending

Amazon’s biggest hits include “Rings of Power” and “The Boys,” both of which made it onto Nielsen’s most-watched streaming originals list last year.

observer.com

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/news...-hollywood-studio-to-explain-its-big-spending

Andy Jassy orders execs to rein in spending after killing 37 projects

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is reviewing the budget on original TV programming and asking some of the company's most expensive hits to review their budgets.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Until I saw the news stories, I couldn't grasp just how much money Amazon was throwing at these OC TV shows. I'm talking Marvel MCU/Indiana Jones Film level budgets of $300 Million and higher for very limited episode numbers. For example "Citadel" cost £250 Million for just 6 episodes and it didn't get very good reviews from critics or viewers, or the Lord of the Rings issues with, again, a huge budget (supposedly $1 Billion+) for just 8 episodes which again was reviewed poorly from the viewers (the people spending money) with only 37% making to the end. I know Amazons a huge company but those "loses" are unsustainable for any publicly traded company so it's understandable why the CEO is taking a good look.

***EDIT*** - On the other hand shows like Reacher (to keep this relevant) and Terminal List I think those shows which have been reviewed positively, possibly are "safe" types of show and might escape the eye of the CEO.

 

[ianh]

Spoiler: This week's action

Sending two amateur hitmen to take out Reacher's crew. The hitmen couldn't even get a shot on target when being rushed in a straight line, despite having rifles with scopes. How did they hope to get a hit in the funeral crowd.

The men in uniform were the first ones to disappear after the first shots were fired.

And Sanchez flying across the screen taking a bullet for Reacher.

I've tried to watch the episode twice now

Yeap, lots of "silly" and/or "unrealistic" things in this season so far.

Spoiler: and another thing

Knowing they were being hunted, why would they still go to an obviously public funeral and risk the public's lives. That sort of "unrealistic/silly" plot choice just doesn't sit well with me and I'm not enjoying this season anywhere near as much as the first, although I'm not sure how much that is down to 'Reacher' being a bit-part role in this season as his team takes a lot of the screen-time away from the main character, even if I like a few of them.

 

[ianh]

I assumed they were meant to be useless to lure them in for what happened at the warehouse at end of the episode?

It feels like one of those "we need XYZ to happen to move the plot on, so we'll quickly knock something unlikely together to make it happen" plot devices that doesn't usually occur in Lee Child books that often, although I've not read this specific book to see if its been directly lifted from it or whether its a TV production thing.

 

[ianh]

What a waste of a character.

And heavily telegraphed too which is unusually poor writing compared to S1 - Spoilers - When Russo had that conservation on the doorstep I knew they wouldn't last the episode alive and figured pretty much how it'd go down too to give them a "good" ending, only I guessed that Reacher would be holding their hand at the end.

Elsewhere I felt it was a better episode but still missing the magical x-factor that S1 had, and I still think its "too much team, not enough Reacher" despite me liking the team (actors and characters).

 

[ianh]

And to me, it's pretty lazy writing. Dies, leaving cover and slowly walking towards men with automatic guns... wow, who would have though!

See, I can almost understand that tactic but for a very specific "TV show" reason, but even then, in reality, its still wouldn't make full sense - He knows the girl is the target, he knows if she runs away the bad guys will shoot at her, so he needs to give the gunmen a more important target/threat to shoot at which he decides will be is him, so it doesn't "work" if he uses the car for cover with his last magazine, hence the slow walk out knowing he'll probably die but giving the girl the best chance - In reality I think he'd just stay behind the car and shoot from there as that gives him the best chance of taking out the bad guys with accurate fire, and that would be the distraction needed by the girl to escape.

 

[ianh]

Definitely preferred S1 to this but S2 wasn't "bad" for me but a very bland 5/10 that I almost certainly wouldn't watch again, whereas I like re-watching S1 clips on YT shorts etc.

Someone mentioned Ritchson's increased size this season made him slow and ungainly in flights, running etc and I completely agree with that. To me he definitely looked more "lumbering" than S1 which I found to be a detriment to the action scenes, alongside the obviously Tier One/SAS/SEAL/FBI HRT trained "police officers" on his team