[Note: This review will discuss elements of Reacher Season 2 that were revealed in promotional material, such as trailers. If you’re someone who enjoys going into recent TV shows knowing as little as possible, you may want to skip reading this review.]
Reacher is the most fun I’ve had watching anything on Prime Video.
This statement may seem bold to those of you who have seen exciting series produced by the platform like The Boys, Invincible, and The Terminal List. However, while all of these have engaging stories and characters in their own right, Reacher hits a spot that very few new TV shows—or even movies, for that matter—are able to find. The series delivers a mixture of corny dialogue scenes with fleshed-out characters and movie-tier action sequences in every episode. Having all of this center on its title character, who stands at almost six-and-a-half feet tall while sporting around 250 pounds of muscle, just adds to the entertainment factor. It’s very rare to find a show that just feels awesome all the time. Which makes Reacher a gem uniquely its own.
However, Reacher Season 2 elevates this to a whole new level, breaking the series out of its shell to become the most entertaining version of itself. Two years after the events of Season 1, Reacher is still a nomad, wandering from place to place across the USA. That is until he gets contacted by Neagley, a former member of his Special Investigators Unit in the Army, who informs him one of their own is dead. Their friend, Franz, was dropped from a helicopter, found dead in the middle of the woods. As the pair begin to investigate, many twists and turns arise. These include old friends coming to join the hunt, as well as new enemies arriving to stop them from uncovering the truth. Every new episode is filled with one-liners, nonstop action, and genuine moments between characters, all of which lean into the cheesy yet endearing tone the season is going for.
The first thing that needs to be brought up when talking about Reacher is Alan Ritchson himself. The lead actor for this series is highly dedicated to bringing the character to life. His size and muscle mass are perfect for adapting the novel’s version of the hero, making him borderline superhuman at times. This is balanced out by a penchant for almost too-honest honesty, made convincing by the deadpan way in which Ritchson presents these moments. But there’s also a complexity to his character, one that yearns for a life of normalcy but also feels too comfortable on the road to really stop. It makes his dynamic with the rest of the team all the more interesting, since they’ve built relatively normal lives since the Unit disbanded. This adds a lot of layers to the character building, even if not all of them have been peeled back by season’s end.
Ritchson also stands out for why this series is so fun in the first place: The action sequences. From guns blazing to incredibly well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat, something major and action-packed transpires in all eight episodes of Season 2. And his sheer size and fearlessness always finds a way to stand out. Since Reacher’s not the only military man on the team this time, everyone in his Unit gets a chance to shine. This helps spread the action out evenly among the characters, diversifying the scenes aside from just Reacher going in and knocking heads. It helps that the other characters are both fleshed out and vulnerable (comparatively, anyway), meaning it’s always unclear who will get the upper hand in a fight they’re involved with. It also makes it even more satisfying when Reacher arrives as the trump card, winning every battle with ease because of his hulking size and strength.
Beyond the action, though, the series presents a story of deep-rooted conspiracy in a way that’s been seen dozens of times before. But the sheer fun of the presentation—leaning into that cheese factor, knowing it’s something you’ve seen before—makes the show feel even more awesome. It’s a series that knows exactly what it is: A fun action show with just enough serious moments and dark conspiracies to keep people genuinely invested in its story and characters. The serious story acts as a counterbalance to some occasionally over-the-top action scenes, creating the perfect mixture of serious, cool, and satisfying. This is elevated by the performances of heroes and villains, all of whom do a good job making the show feel alive. Every scene just feels that way. Alive. And it’s something I can’t say about much I’ve reviewed, save for a couple notable exceptions.
But beyond how good the show is, I also hope it can serve as a wakeup call for Prime Video. While the platform is home to some original experiments like Swarm or the recent Hazbin Hotel, they’re also dumping a lot of money into franchise shows like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Citadel. Which, given the popularity of something like Reacher, indicates may not be the greatest business model. The Ritchson-led series is topping streaming charts left and right, underscoring how much people just want to sit back, relax, and watch an action-packed series with good characters, tight pacing, and an interesting—but familiar—story. Sometimes it’s not about the budget, but instead, about the level of heart and soul that goes into the product. Even if that product is familiar to people, when done correctly, it can serve as a phenomenal experience.
And Reacher stands at the front of it all. Out of everything I’ve seen on Prime Video, this series is by far the most fun I’ve had in quite a long while. It’s a testament to how well made a series can be while embracing simplicity. Sometimes you just want a story that’s cool, and awesome, and makes you smile and nod your head when cool and awesome things are happening. Reacher does all three, thanks to its fantastic action, neat characters, and a story that’s just the right amount of unique to make everything happening feel epic. It’s also a testament to what Prime Video can achieve focusing on quality content over budget size. Given that Season 3 is already filming, I can see Reacher and the content it will no doubt inspire as a beacon of hope for Prime Video’s future endeavors.
I really hope they’ll take the show’s success into account, and keep making awesome shows like it.
***
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