By James Barber
“Reacher” is the latest attempt to take Jack Reacher, the hero from author Lee Child’s beloved series of thriller novels, and translate the character to the screen. The eight-episode series is now streaming on Prime Video, and the show shares many of the strengths that have made the streaming service’s “Bosch” and “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” series so successful.
“Reacher” is based on “Killing Floor,” Child’s first novel to feature the character. Showrunner Nick Santora carefully introduces a few plot points and a character from later novels in his telling of this story, but this season is remarkably faithful to its source material.
Alan Ritchson stars as Reacher. Ritchson is old-school, movie-star handsome and totally ripped. There may be a few Reacher fans who’d rather see the character portrayed as a hulking slab of beef, but Ritchson effectively conveys the sheer mass of the character through a combination of performance and camera angles that make him look like a giant.
A comparison with “Bosch,” the series about a Gulf War veteran turned righteous LAPD detective, may be in order. There were quite a few fans of Michael Connelly’s novels (myself included) who questioned the casting of Titus Welliver in the title role. Over the course of seven seasons, Welliver proved himself the right choice and he’s even influenced the way Connelly has written about the character in later novels. Ritchson’s version of Reacher has the same kind of potential.
“Reacher” is the latest attempt to take Jack Reacher, the hero from author Lee Child’s beloved series of thriller novels, and translate the character to the screen. (Prime Video via Associated Press)
“Reacher” takes place in the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia. Former military investigator Jack Reacher lives his life as a drifter and seems to drift into trouble wherever he lands. Once he gets off the bus in Margrave, he gets drawn into a complicated series of murders fueled by a local conspiracy that unfortunately turns out to have an intensely personal connection.
Newcomers to Reacher’s world may take issue with the details of how the plot unfolds, but Reacher fans will forcefully tell you that you’re missing the point. There’s plenty of other books and shows out there if you’re looking for something else. The attraction is always how Reacher untangles the mystery in the moment and how many times he takes down a bad guy by knocking them flat with a head butt.
Ritchson’s fighting is excellent throughout the series, and we get at least one ass-kicking fight in every episode.
Ritchson got his first taste of fame as the “American Idol” contestant who gave Paula Abdul a lap dance in season 3. He played Aquaman on the CW show “Smallville” and Thad Castle on the series “Blue Mountain State.” More recently, he played the superhero Hawk on the DC streaming show “Titans.”
He’s joined on the show by Malcolm Goodwin (“iZombie”) as Margrave Det. Oscar Finlay, Willa Fitzgerald (“Scream: The TV Series”) as Officer Roscoe Conklin, Chris Webster (“TURN: Washington’s Spies”) as KJ Kliner and Bruce McGill (“Animal House”) as Grover Teale.
Military.com had a chance to speak with Ritchson about making “Reacher.” He’s an obvious fan of the books and firmly believes that the team who made the show understand the character and delivered a winner.
Military.com: I know you’ve played superheroes before, and that’s a passionate fan base. Jack Reacher is a character whose fans really take their protectiveness to another level. Did you realize just how intense they are when you took the role?
Alan Ritchson: “I’m going from the dumbest superhero, the guy who talks to tuna, and I’m moving on to something that has crossed just about every international border. The scope of this is not lost on me. My career has prepped me to handle characters born from renowned IP (intellectual property) that come with a lot of expectation. A big part of my job is blocking out the pressure and noise and trying to find a flow with this amazing team. I’m as much of a Reacher fan as anybody.”
Military.com: There are a lot of different ways to turn a book into a movie or a TV show. One thing that I think people are going to appreciate here is how much effort was put into actually reproducing the book.
Alan Ritchson: “I’m glad you feel that way. Nick Santora, the showrunner and writer, has done an incredible job adapting the book to the streamer. That’s a difficult thing to do, because we have 24 books to understand who Reacher and the world he lives in. A lot of his backstory is revealed in the later books. I feel like I almost learned more about Reacher’s past in the last four or five books than in some of the earlier ones.
“How many other books do we cherry-pick moments from to help the audience who have never read the books understand what’s going on? I think Nick did that in such a judicious and respectful way that fans of the books will appreciate what was done and how it was handled. We get to tell the story of a single book, “Killing Floor,” over the course of eight episodes. Streaming is the perfect medium for this type of journey.
“Everybody’s aware that Reacher is a property that’s existed for some time. Mr. (Tom) Cruise made two incredible films, you know, but it’s got a new lease on life and one that I think will be most pleasing to the fans.”
Military.com: You’re 6’3″, so you’re not a small guy. One thing that was really impressive about the show is how you and the crew actually manage to convey the mass of the character when you’re not actually as big as how Lee Child describes Reacher in the books.
Alan Ritchson: “Here’s the thing. The dimensions are funny to me, because if you pay attention, this guy is 6’5″ and 220 pounds in the first book. Everybody latched on the 250, but that happens in book three when he’s been digging ditches for a while.”
“6’5″, 220 is pretty lanky, but Reacher is described as having this mesomorphic, athletic, ripped, muscular build. Reacher wears size 10 1/2 shoes, so the descriptions are a little wonky to me. If we’re being realistic, I wear a size 13 shoe and I’m 6’3″, 235 and have the body that’s described in the first book, so I think, if anything, I’m a more faithful adaptation of what Reacher should be size-wise than what’s on the page.”
Military.com: Will we see more “Reacher” on Prime Video?
Alan Ritchson: “I don’t think anybody is trying to ‘Queen’s Gambit’ this. I don’t think this is a one and done. With the number of books there are, we have optimism that fans will respond to this so we can do more. I can’t answer that until people watch. If people show up, then everybody would love to do more. I hope to be 100 by the time I’m done playing Reacher.
“But the decision always belongs to the audience. Every decision that was made was done with them in mind. I don’t think anybody had an ego or a personal dog in the fight here. This is a very rare team. All of the collaborators were thinking of the vast audience that’s out there that has expectations, and we’re trying to honor what’s on the page for them. I think we got it right, and I hope that audiences respond to that.”
