Tom Cruise's Reacher Was Bad, But It Doesn't Mean Amazon's Reacher Is Any Better

Summary:

• Many fans agree that Tom Cruise was bad as Jack Reacher.
• The first season of Amazon's Reacher was great, but then something went wrong.
• If the writers had stuck to the original formula, the show would not have failed.

Reacher is probably one of the most popular Amazon series, and now the show is on its season 2, which brings back all the conversations about it. We probably don't need to remind you that the series is the TV adaptation of the popular book by Lee Child about the giant hero Jack Reacher.

The first season of the action-packed series was released almost two years ago. The lead role of Reacher himself went to Alan Ritchson, and needless to say, he really owned it, making us sure that no other actor would have been better for the part. And that made us go back in time and reminisce about when Tom Cruise played Reacher in the 2012 movie.

Fans of the story recall that seeing the actor as the ex-military cop left them with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Cruise is an A-lister and no one will argue with the fact that he's a brilliant actor and did a good job in the movie, but on the other hand, Reacher's character is famous for his unique physique... And that's something our beloved movie star lacks.

Even the author of the books, Lee Child, mentioned that it was not a wise choice to cast Cruise for the role. Another thing that was not good is the fact that Cruise is just too big for the role. We just can't have him as Reacher, all we think while watching the movie is "that's Tom Cruise doing heroic stuff."

Nevertheless, the fans seemed to even enjoy the first movie. It was the second one, released in 2016, that was total garbage, as fans say. And now, unfortunately, the same story seems to be happening with the Reacher series.

What Went Wrong In Reacher Season 2?

As we already mentioned, season 1 was a success. Everybody loved the performance of Alan Ritchson as Reacher to the point that they can’t stress enough how happy they are to have him.

Except for Ritchson’s acting, a more important thing that made the show a success was the formula of its creation. The writers tried to fit in the original book story, making the show about one character and his great achievements.

Unfortunately, the second season seemed to have totally ditched the approach and turned the show into yet another ensemble cast cop series.

“No one edits the scripts of this show. Trying to make Reacher an ensemble when the stories boil down to him sticking to his code and skills and defeating a machine. The ensemble destroyed the depth of the character,” Redditor sixtysecdragon said.

Even more ridiculous, fans mention that the show is no longer relatable at all. Well, it wasn't your average life story before, but now all the rules are just being broken. The murder body count is already in the teens and nobody seems to care. No one goes to jail or anything, life just goes on.

Fans mention stiff dialogue that just makes you drop the show immediately. Characters just stop developing and are forced to be something they are not supposed to be.

“Reacher is now in a big city, has a ton of support, is frequently presented as anxious and unsure of himself, and his skillset is no longer presented as unique. It feels likes any number of generic, angsty cop dramas,” Redditor lostpasts said.

Seasons 1 and 2 of Reacher are available to stream on Amazon Prime. The next episode will be released on January 12.