Watched the Amazon series Reacher over the weekend and I enjoyed it very much. I've read a few of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books and I enjoy them for what they are - brain candy. This series was true to the books and true to the aim of the books - simple entertainment. If you are looking for more than that then this may not be the series for you.
The first season (the show has been renewed for a second season) was based on the book The Killing Floor which was also the first Jack Reacher book and one of those that I'd read. The plot of the series stayed true to that of the book so there wasn't any surprise twists for me which, again, I didn't mind. The characters were also true to the book which means Reacher was a 6'5" monster of a man (played by Alan Ritchson) although I don't recall Reacher being blonde.
I didn't mind Tom Cruise as Reacher and enjoyed his first movie in the role very much (did not see the second movie). However, Alan Ritchson pretty much embodies the way Reacher was written on the page and how most people probably imagined the character.
I'll probably read another Reacher book or two this summer at the beach - where brain candy books are best enjoyed. Looking forward to Season Two.
I started watching, but the acting was far from par. I guess maybe I should overlook that aspect and enjoy the ass kicking!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment: mindless brain candy but a lot of fun. Reminds me of the John Wick series. I think we should view it as being in the same spirit as South Park or The Simpsons. The late Steven Den Beste used to talk about "engineer's disease", where you see plot elements that are so implausible, ridiculous, etc. that you end up screaming at the screen, "NO! That can't happen! It's physically impossible! It makes no sense!" (It's not supposed to make sense.)
ReplyDeleteI read one Reacher book, "61 Hours", and that was enough for me. A couple of random examples that I remember: the story is set in North Dakota in winter, in bitter, Siberian temperatures. Child writes very descriptively about the cold: how the snow squeaks underfoot; when you spit it freezes before hitting the ground, etc. Into this hellish environment arrives Our Hero . . . without an overcoat. Or even a jacket! He has no suitcase, knapsack, or even a handbag. No toothbrush. No change of underwear. Riiight -- Jack sure does like to travel light. I suppose the fire of his manly heroism will keep him warm.
Then there's this mysterious government facility that includes an underground storage facility that holds literally tons of . . . stuff (no need for a spoiler here). Except that the only access to it seems to be one or more manholes that you climb down to get into it. And the passageways in it are so low that you must bend over to move around. No room for forklifts, so far as I can tell. But you're somehow moving tons of materials in and out? I realize that our government design and procurement procedures can be idiotic, but still . . .
So I guess I'll pass on the rest of the novels (YMMV, of course) but I'll enjoy the Amazon series as a brainless, live-action cartoon.
Brainless live-action cartoon may be the best description for the show but every once and a while brainless live-action cartoons are just what the doctor ordered.
ReplyDeleteI miss Steven Den Beste.
Imagine how little the rest of the cast would appear if Alan Ritchson was really 6'5!
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