Why ‘Reacher’ and Alan Ritchson are a throwback to 80s action bravado
The big guy embodies all the wonderful traits of an “in his prime” Arnold.
There’s something disconnected about a well-made action film. It doesn’t have to contend for awards or special admiration. It’s there to turn your mind off, engage the fantastical senses of every dad’s dream and mom’s undying lust for tight t-shirts and ripped muscles. There’s little depressing about it all, and the end result delivers a crowd-pleasing satisfaction that can’t be found just anywhere these days in the constantly releasing entertainment schedule.
The great thing about Reacher, the faithful adaptation of Lee Child’s crime series that’s currently in its second season at Amazon, is that it’s a television show that delivers like a tightly wound 45-minute weekly action movie. In this December’s case, it was a four-hour palette-cleanser after a long awards season of movie screening. There’s more episodes to come, but talk about a welcome back landing ten days before Christmas.
The only thing Alan Ritchson’s hero wants to win is our attention span, or at least a part of it, to watch him hunt down and dispense justice. The second season wasn’t even ten minutes old, and he’s smashing a would-be carjacker’s body through a window. When an old military colleague informs him that his old unit is dropping like flies, it’s safe to say that more bodies and bones are getting crushed by Big Jack.
Creator Nick Santora surely doesn’t want only a piece of our attention every Thursday night when a new episode releases, but he knows it’s not going to be a problem with a stunner like Ritchson. An out of nowhere sensation with this show, audiences can’t get enough; he’s like Thor with a better haircut and more relatable clothes. Ritchson doesn’t hide the big guy strut, backing it up with force and charisma. It’s okay to drool over your French onion dip when he has to change a shirt after a scrap. The man is built like a brick shithouse.
What you see is what you get with Ritchson, and it works. He’s exactly what Child had in mind when he wrote Bad Luck and Trouble, the book (or any other J.R. book) that inspired the brand new season. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime without the accent, he’s a well-read and well-spoken Grade-A asskicker with just the right amount of friends who doesn’t need fancy clothing to dispense a beating. Thugs with no fear or common sense are his bread and butter, but smarter enemies always lie ahead on his trail.
What else do you need in a series about a former military officer turned drifter for heroic hire? The show delivers the goods, and that includes snappy dialogue that combines wit and testosterone. Just enough plot to keep the engine pumping. Take Domenick Lombardozzi’s cop who gets an airbag blown up in his face courtesy of Reacher’s foot to the front of his car early on in Season 2.
Most shows wouldn’t take the time to develop this seemingly routine pit stop for our hero, but Lombardozzi sticks around for at least a couple episodes-and adds to the series. Whether it’s needling the big fella or impressively rocking a detective’s suit that Vincent Hanna would admire, he’s not just another tool or prop.
Maria Sten, Serinda Swan, and Shawn Sipos offer fine support along with Lombardozzi and an assortment of familiar faces, but this is Ritchson’s ship. He’s the hulk that you tune in to watch smash. Thats the element that gets you to click on Reacher in a sea of genre mashups and retreads. Ritchson putting his fists into bad faces, moments after pounding a club sandwich and copious amounts of coffee. That’s a box that I love to see get checked in all action adventure tales. The protagonists stopping to have a simple bite to eat. Even mountains called men need to eat.
This show rides familiar turf, runways formidably built by guys like Schwarzenegger and Stallone in the 80s off tough guy bravado and one liners that cracked into the frying pan perfectly.
Ritchson and Santora have done Child proud, and also provided a thrilling revival of a cherished time in my life. A time decades ago where a stuttering kid could rely on these fictional immovable forces to save the day and do it all in one shirt, all in the company of my dad. It’s safe to say we are both a big fan of this show, because it’s comfort food for the entertainment purveyor who craves a movie or show that knows exactly what it is and wants to be.
Reacher feels like both a quality TV show and a lean and mean movie that comes out each week for a couple months. Talk about an ongoing delight.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present The Reacher Way: Eat your protein, drink your coffee black, and pack a punch. Most importantly, be sure of yourself. Ritchson sure is, and we’ll follow him anywhere-especially diners.
Pictures courtesy of Amazon Studios