Reacher Season 1 Review: Instantly addictive, nostalgia-inducing actioner 

It's been a long time since I've seen a movie/series that took me back to those carefree days of my childhood in the 90s when I craved anything with an invincible protagonist that you know will be alright in the end, no matter what he goes through. Amazon Prime Video's latest sensation, Reacher, brought back memories of borrowing VHS tapes of old Arnold Schwarzenegger films, the Die Hards and Lethal Weapons, or waiting anticipatedly for the new episode of an action-packed TV show. And if it culminated in a fiery warehouse fight scene, the day is made. Reacher, too, has a crazy warehouse action set-piece, and the child in me was dancing with joy.

Creator: Nick Santora
Cast: Alan Ritchson, Malcolm Goodwin, Willa Fitzgerald, Bruce McGill
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

In the long-form adaptation of Lee Child's first Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor, Reacher presents a hero who is a few inches taller than Schwarzenegger and can do as much damage with his bare hands as Mr Terminator. (That reminds me, Reacher has an applause-worthy, rewind-worthy nod to an iconic moment from the first Terminator movie.) The first thing that Reacher gets right is finding an actor who perfectly fits Child's description. Alan Ritchson, who plays the titular military investigator-turned-drifter -- or, in his words, a "hobo" -- possesses something that the early Schwarzenegger action heroes lacked: a three-dimensional personality. He also got something that the Tom Cruise version didn't: an intimidating, glass-shattering presence. In that regard, Ritchson is more like the modern-day Lee Marvin.

If a show makes you instantly forget the two Reacher movies starring Cruise -- if they already didn't by the time you got out of the movie hall -- then you know it's doing a lot of things right. In terms of observational skills and sleuthing prowess, this new Reacher is Sherlock Holmes. In terms of survival skills and fighting prowess, he is Jason Bourne. And when you combine that with his height, well, needless to say, it's a lethal combination. When this towering giant of a man walks into the fictional town of Margrave, Ritchson's figure is framed, in a wide shot, against the town's background to make his height prominent. But the show will constantly remind us of this trait during multiple instances, either as jokes from supporting characters or from Reacher himself, who, at one point, clarifies that he is actually 6 ft 5 when a character incorrectly assumes he is 6 ft 2. "Details matter," says Reacher. It would become an oft-repeated line throughout the series.

The show, too, takes this line seriously. It is interested in the details of not just Reacher's background but everyone around him and the corruption-ridden town he just set foot in. It knows very well that in order to get the audience invested in the storytelling, the characters need to be of numero uno priority. Reacher can deliver his lines with minimal expressions and still effectively convey everything he experiences, good or bad. But this is also a man who knows how to keep his emotions in check. When he grieves after a loss, the process is admirably brief. And he would prefer everyone else to follow the same approach. We get occasional flashbacks that give a sense of how Reacher was in his teenage years and his deep-rooted bond with his elder brother Joe who becomes a crucial factor in the events of Killing Floor. Oh, and he loves dogs.

Since the Reacher books enjoy a reputation as nail-biting 'airport novels', the series, too, doesn't fail in that regard. Each episode pulsates with nervous energy and ends with a cliffhanger that's sure to give one the urge to quickly move on to the next episode to find out what happened to some main character or seek an explanation behind an unforeseen twist that surprises these characters and us. The effect is the same as flipping the pages quickly to get to the next chapter. And despite his invincibility, Reacher's vulnerability is put to the test in numerous instances where his friends' and his lives are in jeopardy. Since this is a show that boasts a high body count -- Reacher's significant contribution included -- and doesn't shy away from the graphic after-effects of brutal violence, I suggest keeping this show away from the little ones in your family. For those of you who take immense pleasure in cathartic violence, well, Reacher is just what the doctor would order.