Based on Lee Child’s novel “PERSUADER,” Reacher returns to Prime Video for its third run, which follows the titular character on a rescue mission deep into the twisted heart of a vast criminal enterprise where demons from his own past lurk in the shadows. With it comes all of what makes the show so great & more, including a spectacular & thrilling conclusion that boasts the show’s best hand-to-hand brawl worth championing, yet resulting in Reacher Season 3 possibly being the biggest, slickest & best season yet, with Alan Ritchson settling scores & kicking an array of ass across the familiar 8-episode installment the series has become accustomed to.
Starting with Alan Ritchson, who’s a brute-sized gem worth adding to any project, he once again steals the screen, both literally & figuratively. He’s well into his play as Jack Reacher now, bringing not just the size & muscle needed to bring believability to the back-in-play, high-octane action of the character but also his on-field investigative skills & underlying charm & cold wit. With all that, the slick writing intricately hurdles him into various scenarios where he, at times, others must act swiftly but calculatively to avoid danger, or worse, with the desperation to be quick with thinking & tactics, it delivers a great jolt of thrill.
Strangely, it’s moments like these that can feel very reminiscent of playing the great modern-day HITMAN video games where you’re backed into a corner & must act fast to conceal your identity. Alan’s the real deal, packing all of what made 80’s movie stars like Stallone & Schwarzenegger as big of a draw to a project as they were & at times still are under the right material— It’s terrific to notice more & more studios picking up his attraction & talent.
The season features multiple of the show’s best moments as a whole; one such moment includes the opening to the first episode. In the first run of the show, we saw Reacher warn off the scum of a domestic abuser, in the second, he saved a Lady & her Child from a carjacking & ATM robbery, so it was expected the third go ahead would open in a similar fashion & it doesn’t disappoint – In fact, it fully embraces those expectations & exceeds upon them, exploding the set up doors of the story wide open with a play that long time readers of the novels will be braced for but regardless It’s adrenaline-fueled & the creative team’s way of saying ‘Welcome Back’ & boy was it good to be.
Another one of those cheer-worthy & sweetly satisfying moments comes in the form of the very hyped-up & anticipated brawl between the 6-foot, 4-inch Reacher & Olivier Richter’s 7-foot, 2-inch Paulie, a henchman of Anthony C. Hall’s Zachary Beck, & the promise of their fight is lived up to in brutal blood & violent fashion with wonderful technical show-offs, set pieces & planning behind it. But that’s all we can say for now on that matter. Unlike other movie stars, Richter clearly demonstrates this season he isn’t afraid of being punched about from time to time—something used sparingly throughout the show so far to savor the shock of when we remember he isn’t invincible.
Now similar to Season 2 but reflective of the source material inspiring this third run, Reacher is driven to abandon his lone-wolf ways with his character cooperating on regular terms with this time’s seasonal group newcomers portrayed by Sonya Cassidy & Roberto Montesinos. Though at times you feel they’re taking up the time of other more exciting moments you’d rather be seeing, overall they’re a solid addition with genuine ties & motivations to the story & those in danger as is explored throughout it unfolding when things get personal for them all, it allows the actors to show off their range & for us to see the characters as more than just people on the job but individuals with their own lives & affection to others in & out of their circle.
Reacher’s personal connection to the story lets us travel more into his past, where much of the previous season thrived; as such, Richter gets more to chew on while we, as the viewers, understand his past relationships & now present motivations further, allowing us to see him as more than just a brute & as someone with a lot of dynamic & layers to him beneath his colder-leaning persona.
Additional newcomers are as mentioned Anthony C. Hall but also Johnny Berchtold, who share a distant & complex yet loving father & son relationship reflective of a broken home with both having individual & shared moments of shining that ultimately injects the show with a bigger sense of heart & soul, proving there’s more to it than mindlessly fun action & villainous ass-kicking.
Ultimately, bar the odd moment, the pacing feels standstill or cut short; not much slows Reacher Season 3 from delivering everything that made its predecessors so great: mystery, thrill, wit, charm, and wall-slamming action. Only here, the execution of the writing, editing, diversion of expectations, directing, and an immediately hooking premise takes it all to the next & fun level, and with a Season 4 renewal already in the bag, it’s safe & exciting to say the series’ future is bright & worth investing in.
Reacher Season 3 begins streaming on Prime Video, February 20th.
IF YOU’RE A FAN OF REACHER BUT WANT SOMETHING THAT’S MORE OUT OF THIS WORLD, CHECK OUT OUR REVIEW FOR MICKEY 17.
