Weekend Plans Post: Reacher Reviewed
All the way back in 2012, Tom Cruise came out with a movie called Jack Reacher. A fun little detective revenge competency porn thriller that asked the question: What if Batman was really short?
Here’s the barfight scene from Jack Reacher that is fun but, be warned, it’s kinda violent:
In 2016, the sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back came out and, while it didn’t exactly bomb, it pretty much signaled that it wasn’t worth making a third. I don’t remember any scenes from it.
(I should point out that I saw both films on an airplane.)
Well, I’m not *TOO* surprised. The Batman formula is pretty well worn. If it’s not absolutely awesome? Just wait a while, another will be along.
Well, it’s a while later and Amazon came out with Reacher. You’re not stuck with two hours of movie anymore, oh no. You get 8 1-hour episodes. It’s not the Reacher you know from the movies. *THIS* Reacher is described by multiple characters as a “gorilla”. He’s six-foot-something and has shoulders about as broad as a VW microbus. You will find yourself wondering “why are so many people picking fights with this guy?”. I mean, say what you will about Tom Cruise, you could be excused for thinking “maybe I could beat him up”. This guy? Eh. I’m not buying it.
Well, anyway, another difference seems to be that this Reacher is based on the Reacher of the books. He’s big, he’s retired, he hitchhikes or takes buses or otherwise wanders, he’s on the spectrum (a little bit). A difference between him and Bruce Wayne is that Bruce Wayne is a billionaire who never wants for money, Reacher is just a guy collecting a pension that happens to meet his meager needs for new thrift store t-shirts (everything else he needs, be it weapons or cash, he’s not above taking off of the bodies of the bad guys he dispatches). Oh, I suppose another difference between him and Batman is the sheer number of bodies he creates as he dispatches the bad guys. Like, you’re going to see a ton of people get wasted in this show. If that’s a turn-off, well, you’re going to not want to watch it.
Season One has a pretty decent formula. Establish some characters, give a good monologue, have a pretty good action scene, see Reacher do a side quest, get left with more questions. Repeat until episode 8 where all of your questions are answered and now we’re going to kill all of the (remaining) bad guys in satisfying ways.
Season One is based off of the book “The Killing Floor” and, yeah, that’s a pretty good title. Reacher goes down to Margrave, Georgia (that is: Ottawa, Canada) and learns that there are corrupt cops, there’s corrupt government, and there’s something totally fishy going on and he’s going to make allies as well as enemies, get punched in the face a couple of times, and figure out what in the sam hill is going on.
Is it good? Yeah, I guess. It’s pretty good. Maribou and I watch an hour of it on Wednesday and Sunday nights as part of our date nights and, if I have a complaint, it’s that it’s a little too tense, a little too violent, and a little too difficult to fall asleep after. But if you can get past the fact that it’s a violent thriller television show, well… It’s pretty good.
We’re going to watch Season 2.
So… what are you watching? (Or, of course, what’s on your docket?)
(Featured image is the shoulder and arms of the gorilla himself copied from Amazon’s Reacher promotional art.)
Reacher is fun because it’s simple: large man beats up bad people. I enjoyed Season One. Have yet to watch Two.Report
I dunno. I don’t have streaming services so summer tv for me is basically re-runs or the godawfully high-frequency-shown “Big Brother” (Do people actually like that show? I know I’m a weirdo but you’d have to pay me an awful lot for me to watch it, and even then, I’d want to have a book or something to read while it was on.
It’s brutally hot here. Three or so days in a row with heat indexes over 105. I was thinking of going to the larger of the local groceries (the wal-mart) for shopping after some routine imaging I had done this morning, but when I walked out of it after 9 am it was already so hot. Might still drive out there and see if there’s a parking space close. Otherwise I’ll make do with what I can get at one of the small groceries.
I’m also having a bad pain day (knee, but not just knee) so doing anything that involves being out in the heat is less desirable. Also classes start Monday so I feel like I need to rest up before the delugeReport
If our household was limited to one streaming service, it’d be Amazon Prime. Not because the streaming is so awesome (though Fallout and Reacher were both better than I thought they’d be), it’s because half of our staples are purchased from Amazon anymore and Amazon Prime makes that significantly less onerous to do stuff we were gonna do anyway. Dish sponges? Laundry detergent? Cat food? The really good ginger shampoo? It shows up on the porch. And we get Reacher for free on top of it.Report
A million year ago, I checked the lyrics for the songs on my Cocteau Twins album. As it turns out… there were some.
Anyway, here’s the song Carolyn’s Fingers:
And here are the lyrics:
When he said, ‘You are full of love’
She fell down into this dirty mess
Some people see me laugh and tell us,
‘It’s wrong to make fun of me’
(Even they don’t give any more)
(Try, try to fall)
She fell down into this mess
(Even then they don’t give)
(Try, try to fall)
She fell down and he’s so sick of it all
And of me
This part not out of her saw fit to drop
Whispers might prove it all
(You’re just closer to me when you fall, but you broke)
This would prove it all
(You just closer to me, but you broke)
This would prove it all
Sleep now
You susur, try to talk
Reach out for that hand
Reach out for that hand
(And even they don’t give any more)
(Try, try to fall)
Even then they don’t give
(Try, try to fall)
You just closer to me at the fall
But you don’t want, want me hand
You’re just closer to me
But you don’t want, want my hand
Yeah. I don’t get it either.Report