Here’s what I posted in a thread I started about new shows:
[quote=“solost, post:22, topic:958799, full:true”]
In Episode 3, Reacher meets Finley and Roscoe at an outdoor BBQ restaurant (Queenie’s?). His order includes ribs, chicken, okra, and much more - equivalent to 3 normal dinners.
Not a vast improvement for me. They are both ok. But then I haven’t read the books.
I’ve read threads here about the TC Reacher. I don’t really get why the tallness is such a big deal. Maybe it’s the dislike for Cruise, in general, on the Dope?
I was thinking more his regular day to day while he’s “between books.”
The criticism of Childs’ Reacher is that he’s huge and intimidating besides being a one man wrecking ball when fighting.
None of which is in reach of cruise. The only reason he used the Reacher name was to put butts in seats, not actually bring one of the books to the screen. Same with M:I.
It doesn’t matter how well trained and talented a border collie can be, it would be a mistake to cast one in the lead for “Marmaduke”. Reacher can get away with a lot of what he does because the mere size and build of him is imposing at the very least, which is something Tom Cruise could never project.
Because the character is supposed to be intimidating just standing there. He can avoid fighting by looking like a mountain that might just fall on you.
Ethan Hunt could kick my ass six ways from Sunday, but were I a bad guy, I wouldn’t be afraid of taking him on. He’s a shrimp, He’s even shorter in real life than he is on screen. 
As for me, then only complaint I have for Tom Cruise movies is ignoring the source material. The Mission Impossible movies are great “James Bond” movies (I would say they are better Bond movies than the actual recent spate of Bond movies), but they have nothing to do with MI, which was all about the con rather then the action, and not “world saving” missions.
For some characters, size is not terribly important – the Han Solo origin movie wasn’t a great movie (though I thought it was fun), but the fact that the lead was 5’8" or whatever (as compared to Ford’s 6’1") wasn’t at all the problem. Han Solo’s height isn’t a significant part of his character. But Reacher’s height and bulk is a huge part of his character, so much so that a short Reacher is an entirely different character. I’d say Reacher’s size is as important to his character as Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones.
To be fair, the people financing big budget movies are business people. Their only goal is to make money. Putting butts in seats is the way to do that. Staying true to source material or making “art” is always a secondary consideration.
Spending $60 million dollars on a movie is a risky investment. Of course they are going to hire someone who is known for putting butts in seats.
But I take your point. Still, I’m guessing the large majority of people who attended or saw the movie have not read the books. It grossed over $138 million.
As to Reacher’s physique, I believe one of the books describes as looking like a condom stuffed with walnuts, so the actor’s bulk is not a problem for me. The fight scenes are different from the books: Reacher has far less trouble beating the shit out of people in the books.
Also, one thing often under-appreciated by Reacher fans is he thinks. He does do considerable “deducting” in the books, and it’s nice to see some here. He is also more learned than one might think: he notes in a few places that he went to West Point and reminds people it is, after all, a college. In one book, he quotes Proudhon, Marx, and George Orwell, although that part of the character evaporates pretty quickly.
Finally, Neagly is portrayed accurately in the TV series. In the books, she left the service and joined up with a big private investigative firm, making tons of money. But throughout the books there are references to her hating physical contact, unless of course she’s beating the shit out of someone. Reacher is a little in awe of her physical prowess and violence, and never makes the mistake of hugging her or taking her hand or anything.
So they get lots “right” if you’re a stickler/pedant/fan of the books
Is it a spoiler to note there is a Lee Child cameo (as there was in the movies)?
Prime Video membership is $8.99 per month
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G34EUPKVMYFW8N2U
So you subscribe for a month and you get the each of the 8 episodes for $1.12
Nah … there’s no plot impact whatsoever of his cameo.
Thanks for that information!
One note, if you subscribe and only want it for one month remember than Amazon operates on a subscribe until cancelled basis so you need to cancel at the appropriate time:
https://www.primevideo.com/help/ref=atv_hp_nd_cnt?nodeId=GWGDSNXVPJ93UW5V
Yes, that’s it - I was trying to put a finger on some of the things bugging me about him. Overall I still don’t think he can act (we’re now through five episodes), but we’ll stick with the show.
It grossed over $218 million internationally, with $80 million of that in the US, so they did indeed make good money on it. The sequel didn’t do as well, and while it still looks like it made money, it probably was a big enough drop to kill the potential franchise.
Really? He seems kind of robotic to me. Maybe it’s intentional.
Where was the Lee Child cameo?
It is difficult to watch a movie of a book you really like, because no matter how good the movie, it will be different than you imagined. This version got enough of the book stuff right for it not to interfere with my enjoyment.
I also enjoyed the TC movies - especially the first one. The character just wasn’t Reacher.
I haven’t read the earlier books in years, but in the last couple I read, he repeatedly commented that driving was the one thing he wasn’t great at. That bothered me about the movies. In this show, there still was more driving than I expected.
Yeah, that final ep was pretty silly. Went on a little long. But I still enjoyed the show very much.
Dinsdale, you’re right, Reacher is not a fan of driving and has no particular expertise, just a basic competence. There was more driving than one might expect, but I don’t recall any “fancy” driving. Am only up to episode 5, though. He also doesn’t like running and is very slow. Here he almost dodges bullets in a couple of scenes as he zips around.
Re: The Lee Child cameo.
Was it the older guy in the diner at the end of the last episode? He bumped into Reacher, and the interaction seemed to have no importance or bearing on the story. I thought, “That’s a cameo, but I don’t know who it is.”
My opinion of the actress playing Neagley improved. I didn’t notice a shifting accent after her first episode, and them dropping in bits from the books (don’t touch Neagley) made me like her more. Still seemed a little odd of a casting choice, but I guess international casting is a big thing now.