Reacher: Season 3

Streaming on: Prime VideoEpisodes Viewed: 8 of 8

When you click play on Reacher, you know exactly what you’re going to get. Brought to life by Alan Ritchson, Lee Child’s crimefighting giant has outsmarted the rich and powerful and cracked the skulls of thugs and would-be assassins across two seasons, sometimes aided and obstructed by whatever law enforcement happen to be in his orbit. This third volume offers more of the same simple thrills, even if too much of this season coasts on the fundamentals, suffering from some unimaginative direction not doing enough to elevate it.

But those core components are as likeable as ever. Based on the seventh Reacher novel, Persuader, this new batch of episodes starts off in medias res with Ritchson’s titular hero working undercover for the DEA to rescue an informant while also looking to settle a years-old score. While the set-up is new for this series, it isn’t long before that novelty wears off and it settles into its familiar investigative rhythms, as Reacher and company slowly but surely put the puzzle pieces together. In what is surely the signature role of his career, Ritchson remains everything you could want for the embodiment of Child’s hero, bringing just the right amount of mordant humour — along with the requisite muscles.

This time around, Reacher’s makeshift team includes the tough and stern DEA agent Susan Duffy (Sonya Cassidy, whose Bostonian accent fluctuates a little too often), her too-old-for-this-shit partner Guillermo Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos), and a young, inept rookie, Steven Elliot (Daniel David Stewart).

While some Reacher fans may quibble that the adaptation of Bad Luck And Trouble in Season 2 occurred too quickly in the show’s run, the easy banter and shared history that the presence of Reacher’s former unit unlocked is sorely missed here. The growing camaraderie between this new crew is perfectly fine and functional, but the fresh faces don’t leave as strong an impression as Finlay and Conklin in Season 1.

Faring better is Reacher’s loyal friend and colleague Frances Neagley, with Maria Sten once again bringing an engaging, confident swagger to the character. Mariah Robinson also impresses as Dominique Kohl, so much so that it’s a shame her role is limited to a crucial, flashback-heavy episode.

That’s one of the few times this season of Reacher breaks from the norm and offers something different than what we’ve become accustomed to. Otherwise, it’s all very predictable and workmanlike in its execution, and any moments of inspiration feel very few and far between. At least the high point — the inevitable fight between Reacher and Olivier Richters’ towering villain Paulie, the rare man who makes Ritchson look comparatively small – lives up to its build-up.

The journey to that moment is more pedestrian than it needs to be. Still, at a time when the bad guys are winning in the real world, the escape of Reacher – a series about a hypercompetent man with a righteous moral compass taking justice into his own brawny hands and setting the world straight – is more comforting than ever.