Maybe I should give that movie a chance. Kinda gaudy, and unrealistic, but cool nod to public solidarity against cops when the guy shares his hat.
the first movie is fun and the series with Alan Richson is a blast.
Tom Cruise does an OK job with the attitude, but reacher is written as a hulking freak of nature.
the character is fun to watch and read. he’s basically a guy that was raised overseas on military bases fighting with other douchebag kids and only was ever in the US to attend West Point, totally believed all the propaganda that the military was securing freedom for americans. deployed to become a brilliant army investigator and kept uncovering deep corruption that would get shushed up to protect careers of flag officers. disobeyed orders and was a troublemaker, got busted down in rank, worked his way back up and finally dropped his papers to quit. said he wanted to see what all this freedom he had been fighting for was all about.
enters the US for only the second time in his life and vanished. only exists on paper, no known address/credit history, only ID is a passport, takes buses everywhere and just wanders the US as a “shit magnet”, because he was bullied as a kid and has an overdeveloped sense of justice while also believing institutions are corrupt as hell. so he can’t just let things go even if they don’t involve him.
anyway, I read an interview with the author and he said his favorite thing about writing reacher is that he’s never over matched. he is smarter, stronger and more capable than the baddies every time so he moves through situations like a wrecking ball through investigating whatever mystery is unfolding. it’s extremely satisfying, because the bad guys are always absolutely evil and generally “untouchable” due to corrupt law enforcement.
anyway, the first movie “Jack Reacher” is good. the series on Amazon “Reacher” is funny as hell and much more like the novels. the second movie “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” is kinda mid, except for the first scene.
anyway, here’s some exposition from the first movie introducing him that is pretty good setting up how he lives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sck4H31JBWA
he gets in trouble with cops extremely frequently.
