'Reacher' review: The series stands tall among crime thrillers

'I sure hope they didn't cast me just to make you look, er, big.' Photos: Handout

As viewing choices for fans of hard-boiled crime thrillers go, it's not that big a stretch to say that Reacher is right up there with the good stuff.

A small-screen reboot of Lee Child's famous (giant) drifter and ex-Military Policeman hero's adventures after two big-screen efforts with Tom Cruise (one very good, the other merely decent), Reacher stars Alan Ritchson (Titans, Smallville) – and if first impressions ever mattered, the actor certainly makes a visually striking case for more seasons to be produced.

For one thing, he is closer in both height and bulk to Jack Reacher as Child wrote: (in Imperial units for impact) six-foot-five and somewhere between 220 and 250 pounds of unstoppable brutality.

Ritchson is a tad under that height but, thanks to some strategic co-star casting and camera positioning, easily pulls off the imposing physicality needed to capture that aspect of the character. (And in case you're still not convinced, the eight-episode first season has no shortage of supporting characters remarking upon his stature.)

As for the less physical aspects of the role, Ritchson settles in nicely when it comes to reeling off Reacher's deductions and theories without making too big a deal of (usually) being the smartest guy in any given room.

Even on the rare occasions when Reacher is stumped or forced on the defensive, we can easily buy into how quickly he thinks on his feet to regain the advantage (interesting use of a necktie).

Reacher is based on the first book in the series, 1997's Killing Floor, and introduces us to Reacher as a drifter who gets off a bus outside the small Georgia town of Margrave.

Why? Simply on an urge to find out more about Blues musician Blind Blake, who rumour has it played his last gig and died in that town.

That impulse, unfortunately, gets him arrested on suspicion of murder – and while he has a rock-solid alibi, the homicide suddenly becomes very personal to him.

'Before you think I need your protection, Reacher, remember – you're the one behind the tyre for added cover.'

It isn't long before he figures out that there's something really bad simmering under the surface of Margrave and nearly everyone in authority seems to be dirty.

There are two cops he finds he can trust, though: chief detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin, iZombie), a transplant from Boston who is having trouble fitting in; and officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald, TV's Scream), a capable investigator sidelined by good ol' boy patronage.

I had my reservations about how effectively showrunner Nick Santora (Breakout Kings, Scorpion) and his writing team could stretch The Killing Floor to eight episodes but they do a fine job here, with only a handful of moments in the season's latter half that feel like padding.

Not the flashbacks to Reacher's childhood, though – those add an especially heartfelt poignancy to present-day events.

One thing that seems a bit off is that the villainy has been tinkered with from the book, robbing the story of a central antagonist.

Though, from another perspective, it could be argued that it's basically Reacher against the whole corrupt town of Margrave with just a few righteous souls standing alongside him. OK, guess not.

'That's the last time my agent overlooks the personal transportation clause in my contract.'

That quibble aside, this debut season is a great balance of mystery, humour (some spontaneous LOLs stemming from Reacher's offbeat dynamic with the two cops – and one former military buddy), satisfying payback and violence.

On that front, be forewarned that the brutality in Reacher is a far NSFW cry from the PG-13 levels of the Cruise movies, putting this one pretty much out of consideration for family evenings around the telly.

Yet it's so much more in keeping with the more visceral elements of Child's story, another thing that will satisfy fans of the books.

Speaking of which, in keeping with the author's most oft-repeated line throughout the novels – "Reacher said nothing" – there's a great scene near the start when Reacher says nothing. And the sheer impact of that pretty much says everything about what's to come.

Hopefully, there will be much more to come, too.

All eight episodes of Reacher are on Prime Video.