Reacher Season 3, the review: Prime Video's literary hero goes undercover
Alan Ritchson this time will have to stop a dangerous trafficker, along with a ghost from his past. Streaming on Prime Video.
Most literary heroes are finding the perfect home in TV series rather than in cinema. This is demonstrated by the Prime Video successes of Harry Bosch, Jack Ryan, Alex Cross and Jack Reacher. The latter, with a renewal already obtained for the fourth season, arrives with the third cycle of episodes from February 20 with a weekly appointment, and once again shuffles the cards on the table.
The goal of the creator Nick Santora is in fact to make everything always surprising even for the readers of the original novels by Lee Child that inspired the show, which does not go in chronological order and tries to underline the nomadic element that characterizes the protagonist. So, after the first book Killing Floor and the eleventh Bad Luck and Trouble inspired the first and second seasons respectively, it's up to the seventh Persuader to give birth to this third chapter.
Reacher 3: Hero in disguise
In the third season of the Prime Video series, the protagonist finds himself involved in an undercover operation in which he must face the dangerous drug dealer in disguise Zackary Beck (a revived Anthony Michael Hall from The Dead Zone) together with his son Richard (Johnny Berchtold) and his henchman Paulie (Olivier Richters), who immediately clashes with the protagonist because they compete in physical 'size'. It all starts with a person from his past, a certain Quinn (Brian Tee).
The DEA in the form of agents Susan Duffy (Sonya Cassidy), Guillermo Villanueva (Robert Montesinos) and Steven Elliot (Daniel David Stewart) hires him to recover a missing agent and obviously, the omnipresent Frances Neagley (Maria Sten, who will soon have her own spin-off) will also help him, acting as a bridge between the seasons together with Ritchson.
Once again the protagonist's past and present meet for a story that sheds light on his inner demons, while the relationship between parents and children is crucial to the resolution. The goal remains to foil as many illegal associations and conspiracies as possible, especially by climbing ever higher up the criminal chain of command. The choreography of the action sequences remains the highlight of the series, starting from the heart-stopping opening scene and then continuing with some ideas that keep viewers on edge for the fate of the characters, or for Jack to be discovered.
A (again) lonely hero in the Prime Video series
Compared to the second cycle that re-proposed the old team in Reacher's army showing a more human aspect, and a more choral story, here we return to the idea of solitude in which the titular character lives by his own choice (with a wink to the legendary toothbrush that he always carries with him as his only precious possession). This allows the show to propose new characters and a new mission.
New entries that he will still be able to grow fond of, struck by their stories and mindful of his own difficult past. Alan Ritchson has now become one with the character and manages to replicate not only his physical strength but also his attention to detail of his mental strength and the deep empathy and compassion he feels for the real victims he confronts, and not the presumed ones.
He is never truly alone though as he has Neagley helping him, both remotely and in person, and a series of old friends and partners ready to run to his aid thanks to the excellent circle of relationships he has managed to create over the years, while remaining by choice outside of the law and institution he has long served.
In each season there is also a female character who stands out and acts as a counterpoint to the good Jack and in this case, it is Susan Duffy and her relationship with the missing resource. An interesting acquisition whose chemistry with Reacher proves to be functional to the story. Just as a villain worthy of the name was needed and Anthony Michael Hall proved to be surprising in the role, ruthless and unscrupulous as well as attentive and 'loving' towards his own blood. When is the next mission?
Conclusions
Reacher 3 is a solid third chapter that once again mixes up the cards on the table for the protagonist, this time putting him alone together with a new group of people who serve to show not only the hero he has become but above all to reveal further ghosts of his past.
The action part remains the best and best choreographed, along with three stimulating additions: the possible love interest Sonya Cassidy, the muscular rival Olivier Richters, creating fun sketches with the protagonist, and the unscrupulous villain Anthony Michael Hall.