jarthur0111

I absolutely loved Blake Crouch's mind bending & heart wrenching novel (that I read twice) so I had very high hopes for its screen adaption. The series takes some time to build but fans of the novel know what lies ahead. Like "Breaking Bad" this show gets better & better. I thought it would have to simplify (not "dumb down) some of the complexities of Crouch's novel because the novel gets pretty wild as it ends. However to my surprise & delight the show doesn't change one thing about it. Obviously Crouch's heavy involvement in the show was the key factor here. The show doesn't soar without great lead performances from Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly & Alice Braga. This is the best screen adaptation of a heady & emotionally complex science novel since "Contact". Turn off you electronics & lights. Treat this show as if you are in a theatre --the visuals are great too-- & you will be rewarded with one of the best shows you have ever seen. It is a shocker.

I was familiar with the popular Jack Reacher series of novel that Lee Childs had written, but thanks to the prodigious output of Michael Connelly & his Bosch/Lincoln Lawyer/Ballard series I have never gotten around to reading them. I may start after devouring the 1st season of this show.

Alan Ritchson, who plays the title character, was a complete unknown to me like most of the rest of the outstanding cast. Wow, he make an immediate impression when you first see him. Think of The Terminator,--only taller-- without the cyborg interior. The show uses his imposing presence to maximum effect. Fortunately, he has a very dry sense of humor that barely registers because it doesn't need to have its effect (think of Michael Shannon in "The Shape of Water").

Willa Fitzgerald & Malcolm Goodwin play his main allies & give increasingly great performances as the series goes. This a very smarty written show.

It delivers the all of the action tropes you look for in this kind of show. The fights are brutal (Bourne-worthy), some of crime scene shots are very gruesome. This isn't a show for weak stomachs (but it doesn't linger on the gore either).

All in all this the most fun I've had watching a show since the 1st season Jack Ryan &, of course, all of Bosch.

The years of work making this movie have paid off handsomely & tragically. If you were wrecked by the excellent documentary "Gleason" & fascinated by the excellent Oscar winning "The Hurt Locker" then you must watch this film. This intimate look at a military family is complex & deeply moving. It'll have your heart & your spinning.