User Reviews

The snipers acted like NPCs in the easy mode of an FPS game. After failing to shoot anybody using a scoped rifle, they just kept shooting and missing without moving. What? And when the hit mission failed, the hitman could still claim the money without showing any evidence of a successful target elimination? The script fell short in this episode, almost making the show feel like a game in which the player / protagonist goes through pre-staged "challenges" with predictable results. The fact that the Reacher gang could just kill off any foes without getting into any trouble with law enforcement also made it feel like watching a GTA gameplay.

...the predictable scene near the end when they force that one cowardly hitman sniper that they captured to enter the building to collect his payment. It was obvious the building was going to explode (I can't even believe I am writing this, it sounds so crazy to read that back).

They should have known what was going to happen to their only lead. Of course a disposable inept hitman like that guy was going to get betrayed by this crime syndicate run by corrupt ex-law enforcement working with a world-class supervillian terrorist assassin. Did they really think anyone of importance would be waiting inside that building to pay this guy off?

I mean really.

They should have checked the building or whatever first before sending him in. Also what's up with every area in Queens NY being totally empty, like there's just buildings being shot up or blown up and not a soul around. Maybe the writers hate Queens (which is fair tbh).

Also why was the team so openly exposed at a funeral everyone in the world knew about? Like the NYPD stereotype cop had literally just told Reacher the enemy organization was filled with corrupt cops and there was probably a mole somewhere and these bad guys are sophisticated enough to steal advanced missiles but they are going to stand around in the open at a good-sized funeral

Anyway I still enjoy this, the whole season is still better than a lot of action movies out there, as unrealistic and baffling as some scenes may be.

(1,070-word review) Folks, you can pack up your torches and pitchforks. Or maybe not, as most people may not have even had this theory. If you've read my reviews for the first four episodes of this season, you'd know I found O'Donnell to be slightly untrustworthy immediately after his appearance in the hotel room in the premiere, followed by his possibly-coded phone call with his "son," looking behind them in the car with the crew, and the bikers knowing where they were, all in the previous episode. But now, those things have appeared to be shot down. The latter two instances, in particular, must stem from plot convenience.

It's looking like O'Donnell is on the good guys' side, given his family was shown to us - and right off the bat, too. To be honest, I never fully believed he may end up being the Picard of this season. I just found some things regarding him to be questionable, while I've been less distrusting of him than other characters amidst that. A large reason for leaning towards his innocence is due to me potentially seeing an article that the actor, Shaun Sipos, will return for the third season, which I've already mentioned a million times in my prior reviews throughout my viewing progression of this season.

There is still one thing that one might interpret as another detail intended to make you keep questioning his allegiance, and it's highly likely to be nothing; the writers probably didn't even notice it or thought some people could use this to construct a ridiculous theory. And it's the lack of reprimand toward that one son (Davy, according to the subtitles) who was hitting the other, contrary to what he said over the phone in the previous episode: "Hands are for helping, not hitting."

You'd think a parent who says things like that to their kids would also be saying it practically every instance the kids start getting physical with each other. Yet, O'Donnell didn't say a word about it when his actual family was indisputably present in the scene. Why say it over the phone but not in person? There's a high probability that it means absolutely nothing: the writers figured that scene was a little hectic with too much going on to include the "phrase," or they didn't think to include it. I thought I'd throw this out there to leave no stone unturned concerning my thought process and where my head is.

I'm 90% sure he's clean. The remaining 10% is because he wasn't present in this episode's flashback with the drug bust. Neither was Lowrey, but you never know. Surely, there's a deeper reason for telling us that storyline alongside the main storyline besides showcasing Reacher's past, his relationship with everyone, specifically the tidbit with Swan/how he took a bullet for Reacher, now that a conflict is brewing, and his overall personal and emotional ties to what has happened to the other members of the unit.

But one of the self-proclaimed "Special Investigators" must be dirty, and it's practically confirmed to be Swan unless a swerve is coming - either him being clean or an additional member of the unit is also dirty. If there was still any doubt present after what Dixon and Neagley told Reacher and O'Donnell about him (his digital thumbprint authorization for the missile shipment departure, and the fact that New Age's New York "base" has iris scanners on the doors, in addition to thumbprint locks on the computers, suggesting there's no way he was forced to authorize the shipment), the reveal of him giving the orders to the professional hitmen should be definitive enough. Or it was a different guy.

It's possible that someone else (one of Langston's men, most likely) used Swan's name to try and pit Reacher & Crew against him, whether he's involved (but got on Langston's bad side somehow) or not - and alive, of course. It is suspicious that we haven't seen him yet, which continues sowing seeds of doubt. Is he dead? Was he involved but taken out for some reason? Is he involved and still alive? Was he never involved but managed to escape and go on the run, possibly with the help of Marlo Burns? She's still an unsolved piece of the puzzle. Though, to be fair, now that Swan's actual involvement has seemingly been brought to light, he could finally make his grand, first appearance-in-the-present entrance in the very next episode, subsequently quashing that slight feeling of suspicion.

Additionally, the action sequence at the funeral caught me off guard. I didn't fully process Langston's "That plan's already in motion" to be able to make the connection of another attempt to kill Reacher & Crew being done during the funeral before it happened; it was an enjoyable, well-shot sequence, with a decent subsequent foot chase and car chase to boot. Reacher's right. This thing IS coming to a head fast, further shown by how the episode ended.

Other than the score cue playing in the background (which even had a particular, coinciding feel to this) of that scene and the song during the credits, there weren't any songs in this episode, almost as if to signify Reacher's heightened determination to get to the bottom of this, particularly his hell-bent desire to confront Swan - a near tunnel-visioned pursuit, leaving no room to enjoy music. For us, its purpose is so we can have the means to tune into his current headspace: no music to add subtle tones of lightheartedness to an otherwise serious centralized tone.

I noticed it was a shorter episode - perhaps the shortest one so far, and it was primarily focused on setting up and creating anticipation for the final three: less than usual to talk about in the review. We did get the reveal of Swan's involvement and Langston's act of desperation through the attempted funeral hit, with a slice of plot progression from the missiles being stolen, on their way to New York, and so is A. M., while Reacher & Crew are inching toward the cusp of blowing this whole thing wide open.

All of the pieces are heading to New York. You can see their imminent collision. A grand, epic climax is on the horizon, as there are merely three episodes remaining. I'm expecting them to be relatively quick-paced, with some balls-to-the-wall progression of the plot - and hopefully, an adequate amount of high-octane action, brutality, and carnage.

This episode was really bad, the worst of the season so far. Emphasis on the "so far" part, because after seeing this one, I wouldn't be surprised if the season got even worse. This episode is pretty much nothing but plot holes and terrible writing.

For one, the characters are now literally explaining their actions to the viewers. It is as if the writers had just about enough brain to realize how bad their writing was, so they tried to make the characters explain away the plot holes to the viewers, in the kind of "see, it could actually happen because of this" way. And so we get the power girls casually waltzing into a factory that makes top secret super weapons and then telling each other (but actually tell the viewers) that you can "get in anywhere if you act like you belong and carry a clipboard". That is the actual quote, that is how ridiculously terrible the writing is. Nobody checks their credentials and the manager just gives them all the information they want. Kind of makes you wonder why the bad guys went through all the trouble of stealing the rockets, when one of them could just get a clipboard, walk into the factory and demand that they give them to him.

The power girls then just run into the truck with the rocket (because if you go into a random direction you are bound to find it, because "they couldn't have gone far"). And the hijackers are there. A gunfight ensues, during which the power girls again explain the viewers how the hijackers knew that they are here to stop them. The bad guys fire about a thousand bullets into the power girls' car, but not only are they miraculously unhurt, they also manage to teleport from the front seats into the trunk while driving the car, and thus they manage to get the jump on two of the bad guys and kill them. They then start slowly walking towards the third baddie, who, instead of shooting them point blank, decides for some reason to run away with no cover while shooting his gun behind his back and, of course, gets killed.

Meanwhile, Reacher goes to Homeland security, where the agents give him all the information he needs about their, presumably confidential, investigation, because his brother used to work there. You know, just like it would happen in real life. Then they just shake their heads amusedly when he tells them that he will kill everybody. Oh, that's classic Reacher. Go on, kill everybody, you giant rascal.

We get a flashback that shows why Reacher is so reluctant to believe that Swan is dirty. Back in the army, Swan saved his life by literally jumping in front of the bullet meant for Reacher, and the scene is exactly as cringe as it sounds. Also, what is with the delivery guy in that scene? Was he supposed to be incredibly stupid, like not allowed to use scissors stupid, or was he trying to tip off the drug dealers? The scene is neither here nor there, and all the worse for it.

Then there is the funeral part, which wastes the viewers' time first with more pointless dialogue and failed fabricated tension between Reacher and the bald cop, and then with one of the cinematography's worst shootouts. The two worst assassins in the world try to kill Reacher and his team using precision rifles and manage not only to miss them with every bullet, but also to miss every single one of the many people that stand all around them. Reacher and his team return fire. "Handguns are useless from this distance", Neagley explains the viewers, and then immediately the whole team starts firing those same handguns from that very same distance. They manage to get a bit closer, but "It's not enough", Neagly says. However, Reacher tells her "You can do it! You're a great shot!", thus explaining to the viewers that what is about to happen is, in fact, really, totally, completely possible. And so, while the assassins who use high powered scoped rifles cannot hit anybody, Neagley, who uses a handgun that is useless from that distance, scores a perfect head shot on one of the baddies. The other one decides that he wants nothing to do with that kind of plot armor and runs away, thus starting a car chase in which Reacher and the cop drive a car together; literally together, they both turn the wheel and press the pedals at the same time, thus making the car go twice as good, which is common knowledge.

The ending sees the team force the captured assassin to go to the meeting point with his employer (who happens to be Swan, oh the shock!) and do recon for them because, I guess, they didn't have time to make another pipe bomb and just chuck it into the house, like they did a few episodes back, and because it seems completely plausible that Swan will be happy that the assassin messed up his job and the meeting will not be a deadly trap at all.

Reacher season 2 has been on the whole a decent outing, with a wider cast that works well alongside Reacher himself. But this episode has huge logic problems. At the funeral - nobody dies? Not even someone else in the funeral? Then, when the shooters failed to kill, obviously Langston would have known. Reacher would have known that Langston was aware of the failed attempt. Why then would Reacher send the failed shooter to collect his money, when he was in fact unsuccessful? And talking to the failed shooter while standing in almost plain sight of the villains' rendezvous point? Surely Langston would have had surveillance around the building! At this point I was stunned at how badly the script had been thought through in this episode.

This episode is probably the worst of Season 2 so far, and I reached a point to finally write a review. The dialog is boring; the plot is predictable; many scenes are unrealistic and unbelievable. Reacher 2 is quickly turning to some cheap Kongfu show. Lazy writing is the prime factor to blame, but the whole story so far is also very lame and unsurprising. Why would the bad guy hire two very green shooters that cannot even shoot in such short distance? Any experienced shooter can easily take out Reacher and friends if they are exposed in the funeral? Come on, is this Reacher or it is quickly turning into Superman/Ironman series?

I never heard of Jack Reacher until I saw the Tom Cruise movies. Intrigued, I read a borrowed copy of the first book. It was then I realized how the screenwriters of that first movie had actually fashioned a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Lee Child is no Tom Clancy. He's a transplanted Brit with no background in the genre he writes who also doesn't care if his tales lack authenticity. That first book was UNREADABLE. To paraphrase Mark Twain, once I put the book down, I just couldn't pick it back up again.

The Reacher series suffers from a much too faithful adaptation of the books, with all the dreadful dialog and highly improbable scenarios intact.

By this episode, Reacher's team has killed dozens of people, and blown up a house, and somehow are allowed to continue their vigilante crusade unencumbered by law enforcement. This stretches the concept of "willful suspension of disbelief" to the breaking point. Yet this episode has even more to offer:

Barely five minutes in and we are asked to believe that the shipment of super-advanced unjammable missles is being transported in an non-armored, unguarded and unescorted semi driven by a balding hayseed who courteously stops at the staged "accident" to allow the hijackers to shoot him and steal his cargo. Uh huh.

Next scene, Reacher and O'Donnell are at Homeland Security having a chat with two Homeland tools who courteously cough up intel like they've been dosed with sodium pentothal. They are actively searching for the elusive arms broker/assassin, bit seem unconcerned about Reacher's interference. When Reacher off-handedly remarks that he might kill everyone involved, all the Homeland dorks can say is, "just like his brother..." (insert facepalm here)

Next scene, Neagley and Dixon catch up to the truck mid-hijack, driving up close enough that the hijackers can see Neagley unholster her weapon (accompanied by the sound of her racking the slide - eyeroll) They are fired on by ALL FOUR HIJACKERS, two of whom have fully automatic rifles, and somehow don't get a scratch. They get the drop on two bad guys and then chase down the last one - who still has his full auto rifle - by leaving the cover of the car and walking side by side FULLY EXPOSED while firing at the bad guys who prays and sprays while trying to run away in a panic. GIRL POWER!

Reacher is intercepted on the street by goons in the service of The Senator and allows them to take him to a secret location where they DON'T KILL HIM. Then Reacher and his team go to New York to attend Swan's funeral where two inept assassins plan to gun them down, but Reacher spots them with his bionic eye and they miss. Then the Reacher Team decide to rush the two gunmen, who have rifles with optics and are behind cover and concealment. They kill one and the other runs. An obligatory car chase ensues and the incompetent assasin is caught. He drops the bomb that he was hired by Swan, Reacher's former colleague. They make a deal with the shooter to take them to the abandoned building where he was to receive the balance of his payment. They let him wander in and the building explodes. Of course.

Alan Ritchson's portrayal seems to me, well, odd. Reacher is written as a Doc Savage alpha male who can handle anything, but Ritchson plays him as if he's on the autism spectrum - socially awkward and breaking eye contact frequently when in uncomfortable situations. Maybe this is the actor's attempt to humanize Reacher a bit, but if so, it fails. The result is to make Reacher seem like Adrian Monk with muscles. I recall the end of the first movie, when Tom Cruise's Reacher is preparing to take out bad cop Detective Emerson and save Helen who Emerson is hiding behind as a human shield. He has to move into the doorway, presenting himself as a target, acquire HIS target, and fire. He removes the rifle's optic which he knows is useless at close range and then we see his hand is shaking. He clenches is and steadies himself, and makes his move. This scene was silent and powerful and portrayed a Reacher who was human but unspeakably lethal. This was a BETTER Reacher.

The Jack Reacher books are unsophisticated pulp fiction for unsophisticated consumers of pulp fiction. Reacher as written is a cardboard cutout action hero, two-dimensional with exaggerated attributes and zero shortcomings and thus is unreachable (pun intended). In the hands of talented screenwriters and a great actor, Reacher is an intriguing and entertaining character. When Cruise's Reacher yells at Helen's kidnapper over the cellphone, "I mean to kill you and drink your blood from a boot!", you believe him. His cold, lethal rage is visceral. You feel it with him and can't wait to watch him do it. Ritchson's Reacher is bloodless. I hate to blame the actor. Maybe this is the director's idea, but if so, it's very poor direction indeed.

Another problem is the nature of the series production. Screenwriters are tasked with adapting a novel into what is really an 8-hour movie. This is beyond the skill of most people. Basically, they have too little material and WAY too much screen time. Inevitably, this leads to issues with pacing and filling time with uncompelling (boring) dialog and scenes. Additionally, the producers have 29 Reacher novels to choose from. This particular story was a poor choice with too many characters making Reacher a supporting character instead of the one driving the story. I'm not holding out much hope for this season to redeem itself. If the planned Season 3 is to be a success, they need to adapt a more suitable story, and perhaps shorten the season to produce a tighter, better paced, and more coherent drama.

This episode was so stupid that I have to rate it. Reacher is not necessarily known for an extraordinarily well-written script. But what is delivered here is almost as absurdly bad as the script for Yellowstone.

Two contract killers with precision rifles don't land a single hit. One of the main characters lands a headshot with a pistol. Very believable...

A vehicle is literally pulverized by pistol shots and an assault rifle from a distance of 20 meters. The "good guys" naturally suffer no injuries and take out the bad guys with well-aimed shots.

Tell me, who comes up with a script like this and, above all, who approves it?

I had a feeling that by this stage. Reacher will find out that someone in his old 110th investigative team might have been dirty.

That person is Tony Swan who worked for New Age security. Reacher does not want to believe it. Swan once took a bullet for Reacher.

As for Dixon and Neagley. The intercept the lorry carrying missile launchers which has already been hijacked. A truck that went off with little security despite the cargo it is carrying. The driver even stops to help out another driver who has broken down.

At the funeral of their fallen comrade Sanchez. Reacher and his team are attacked during the 21 gun salute. Somehow all the soldiers with guns ran away during the commotion.

This is typical Reacher. Entertaining in a silly way. No cops when shots were fired in the funeral apart from Russo.

When Dixon and Neagley tackle the hijackers. They conveniently shoot the tyres of the other truck.