Reacher

guitargeek62

I’ve been binging rubbish while off sick and gave the show a try.

Firstly, it’s mildly entertaining toss, and I’m now onto S02, but I do have questions. Caveat up-front, I know nothing about the character beyond half-watching/cringing at one of the Tom Cruise movies a few years back.

1. Is Reacher always portrayed as autistic? In S01 it seems incredibly blatant, but is a little toned down by S02

2. Is the show (not books) supposed to be satirical right-wing porn/fantasy, or serious right-wing porn/fantasy?

fretmeister

1: No.
2: Neither.

Sometimes a stoic action dude is just a stoic action dude.

JEM

I've only read one of the books (that was enough) and not seen either the film or the TV series.

1. There was nothing in the book that made me think that the character was autistic.

2. I wouldn't say right wing particularly but it certainly struck me as being overly macho nonsense. Nothing made me think it was trying to be at all satirical.

the_jaffa

There's definitely suggestions in the books that Reacher is on the autistic spectrum but it is not explicitly mentioned. As for your part 2, not sure but I think it is mostly a fantasy of Lee Child's

TTony

Having read one of the books, I don’t think I’d ever be ill enough to choose to watch a film …

Winny_Pooh

TTony said:

Having read one of the books, I don’t think I’d ever be ill enough to choose to watch a film …

The books sound silly (my dad loves them) but the first Reacher movie is very good. Not for fans of the book as the casting of the character is basically Tom Cruise.

munckee

There is a thread through the books of his obsession with detail and making sure things are done  correctly which I thought more OCD than autistic. 

I don’t think it’s really a right wing anything just a character who’s like Batman really no one knows who he is so he is hard to get at and he’s tough as nails. 

darthed1981

fretmeister said:

1: No.
2: Neither.

Sometimes a stoic action dude is just a stoic action dude.

Exactly - I've just started reading the books.

Thing about Jack Reacher -  he's a superhero - that's his character.  He has special skills which not everyone can train for, he's got unusual aptitude for them, and he's physically very well suited to acquire them - he's basically a superhero.

He fights good honest villains as well - a Reacher villain is typically sadistic, cruel, and has some evil plot, usually to do with making money or being a nutter.

I really liked the TV show - the first series is a very straight adaptation of the first book Killing Floor, and the second with the extra characters of the (surviving) members of Reacher's army team - was even better.

Sometimes, things don't have a political perspective - sometimes it's just nice for a good honest good guy to come across a man holding a gun to a child's head to make his mum empty her bank account and to have the skills to intervene (where most of us would just get killed - as the books even point out).

the_jaffa

I've read all of the books at least once; I like it for a bit of easy to read escapism. It's all just a bit of fun that I don't take too seriously. Bit like James Bond or Jason Bourne or any number of other things.

darthed1981

Winny_Pooh said:

TTony said:

Having read one of the books, I don’t think I’d ever be ill enough to choose to watch a film …

The books sound silly (my dad loves them) but the first Reacher movie is very good. Not for fans of the book as the casting of the character is basically Tom Cruise.

Yeah Tom Cruise is not book Reacher - he's about two foot too short - but I'd say the first film especially is very good, the second is perfectly watchable but even less like the books.

CaseOfAce

in answer to the questions:
1) No - stoic action guy is stoic action guy.
2) It's a good guy beating up bad guys. Nothing to do with politics.

I've pretty much read all the Reacher books - they are basically the same plot but very readable.

I enjoyed the 2 Cruise movies and the Season 1 was closer to the author's vision. Enjoyable but the blizzard of names in the dialogue was confusing at times...

digitalscream

I didn't see him as an autistic character - just one that's been over-trained with a sense of a singular right way to do things, and a very black and white approach to justice.

It's largely simple action stuff; just straightforward action entertainment, for the sake of loud bangs...and that's not a bad thing, IMO.

In terms of the villains...I tend to think of the whole thing as Bond, but with muscles instead of gadgets.

bobblehat

Never read any of the books but just binged the first two series. Completely nonsense but great fun and doesn't seem to take itself too seriously.

fretmeister

The first Cruise film was ace - the only problem was that they called it a Reacher film. If it had been any other name nobody would have complained about him being too short. So I look at it as alternate universe Reacher where everyone is bigger than him.

boogieman

fretmeister said:

The first Cruise film was ace - the only problem was that they called it a Reacher film. If it had been any other name nobody would have complained about him being too short. So I look at it as alternate universe Reacher where everyone is bigger than him.

I lolled. But it deserved a wis too. 

The tv series are just mindless escapist nonsense, but at least the actor looks something approaching the book character. (I’ve only read the first one). The first series was better than the second, which is stacked with so many coincidences and a huge body count (that Reacher somehow never has to explain to the authorities), that it stretches the already paper thin credibility of the first one. I’ll still watch the next series if there is one, if only because it’s so hilariously awful. 

I’d never considered Reacher to be autistic, just a boo-yah Murican ex military guy with a steely determination to complete his mission, sir, yes, sir! 

theatreanchor

guitargeek62 said:

I’ve been binging rubbish while off sick and gave the show a try.

Firstly, it’s mildly entertaining toss, and I’m now onto S02, but I do have questions. Caveat up-front, I know nothing about the character beyond half-watching/cringing at one of the Tom Cruise movies a few years back.

1. Is Reacher always portrayed as autistic? In S01 it seems incredibly blatant, but is a little toned down by S02

2. Is the show (not books) supposed to be satirical right-wing porn/fantasy, or serious right-wing porn/fantasy?

What? Where are you getting this from??

guitargeek62

theatreanchor said:

guitargeek62 said:

I’ve been binging rubbish while off sick and gave the show a try.

Firstly, it’s mildly entertaining toss, and I’m now onto S02, but I do have questions. Caveat up-front, I know nothing about the character beyond half-watching/cringing at one of the Tom Cruise movies a few years back.

1. Is Reacher always portrayed as autistic? In S01 it seems incredibly blatant, but is a little toned down by S02

2. Is the show (not books) supposed to be satirical right-wing porn/fantasy, or serious right-wing porn/fantasy?

What? Where are you getting this from??

My brain?

AK99

the_jaffa said:

There's definitely suggestions in the books that Reacher is on the autistic spectrum but it is not explicitly mentioned. As for your part 2, not sure but I think it is mostly a fantasy of Lee Child's

That's how I always saw the books - ex cop turned author creates the kind of guy he'd like to be. 

The point above about the similarities to yer average Comic Superhero is spot on too.

Entertaining enough to a point, until you realise it's the same characters reused in different settings in every book. Still, the formula works for him, and also one helluva lot of book buyers.

theatreanchor

@guitargeek62 Well, I never got any of that. Your brain must be more perceptive than mine. 

fretmeister

guitargeek62 said:

theatreanchor said:

guitargeek62 said:

I’ve been binging rubbish while off sick and gave the show a try.

Firstly, it’s mildly entertaining toss, and I’m now onto S02, but I do have questions. Caveat up-front, I know nothing about the character beyond half-watching/cringing at one of the Tom Cruise movies a few years back.

1. Is Reacher always portrayed as autistic? In S01 it seems incredibly blatant, but is a little toned down by S02

2. Is the show (not books) supposed to be satirical right-wing porn/fantasy, or serious right-wing porn/fantasy?

What? Where are you getting this from??

My brain?

Give it a wobble!  

Jalapeno

Given up on the books, got way too formulaic