Reacher Season 2 is out now, but how does it measure up against the first season? Join me as we find out.
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Reacher Season 2 is out now, but how does it measure up against the first season? Join me as we find out.
Get your Critical Drinker merch here: drinkershop.com/
I much prefer Reacher acting alone.
His interaction with the team during the active duty flashbacks was awkward IMO.
Exactly
Apparently S3 is going to be a "Solo Reacher" story
I love reacher and this is by far one of the best thing on tv right now..that being said, action felt boring/repititive after episode 4 as there were no major consequences , cardinal sin of not using second villain A.M who seemed interesting and they killed him in a cheap way Some of the most crucial,complex moments got resolved so easily that it became laughable after a point (hospital massacre, blasting a helicopter off in close proximity to city,the unnecessary highly convoluted missile hijack plan by villains final action sequence on helicopter etc) but I would still pay money to watch shows like reacher,terminal list than most of the stuff on tv
@@SR-ob3wn 8 episodes was too short to really work that team in. He'll be alone for most of the rest though.
i honestly liked the fist season more.
I quite enjoyed both, but I agree the 1st was better. The second season just became over-the-top to the point of a little too cartoony.
Upvoted for "fist" 🤜
By FAR
Couple episodes in and yeah, first season had a better feel. The co stars not doing it for me. They take away from the main character.
The season of the fist! Painfully good.
Peak comedy in Reacher is when he goes stealth mode. They never see it coming this giant of a man just waiting in the corner of he bus, patiently.
Like the Tauren Rogue joke if you know World of Warcraft.
Apparently season 3 he's by himself again. This season had a different feel, but was needed so we saw where he came from. And now he's back on a bus by himself, can't wait for Season 3 ☺
Third season aka the final season on Prime. They've torpedoed so many great series.
@@TallulahSoie Fingers crossed it's a great sendoff for the IP on Prime
@@TallulahSoie Season 3 is supposed to be the last?
@@ThatGuy-ky2yfi hope season 3 goes back to the roots of season 1. More intrigue that way though I’m glad they mixed things up a bit for season 2 by having a team dynamic though at the same time that would have probably fit better for a season 3
He needs more creative kills! S1 had some EXCELLENT fight scenes & S2 fails to deliver. Seriously, why did he simply choke out so many people? Where was the prison scene? The fire escape tie hanging? THAT'S what we want to see!!!
Season 2 Best Line. "Scream and I rip out your Trachea and the last thing to go through your mind will be 'Holy Shit, he actually did it'."
This had me laugh out loud when I was watching Reacher S2, and when I read you comment.
Best line for me was "How about you come with me, in spirit?".
I also enjoyed the Sarah Connor bit. That was nice.
LOL. Loved that line.
@PalaceDude "if it's good enough for God it's good enough for me."😅
Abandoned construction site : " We CAN'T use fierams ... someone might hear " House on tightly packed residential street : " Throw a BOMB in there " and literally ....no one notices . The neighbors don't even turn their lights on... LOL . Yeah ....great writing .
Well, it did look like a pretty bad neighborhood, that kind of stuff probably happens all the time 😆
they hired school kids to write season 2
@@hunterhunter5906 😆. I really liked season one . Drinkers criticism of season 2 is fair and apt IMO .Mostly good ...compared to everything else .👍🏼
@@spitsparrow Writers strike be damned !. LOL .
@@PhilipCockram I agree 100%.
I think Alan plays reacher so perfectly because he has the build of a pro-wrestler with good genetics, mixed with the calm calculated charismatic ways of an actor a fraction of his size. I've been hearing rumblings about him being eyeballed to play an older version of Batman, and honestly, that would be awesome.
You mean, older than Michael Keaton?! 😁
He needs to play Conan!
An older version of Batman says "live action Batman Beyond" to me. Me like.
I keep thinking how great this guy would be as Master Chief in a Halo show...that, and directors/producers who actually cared about source material, but that's another rant.
He plays Reacher so good because he actually cares for the character, he read all the books before filming S1. I hope to see him in other roles too, but not batman version 2454538484684 because those are forgetable, something new or at least something not done to death like batman.
Agree that Season one was more character driven, but I do like some of Reacher's quirks like his love for Clark bars. When the 13 year old girl they'd just rescued took the only Clark bar in the stash on the bed, Reacher was so pissed like a big kid, loved that scene.
"Can we stop talking about murdering people for just a second?" Lol
Thad in full action there
"Wins by default" hits the nail on the head. As much as I loved Season 1, Season 2 lacked the same realism, tight writing, and character work. It expanded the world-building in some much needed ways. Though, I would far prefer keeping the realism and tight writing, than expanding the Reacher Cinematic Universe. That said, I'll take Reacher any day over watching something with "t h e m e s s a g e"
Realism? LOL! This show isn't bad but, in the very first episode of season 1 I was laughing my ass of because of the dumb writing. I remember Reacher saying something about the 9mm that was used claiming it was subsonic but, the grain weight he quoted was 90gr or something along those lines which, would not be subsonic--that would be a +P or +P+ supersonic load. A typical subsonic 9mm is 147gr--some can be found around 135gr. It's obvious, at least in season 1, that the writers know nothing about guns or ammunition.
Reacher praising every scene the Dont Touch Me superchick is blatantly W0K3. It's not Messageless.
@@sam3283season 1 had hardly any flaws what r u smoking it’s just like the novels go take a hike
@@kdizzle901, I pointed out a HUGE flaw from the very first episode of S1. Did you even read my comment? lmfao
@@kdizzle901 find me some 90gr subsonic 9mm Luger ammo and we'll talk. LMFAO!
I hope they cast Alan Ritchson as B. J. Blazkowicz in Wolfenstein movie if we ever get one. Dude is made for that role.
That or Chris Evens.
@@maninthecamohat2735 That dude is annoying.
ha, now that you say it. Fcking perfect. yes.
@@maninthecamohat2735slap yourself for that one
Terror Billy!
Man, Drinker, you were in a forgiving mood. There was so much DCS (Dramatically Convenient Stupidity) in this season...Reacher knows everything...until they need to keep the action going for another episode. aAllow me to point to the first time Bad Guy escapes in a helo. Reacher is shooting everywhere but...the helo transmission. He has to know you blast the living shit out of a rotor gearbox, the helo is coming down. But suddenly, he's not aware of that. Sheesh. To say nothing of killing every single bad dude in the first half of the season and not leaving anyone alive to question. And the best part of the show was Russo, the cop. He was a real character.
But he couldn't risk injuring his tied up friends on the chopper
Do you prefer this or the ‘Enhance… ENHANCE’ scene from the first season?
yeah i found it strange he not mentioning Russo i think he was the best character in this season.
@@MrLulle1992 I found it hard to take to him as he was such an asshole on The Wire.
@@onewithsource9742 He's referring to the shootout at the bus parking lot in E6.
Every so often he gets checked by one of the female characters but never in such a way as to upstage him. The respect there goes both ways. The women are tough but no one thinks they are tougher than Reacher. Everyone has their skills as is deferred to on that basis as the story needs. The cast is pretty diverse too. I can’t see the “toxic” component. As for the women, Maria Sten looked pretty competent in the fight scenes. Serinda Swan, not so much, but she played the part pretty well. All in all, I think it was done really well. Looking forward to season 3.
Season 1 was based on a 1st person book, so it mostly took place from Reacher's POV and the audience found out things along with him. It also happened mostly in a little town so it kept tight focus on the plot. Season 2 was based on a 3rd person book and involved a team of good guys and spread across multiple states, so it makes sense it wasn't as tightly written and focused as the first.
Thank you. Poor book choice on studios behalf. "Worth dying for" would've been a better choice. 1st person novel where he fucks up a bunch of pedophiles!
This season is really bad , so boring, actions sequences are worse.
Ironically this was widely considered the biggest problem with the second Tom Cruise Reacher movie and the final nail in that coffin, making him part of a team way too early into an adaptation.
Maybe they’ll learn from this mistake when adapting the next book for Season 3, Persuader, which has a 1st person POV storytelling.
I strongly disagree @@balwindergill1
Now I know why they call you the Critical Drinker. It's because you drink and you're also critical. Very nice.
Wow! DID NOT KNOW THAT!
Simple and honest.
Woah, save some of that brilliant perception for the rest of us!
Mind= blown
And now we know why you are Not called a genius. Very nice.
As a fan of the novels i was baffled they adapted this one so soon. The reason this booknis so heavy is because you spend like... 10 books getting glimpses of the Special Investigators. Whispers. Then you get to this story and it blows your mind. They blew their load super early doing this one for season 2.
"Condom stuffed full of walnuts" is actually how someone describes Reacher's appearance in one of the novels (Tripwire, if I recall correctly). It absolutely lodged in my brain and I was very happy to see it being repeated here. I wonder whether it was a deliberate reference by Drinker or if he dredged it up from his whisky-soaked unconscious without realising...
Originally a line from Clive James discussing Arnold Schwarzenegger
@@paulmartin4456 Really? Good to know. It's just such a great metaphor: evocative, funny and absolutely clear
Was gonna say the same thing, its a very famous line from back in the day about Arnie@@paulmartin4456
When Drinker said that, I thought, "Hey, I read that in a Reacher novel.". That other fact in the replies is cool to know.
I thoroughly enjoyed the moment when Robert Patrick was talking about how he didn't give a shit about where Sarah Connor's name came from in the first episode.
Me too 😂😂😂😂😂
Glad someone else pick that up 🙂
Wow I'm dumb.. I never even thought to connect Robert Patrick with his part in Terminator, I've seen him in so many recent things that totally flew past me.
He also didn't know the name. I thought that was hilarious
You shouldn't have.
Reacher the character is best solo where he surprises the people he meets with his savagery and intellect. Season 3 should set him off alone again.
They actually did announce the next season, which they’ll be adapting the book, Persuader. However, the story’s events do happen before Bad Luck and Trouble, so it does make me wonder if it’ll be a prequel. Which I’m totally fine with, as I do like to see a TV series, where there is no exact form to watch each season or episode.
Yeah it's more fun seeing normal people react to his unique qualities than having half a dozen superhumans running around like it's normal.
If they stay true to the book, he will be going under cover and has to report to the DEA for a portion of the book. I’ll be interested to see how they adapt it
Can't do it. They have to have badass women kicking ass around the strong male. I was fone after the goofy ass strip club scene in season 1. Not a good show.
Looking through the comments section, it’s great to see the discussion is primarily focussed on the merits and demerits of the plot, characterisation and action rather than The Message. Almost like the good old days.
Definitely hope we go back to Reacher wandering around small towns again next season.
Only thing i hated about season 2 was how they stupidly got rid of the cop. The bag guys were happy to keep shooting the car, but he had to jump up and "sacrifice" himself. 🤦♂️
My guess is that they were just trying to create symbolism, for how his father was also a cop died, trying to stay true to himself, so have the same fate happen to him. Which is great for theme, but I would’ve preferred if he did make it out in the end.
That scene brought me to tears. Especially when Neegley took his hand as Russo was dying. 😢
@osmanyousif7849 i dont know. If he wanted to go out like that i think there would be situatiins where it would actually make a difference he could have done it during. His death literally had no impact on what happened.
@@avalangrin4904 had me pissed. A senseless death.
So many dumb moments. That was one of them. The exact next minute where an SUV magically appears in time to save a girl about to be shot by running over her assailant, but its headlights don't illuminate the guy, and it doesn't make a sound was another dumb moment. The final episode where the one lady gets stabbed in the arm and is incapacitated for just long enough for it to matter and is then fine. Ditto with the guy who gets shot and has a bullet dug out of his leg with a pocket knife but is able to jog afterwards. The many gunfights where they take on guys with rifles with pistols, and instead of picking up a rifle or a magazine on the ground and reloading, they rush a guy barehanded. The first season was just believable enough to suspend disbelief. This one was not, and was pretty disappointing.
Robert Patrick's joke that he didn't care who Sarah Conner is 😂 brilliant 😂
That was a great line.
I appreciated "He's like the angry NYPD detective from that move", 'Which one?", "All of them!"
I've been reading the Reacher novels for a little over a decade at this point, and I've loved most of them. When season 1 came out, I was initially planning to avoid it because I didn't want to see one of my favorite fictional characters destroyed. After seeing Alan Ritchman and realizing they'd actually cast someone as big as Reacher (as opposed to Tom Cruise), I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. I agree that the second season was a bit of a let down, though it was by no means bad. It's been quite a while since I read _Bad News and Trouble,_ so I recognized that a lot of the specifics in the show were different from the book, but nothing that seemed too drastic. All in all, there were only a handful of things I found difficult to accept. 1. Reacher hanging out the back of an airborne helicopter, holding onto a gurney with Dixon strapped to it. Complete nonsense. I don't give a damn how strong Reacher is, there was nothing for him to hold on to in that position, and there's no way he could have held on to that thing for that long. 2. Occasionally, Dixon and Neagley pushed girlboss levels of "awesome." I can accept the two of them being able to easily overpower other female characters, being able to shoot very well, and even holding their own for a while against males in hand-to-hand combat; being trained how to fight with your hands can make up for a bit of size difference between you and your opponent, but no matter how well trained a woman is, she isn't going to go toe-to-toe against even an average-sized man for more than a couple of seconds. 3. That fucking grill... So, overall, I thought the season was pretty good, if not as great as the first. I'm hopeful they'll return to form with _Persuader_ in season three, and if they do, I hope they adapt one of my favorite Reacher novels. I'd love to see _Echo Burning, Tripwire,_ or _One Shot_ in season four. (I'm aware they adapted _One Shot_ for the first of the Tom Cruise films, but I have a soft spot for that one, because it was the first Reacher novel I read and it's set in my home state.)
If they're doing Persuader, I hope that they keep true to how the story's presented, as the story's event's happen before Bad Luck and Trouble.
@@osmanyousif7849 One of the best things about adapting Reacher novels is that there aren't many storylines that carry over from one novel to the next. Even most references to previous events are from Reacher's internal monologue. That should make it easy to adapt any novels in any order without needing to change much.
@@frocat5163 , yeah. I do prefer the non-chronological/episodic approach like when watching a Bond film or reading a Sherlock Holmes story, as the events can happen during anytime without needing a specific order.
If this happens in New York, admitting to several murders in front of a detective & walking out same day is pretty accurate.
Living across the river from NYC, I can say it depends on your demographic.
in 2024, absolutely
Especially if you're black!
My biggest gripe with season 2 was that bullets and knives didn’t hurt good guys on the same scale as bad guys. In the finale, the character O’Donnell literally takes a bullet in the leg at close range, then they extract the bullet with a switchblade. Dixon takes a knife in the shoulder. Reacher takes a knife all the way through the forearm. Tie a makeshift bandage around it and continue kicking ass. 8 hours later they’re all having coffee at a diner rather than: 1.) Bled out. (Most likely) 2.) in the hospital undergoing surgery.
That was pretty much my only issue with season 1. Reacher took a crowbar to the face and blocked multiple hits with his forearms, yet there isn't even a bruise on his face in the next scene. That would've definitely been a fractured jaw at least.
@@tt128556 yeah can’t argue with that. Overall I liked both seasons but stuff like that always irks me.
EXCELLENT THE CRITICAL DRINKER 🍻 REACHER SEASON TWO AWESOME!
Its even worse considering that there was one book, cant remember which, where Reacher actually ended up in hospital. Not to give to much spoilers, but Reacher was given a gun and through an emotional choice was too trigger happy positioning him in a situation where he suffered the consequences of his choice, winning but was hospitalized.
I didnt like that they very abruptly gave Russo more screentime and backstory only to immediately kill him off
Reacher by himself in a hillbilly town full of people was the peak. I could have done without a full season of covert ops team action because it removed some of the hilarity of the first season but I still liked it enough to want to watch the next one!
I was glad to have something to watch. Classic style TV without the message shoved down your throat.
There were still messages, just more subtle.
Definitely messages. Two males. two females. one was black But regardless...can't give shit a pass just because it's not full woke. Bad is still bad. This season was dogshit
@@VHBEngines Agreed!! I have no idea how I watched the whole season.
Every 'good guy' had enormous plot armor. Except the cop who was wastefully gunned down. The ending was so over-the-top 'good guy wins and rewards everyone', I almost gagged. No agency is going to let you walk away from a huge bust with bearer bonds worth millions of dollars. Even suspension of disbelief isn't an 'absence of disbelief'.
I was thinking yes those secret service agents knew his brother and Reachers people helped them busy a plot that would make 9/11 look tame...so they'd defo let them walk without charges or statements and I'm sure the agent that was his bros friend will be happy to take credit for breaking up the plot. But somewhere in interrogations or flipping through reports some senior agent or supervisor is gonna ask where'd that money go? You can't hide that
Yeah I know the cop stepping from round the car was so dumb the whole scene made no sense. Your in a moving car why stop the car
I thought i was going crazy with them repeating the same lines every episode. "Ever tell you're smart neagley?" Yeah, 8 times in the past 8 episodes Reacher..
"Puffs, Pops, or Pebbles, in that order."
Yeah. They were going for a theme of some kind, and they just beat it into the ground.
I’d cringe everytime he said that. It just felt super forced and kinda awkward
Yeah that was absolutely painful and awkward to watch especially since she didn't do anything particularly smart in those scenes. If anyone doesn't think it was cringy imagine him telling that to the generic white sidekick guy and patting him on the head instead. The assumptions kill mantra repeated over and over as something profound was also brutal, especially when Reacher himself made an absolutely massive assumption (their friend was innocent no matter what the facts looked like) and the show tried to gaslight the audience that somehow Reacher wasn't the one making the assumption but his friends who were following the evidence, and then at the end the plot just turns into a pretzel to vindicate him in a Mary Sue type contrivance.
Can’t forget the “details matter” or “in an investigation assumptions kill.” I like the show but was cringing at points halfway through
All the stuff you said at the end is what i miss in modern tv shows, i struggle to find shows like that now, things i can enjoy, have fun and get lost in. Thank you Amazon for shows like Reacher and Terminal List.
the funniest part is when one of the bad guys in the chopper is hovering over Reacher threating to hurt him.. like just kill him dummy
Was I the only one rolling my eyes every time Reacher telling Neegley how amazing she is. Like every single episode
I ever tell you how smart you are rpviper666?
@@jimbobjunior.”Not Neegley enough.”
No. It's a Bezos production. It's blatantly W0K3. For sure. Worst than that, it was 1000x weaker than the 1st
I didn't mind it. If that was as "woke" as it was going to get, so be it. It felt more like an in-house joke between them. My biggest gripe was the biker scene. Two stick-thin females with the rest of the crew against bikers.
@@EdB-qh4upCalm down Fox News! Don't go shooting up a school now! It was just an in joke between friends.
"God knows what the catering budget for this show must have been" - genuine laugh-out-loud moment.
Hopefully the success of Reacher gives us more Seasons and more series like this.
I really enjoyed the first season. Found the second season full of eye rolls. Still enjoyed it. But this season felt half assed. *cough suppressed shots from a rifle with a flash hider on the guards at the company cough* Hoping they don't do it to The Terminal list.
Hollywood will never get suppressors right. It just kills the drama if they're not totally silent. lol
It was realy a seaon full of eye roller which took away alot of my enjoyment. All the super bad shooting from the bad guys, lke the car chase with Russo or at the funreal. Or when the fat guy drove away and tried to flee, but for some reason drove in a circle around the area so Reacher could catch him by foot,, eh what? Same with Russo leaving his cover for no reason to die a heroric death for no reason. I realy hope we get less of that in season 3 because it was overall still solid but sadly not good.
@@SeraphsWitness Ironically they made a joke about that in the show with the water bottle.
@@henriklarssen1331 Agreed.
The military stuff fell flat to me. Felt like no one involved had any idea how the military works. For one not a single member of the unit ever shaved. I mean i get they are kind of playing outside the lines, but unless you are going undercover or something I am dubious that having no grooming standards while in uniform would be acceptable. There was also no explanation as to why every single member of the team, women included were 10x more badass than navy seals. I know he hand selected them, but nothing was mentioned about each character being basically as proficient in hand to hand fighting as MMA champions. The whole subplot with the cop they keep screwing over stretch credulity as well. Additionally, I felt like the whole thing could have been tightened up a bit, maybe trim off an elipsoide or two. Still a fun watch for all of that.
Having read the book, I noticed that they changed a lot when making this season. For example, in the book Reacher was hiding inside the helicopter before the villain and captives arrived and loaded, so he surprised them after they took off. I imagine the screenwriters decided to add more drama by having him grab hold of a helicopter in flight and climb aboard that way. Similarly his teammates were captured because the cop they were interacting with was the former partner of one of the bad guys, who then tricked them. I do wish screenwriters would leave the source material alone instead of thinking, "I can write a better ending than this!". No, no you can't. The movie adaptation of Stephen King's Cell, starring John Cusack, was similarly ruined with the ending being terrible and completely different from the book.
Yep. Lee Child went to lengths to make everything in the novel as realistic as possible and the show writers, in their hubris, threw much of it out and made it unrealistic. They wanted to put their stamp on it, but aren't good enough writers to know what to keep.
It would have been a million times better if he had been inside the helicopter. I'm going to guess the part where he holds the weight of a hospital bed+person inside the bed with one hand probably didn't happen in the book either.
@@tomace4677 , yep, the moment the writers gave the hero super-hero powers without the spandex.
To be fair, King admitted the ending to The Mist is way better than the one he wrote. So it depends.
@@tomace4677, they probably were trying to find more ways to make him look badass, but in hindsight, I think finding ways to sneak in is far more badass. I mean, even Batman can’t even do that type of stuff, despite the movies, trying so hard to play it up in some ways.
I am still just so happy to have this on scene with the correct actor playing Reacher. Lee Child describes him as the modern version of the noble knight from middle age literature who always bests the bad guys. It’s a familiar breath of fresh air in the age of “ironic humor” superhero’s and deliberately obtuse A24 films.
A24 films are masterpieces
Looks like a condom stuffed with walnuts when he takes his shirt off! 😂😂😂 made me laugh out loud like a loon!! Hilarious line 😆👍🏼
Too bad he ripped it off
... that's an old famous line about Schwarzenegger that's been regurgitated.
I enjoyed Season 1 much better. The actor was a little smaller which made sense given the nomadic lifestyle of the character, Roscoe and the Tweed Tornado had different ways of dealing with Reacher, Roscoe and Reacher’s chemistry and interest felt organic and realistic, each of the trio had something to contribute, mercenaries who posed a serious threat, and Reacher himself was a LOT smarter. Contrast the S2 group of 4. Less for Reacher to do, fewer cold reads on enemies, no ex military baddies who posed a challenge in combat, even with 4 characters it felt bloated, and an antagonist who seemed very smart quick-thinking and resourceful who never poses a direct threat to Reacher and gets shot very un-climatically. However, I will check out S3 and hope they learn from mistakes of S2.
Finlay was such a good foil for Reacher in season 1. The team in this season were all so blandly similar I still didn't know all their names by the end.
@@lordmcsmith Agreed. I can't remember the other two teams members names. All I remember is the one he was banging and the one who used to bang everyone. It's like they forgot how to write smart women and made Neaghley and the other woman the same, intellectually.
I agree completely with the assessment of Reacher's size. I've read most of the Reacher novels, and he's specifically described as *NOT* looking like a 'roided-out gym-bro. Yes, he's huge, but he's also quick and agile. In this season, he was clearly slowed down by the extra bulk. This season was still good, but clearly not as good as the first. I think they have a good chance of returning to the first season's quality with season three adapting _Persuader._
exactly he found the rocks stash during fast x and it looks bad, he doesnt have the look of being athletic and it just seems bad. S1 also felt grounded for that reason, he was huge but not like a dude who spent 12 hours in the gym. they went big but you didnt connect to any of the characters at all since there were too many introduced and too little time given to them.
Also without straight shooters like Roscoe and Finlay to balance him, Reacher started to descend much too far into sadism. In terms of method and morality the investigators were no better than the baddies at the end
I dunno, something about the added production value subtracted from the experience for me
Season 1 was definitely better. Season 2 just had some touches of Reacher bringing up an otherwise average action show.
Exactly. Way too streamlined and fancy.
I liked the first season more. A lot of that was because of Roscoe (Willa Fitzgerald). Her character brought a lot to the story and the chemistry between Reacher and Roscoe was the best I've seen in years. The second season's larger group dynamic diminished the Reacher character, in my opinion. Reacher also seemed dumber. The second season wasn't bad, but it was a step down.
Same
The issue is the book it's based on
Your comments about reachers size are some of the best descriptions i'v ever heard
Your reviews are so honest and reliable and helpful . Cheers Drinker 🙏
"The Message!!!" Every time, it makes me laugh😂
Hahaha me too 😂
I thought I was the only one, I kept replaying that part and wanted to comment about it 😂
The issue I had with this season compared to season 1, was the main antagonist had multiple situations where he could've easily killed Reacher but chose not to for some reason. It felt like more plot luck than intellect that let Reacher succeed this time around. Season 1 felt alot more grounded and realistic (somewhat). Don't get me wrong, still liked the season but I definitely felt myself suspending disbelief a lot more this time around
I respect the obvious calling out of "plot armor." But I've seen this IRL. Not quite to this extreme. But bad guys trying to flex in front of the homies and wildly underestimating their opponent is something you can witness in any 'tough man' contest. See : ALEXANDER EMELIANENKO
@Anoneemus_Noenayme you have to understand Hollywood and actors are so left leaning that they can't even be bothered to consult army experts. When they mentioned Little Wing I honestly thought I was going to be able to see a Stinger but that was just wishful thinking.
100% agree with you mate
This is stupid, but the most annoying thing in the show that I saw was an empty construction site at night, that somehow still had soupy-oatmeal consistency concrete, ready to dump bodies in. Concrete is dense when wet, and sets up fairly fast. Unless a crew was pouring it while they hid the bodies, that whole scene just can't happen.
The villain was believable in his overconfidence but the hesitation at moving from property crime to murder seemed a little out of place in a story where there was so much complacency about violent crime. No matter how much they might agree with Reacher, police can't just overlook a vigilante killing bad guys.
I was really waiting for the showdown between 'M' vs Reacher. So much was built up as being the perfect antagonist.... but in the end he was killed too quickly.
That was just typical of the whole season. Just bodged together thoughtless nonsense.
This reminds me of Then Came Bronson, the 1960s TV series starring Michael Parks as a former reporter riding around the country on his motorcycle getting involved in people’s lives. It only lasted one season but made a big impression on me. I’d just graduated high school and wanted to travel all around the country. Eventually I did but not on a motorcycle!
I hadn't thought of that one but there are definitely similarities! Well, hang in there.
I do like how Reacher's observation- and leadership skills are top notch, he's keenly aware of group dynamics yet he's rubbish at personal intimacy. It makes him a fun character.
Yeah, I agree. Reminds me of Dexter a bit.
I also appreciate the fact that the supporting cast brings it up as a problem and you get the feeling it’s something he’s insecure about or regrets. He’s not the Mary Sue some like to paint him as.
Yeah he's a man with a plan but extremely reserved when it comes to personal matters
I would have agreed with this the first season but go back and re-watch the second season. They made Reacher less observant and sharp, his coined phrase from season one was borrowed from a strong female character so he had to use a new one which sounded dumb in comparison. These and others issues really ruined season 2 for me.
I love how he’s even at times an a-hole to them but for the most part, it’s just banter. For shows that need to try and give their main characters some type of arc, I’m kind of glad to see that this series has Jack Reacher for the most part, not really changed all that much in the end.
My wife and I watched both seasons together when they each came out and we both agree that the 1st season was better, but season 2 was still very good.
Please think critically for five fucking seconds. Thats all it takes to see through this shit season and the idiocy that produced it.
@@herrikudo what exactly about this season makes you think it's shit? I enjoyed that it didn't push any social messaging, it had great action scenes, the story was ok, it wasn't just a rehash of the 1st season (they did something different), etc... The main villain wasn't great, but it was the T1000. Not every show has to be a masterpiece to be enjoyed. This one is a great popcorn show.
@@MatthewWeiler1984 Everyone is allowed to like what they like, but I completely disagree about them not pushing social messaging. Having those tiny women basically have superpowers and fend off grown men is 1000% social messaging, especially when they do it in high heels and evening gowns.
@@jaredsage3250 that is completely fair to say, I guess I forgot about that.
I agree, I thought this season was pretty awful.
Love the books during deployment, and Blue mountain state is one of my favorite shows. I love Reacher!
Watching the streams from Megacon , Drinker , you are the absolute Rockstar!! Cheers Mate
Season 2 made Reacher feel like somebody completely different. Gone was his quiet confidence, his easy charm.
Great point. The charm and wit had gone. The quick thinking and smart deduction was left to that stupid side kick.
He’s different from book to book as well. Theres some books where’s he’s just an asshole in a bad mood through most of it.
@@franciscodanconia4324 I read the first couple books and didn't notice a huge change. I could understand mixing it up if the formula had become stale, but the show just started off on a high note.
@@paarker 1. His wit was still there. Just less obvious because he had a team working with him. 2. Neagley's not stupid, nor a sidekick you racist twat!
He also looks at least a decade older and like someone had overinflated him with blood.
`That SARAH CONNOR line`😁😁
There’s also an Aquaman reference to pay homage to Ritchson’s role on Smallville.
A small, but hilarious homage to the actor's previous jobs. They didn't need to include it at all. It's just a gem.
@@precise1329 According to Nick Santora (the showrunner) the line was actually already there when Langston was supposed to be Rory Cochrane from CSI Miami. Cochrane had to cancel at the last minute and Santora knew Robert Patrick from working together on "Scorpion" .
My biggest thing is more the suspension of disbelief, where he's been on the road for quite some time, but he even got bigger. Dude's juiced to the gills.
My all time favourite show, 24, was referenced twice here. I’d love to see drinkers review on that masterpiece
24 was deep state propaganda pushing for war in the middle east
Dont think it had the same charm of the first season but it was still an excellent series 👍🏻
I really like that I wasn’t alone in thinking there were too many main characters. I get that Dixon is in the original story, but I always pictured her as basically just an analyst who was good at gathering information. Maybe she could hold her own, but she shouldn’t have been just as good at fighting as Neagley because all that does it make her less unique and interesting. Also, I really hated Langston being portrayed as a bungling idiot hopelessly out of his league with Reacher.
Seems like everybody love first season more.
@jus_sanguinis it's because they set the tone in the first season of a more grounded-in-reality action series. It reminds me alot of Rambo 1 vs Rambo 2. Rambo 1 was pretty intense with Rambo being an elite special forces soldier and toying around with a department of hicktown cops, but never felt super over the top or corny, whereas Rambo 2 was straight up cheesy Hollywood/video game levels over the top action, where he's running around with a machinegun and firing it 1 handed at a bunch of trained military operators Now as I say this I'm not discrediting either style of action movie, but I'm assuming people were expecting consistency with Season 1s Reacher
For those of you who don’t read books, try the Reacher books. You don’t have to go in order or have watched the show, just grab one. You won’t regret it.
For what it's worth as well both seasons adapt then we'll so it's like he says it's a taste thing. Some prefer the small town and some will be happy with the big scale There are certainly consistent themes so the plot armour moans are always going to be redundant on a serial character
@@maverickmic the scale is dictated by the book they are adapting, and they did a damn good job of adapting this one. The way it’s receipted with the audience is always gonna be a scale thing. From what I’ve seen of season 3 he’s going to be back to a small town, and a much smaller supporting cast. The book they are adapting for 3 is one of my favorites. You’re 100% right about the plot armor complaints. The hero has to return every season or the name of the show kinda loses its meaning lol
"THE MESSAGE" never gets old lol
It kinda has
Unfortunately I noticed that too
@@neon1899 He really needs to find a new drum to beat
Once again thank you for an honest review, critical where it needs to be!
I will say there was a line by Robert Patrick that I'm wondering how many people picked up on. He was talking about the names Reacher and I think Neagley used to check into a hotel. One was a Yankees player and the other was Sara Connor, Patrick said something "I have no fucking clue who Sara Connor is" 😂
Yep, that was a nice touch
An Easter Egg for the alert audience
I caught it.😀
It never gets old when the Drinker says, "The Message."
Or when I hear other creators say "The Message" like him now.
Or "MODERN AUDIENCES".
@@Sandman_10372 ikr, I wonder if that's his own creation, or if he latched onto a general idea that was out there and others did similarly. Idk if he originated it, but it's widespread lexicon now. I think it's cool. I heard it here first. So idk
@@Sandman_10372 Watch out. They want to ruin IT's A WONDERFUL LIFE with THE MESSAGE now. "Updated for a modern audience" basically means "the desecration of a classic."
It's very old to me honestly. He can't stop talking about politics in his videos even though he says Hollywood likes to cram politics down everyone's throats. But hey. Grifters gotta Grift.
I hate to say it-'cause I like Reacher, and love Alan Ritchson in the role-but the series has a serious problem. Reacher is a Mary Sue. He's bigger, stronger, tougher, smarter, and more experienced than every other character. He's possessed of supreme confidence because he has no weaknesses and never fails. One of the reasons the second season wasn't as good as the first is that this Mary Sue-ness is wearing thin. I mean how many more groups of hit-thugs will Reacher decimate? He had to work with a team so someone could have weaknesses, fail, be captured, etc. I'm not sure there's a way out. I get the impression this problem is present in the novels being adapted. And it would take a very talented writer to now introduce interesting and meaningful weaknesses that don't contradict his established character.
The way you explain the villian, so was the script!
Dude... the battle of Stalingrad joke cracked me up for five minutes straight... as I've been to NYC and know exactly what you're talking about... Spot on!
AHAHAHA "A condom stuffed full of walnuts" 🤣 I agree about Robert Patrick's character, the buyer was much more intimidating of a character but they dispatched him with absolute ease, I felt like the story was making it out that he was the main bad guy in all this, maybe I'm just having flashbacks of 24. I had no idea he was the son of Sir Ben Kingsley
IKR. The season built him up so much only to be taken out immediately after meeting the protagonist
A.M. was the most interesting actor in the whole season and yet it turned out that every minute of screen time we spent with him was a complete waste. Furthermore, it felt kind of weird that he wasn't more alert to treachery by the sellers. Precautions to protect him against the sellers would have protected him against Reacher's team too. Bad finale.
The "condom full of walnuts" line was how Reacher was referred to in one of the early books. I forget which one but it's a scene where he'd been hand digging pools all summer.
@@paulcanning4702 TRIPWIRE
I'm pretty sure that line came from UK satirist Clive James, talking about Arnie in the 1980's.
Wonderful review! Thanks, Drinker! "A condom full of walnuts!" I can't forget that .... I love Reacher!! 😁
Well said, Drinker. Thanks
Personally I really liked the Tom Cruise movies. He really did a good job portraying a jaded but brilliant investigator and the fight scenes were pretty cool too.
Tom Cruise could not pull off the natural menace that Reacher embodied by his height and size. 🙂
The Tom Cruise movies were certainly great action thrillers, they just weren't great Reacher adaptations.
@@avalangrin4904 I'd argue even the actor from the show could not pull it off either. Yes Tom Cruise is not a walking fitness routine care commercial but what he lacks in physical presence he makes up for it in acting performance where his TV show counterpart is falling abysmally short, this dude can't act for shit outside of the whole big silent dummy which requires little to no effort on his part, and when he opens his mouth to deliver shitty dialogue, that's when I started laughing. It was literally hilarious to watch him stroll so buff that he can't even keep his arms to his side. Nah.. the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this was a parody of an action flick (a very terrible one) than an actual thing written by people..
The first one worked, even if he wasn't really Reacher. The second was aimless and disappointing to me.
Huge shout out to Alan Ritchson for knocking the Reacher role out of the park. I'll always know him as Thad Castle from Blue Mountain State but he's a very capable leading man
Yeah to go from the most stereotypical of football jocks in TV history to an intimidating/quiet/collected former Army Major is quite the acting chops LOL
Capable? I'd argue the worst parts of season 2 were when they pulled away from Alan.
@@mojojojoslyfoxharris bruh Thad Castle is histerically funny watch your mouth! Blue Mountain State is top college comedy!
@@manumaster1990 Trust me that's how I knew him before Reacher, I loved BMS! It's one of those shows I cherish even more now because I know it could never be made in today's Hollywood!
Never saw Blood Drive huh?
You've nailed yet another review.
It was definitely a step back, but still an enjoyable watch: the laugh-out-loud dialogue alone makes it worthwhile.
You had me at, "Jessus Christ, the guy is the size of a F N Humvee"
"A condom stuffed full of walnuts" had me almost falling out of my recliner!
Now that he is in the Fast and Furious franchise you know we gonna get Reacher vs The Rock.
@@ScottEDawg That is an instant classic! I wonder if Drinker made that up or if it's some kind of common Scottish saying.
@@hunterhunter5906 Being able to make one up or recall an 'old' expression AND to do either (presumably off the cuff...) is a feat the normal whiskey drinker would have difficulty achieving! But yes, it is a classic, and is worthy of T-shirt status!!
@@hunterhunter5906 It's actually taken from the Lee Child novels. Give them a try, they're brilliant
6:50 Good point. Reacher and The Terminal List have been a nice reintroduction of this type of action-thriller.
Thanks to the drinkers recommendation I was blown away by both, especially the terminal list. Sadly season 2 was so meh. I pray terminal list S2 doesn't slowly suck my soul away like Reacher S2
@@papaburgandy3918 The Terminal List was great. Season 2 will be too if they can keep the same showrunner, crew, cast and work ethic.
I saw the Tom Cruise film "Jack Reacher" before I read any of the novels, and I know people like to heap hate on that film, but that film is what introduced me to Lee Child's work. Thanks to it, I've enjoyed several good reads I never would have (I especially liked "The Midnight Line"), and look forward to eventually checking out Amazon's show. Anyway, good video as always, Drinker.
@@humanplayer6864 You actually just gave me a really nice memory from childhood of my father bringing me a copy of The Neverending Story from the library...I still remember the changing of font color from green to red in that copy when switching back and forth in the narrative. In any case, authors rarely see their work on screen the way they see it in their mind's eye, but, you're right, both can be good works, connected but separate. As I've read, Anne Rice hated the Idea of Tom Cruise as Lestat, but ended up liking the film. Either way, it got more people reading, and that's good, if you ask me. On a side note, given his age, (not size), Tom Cruise is about right for Reacher, given that at this point, the guy has to be close to 65.
I love the Reacher series, thoroughly entertaining.
Season One was put together very well with three distinct main characters whose roles, personalities and motivations were developed and well defined with little exposition needed. Season 2 packed a whole squad of characters into an abbreviated season that felt rushed and their chemistry artificial based on more flashbacks than Kwai Chang Caine meeting with Master Po. Perhaps the writer's strike or budget was a factor, but it did not take as much time and care to let the characters do the work instead of flash backs and plot devices. Still better than many, but not as good as the first.
This season brought to you by AI, or by writers indistinguishable from AI.
@@ymdw45I mean they don’t need AI to write since they already have source material they are adapting.
Rest in peace MR CARL WEATHERS. Total legend.
He should have been as big as Stallone and Schwarzenegger, the guy had charisma and the physicality needed for the roles.
Action Jackson will always be a terrible film.
@@christophertaylor9100 Agreed. Never understood why. Action Jackson is better than Commando & Carl stood side by side with Stallone [Rocky] & Schwarzenegger [Predator]. Loved seeing him in Mando. Just a larger than life personality rather than the bland human-suit wearing "actors" of today.
@@AReallyLongAndUnremakableUser Aw I liked it :)
@@christophertaylor9100 He almost was, Rocky and Predator put him up there.
As you almost alluded to, it’s basically a poor man’s Terminal List. Very much looking forward to season 2 of that one.
Thanks I'll have to give it a watch
I really liked Season 1. Season 2 was a step back. My biggest beef came down to the relationship between Reacher and Det. Russo. Up front Reacher makes a point of accusing Russo of being a dirty cop. He berates and baits him on this point. Then the first time they work together, he makes Russo.....be a dirty cop. "Look away while I physically assault this suspect." Russo should have affected Reacher to back off, if only around him, due to his high morals that he swore Reacher he had. That's the biggest mistake in this season.
What we loved about Reacher Season 1 was that he was a lone wolf tank wrecking through bad guys but Season 2 felt more like teamwork makes the dream work...so thats why Seaon 1 was OP !!
That was the most polite "Go away now" from Drinker I've ever heard. lol
Nailed it. One of the few shows worth watching.
"with 3 pissed off soldiers and a kaiju." what a great line and a great show and No Message, whats not to like hopefully season 3 isn't too far away and "You do not mess with the special investigators"😁
Personally, i loved…”Why’d you hit him so hard?” R: “I don’t hit soft.” Classic.
I would've paid good money to see Reacher ask, "So which one of you is the kaiju?"
........"no message?" WHY THE ACTUAL FUCK DOES EVERYONE KEEP CLAIMING THAT FUCK ALL YALL. The women were making fucking headshots with pistols at 150 yards and had plot armor as thick as fort fucking knox. Are you high or just stupid?
"Looks like a condom stuffed full with walnuts" is now going to be my 2024 go to phrase! 😆
From the books I believe
Reference by the Author, Lee Child in his prologue to Book 1 - Killing Floor, and used directly in the story of Book 3 - Tripwire. (That's all that I've read so far, possibly used more than this!)
It's a famous Clive James line.
@@kazziemilner used in reference to Arnie Schwarzenegger, I believe, which seems appropriate.
I remember once reading a book by the actor Hugh Laurie, (he of 'House M.D.' fame), called 'The Gun Seller', and in it he describes a henchman as having 'a forehead like a balloon full of spanners'.
Watched the first season a couple of times now and happily watch again, I liked season two but not in a big hurry to rewatch.
IMO you’ve been way too kind on this bloated mess. The first season was great, but season 2 just fell into the trap of needing to be bigger, louder and dumber.
First season was a breath of fresh air and gave me hope, especially in the first episode, I noticed in the second series he started to change in character, to melt a bit, to maybe lose the stoic man beast facade they dangled like keys to us babies and started the old switcheroo, I thought well, here comes Season 3, his old boyfriend is definitely going to show up and there'll be hugs, tears and regret for being what Reacher was initially written as.
I agree 100%. The first season was much better. I think there are a couple of reasons why. First of all is the squad of special investigators took away too much time from Reacher going around being a badass. There were also quite a few "girl boss" moments with the fighting that made me roll my eyes. The second big problem was the anemic ending. Both the assassin and particularly Langston deserved much more painful retribution, and the way they both died was just a disappointing anti-climax. In the opening scene, Reacher's badly wounded friend says to Langson: "I can't wait to see what the big guy does to you." Yeah, me too. I wasn't expecting Reacher to just toss the big baddy out of the helicopter.
Also, like most shows these days, technically incompetent. A clean room but no face masks, tiny missiles with way out of proportion capabilities, chips that are not soldered on a missile, military hardware but no military oversight, ....
heyyy budy you dit it :D i hoped you do season 2 review and wrote about and soo happy you liked and enjoyed it,and damn was it funn.well keep it up mr.drinker and cheers :)
Reacher was amazing, also just watched The Brothers Sun and was pleasantly surprised for a Netflix show!!
Season 2 was pretty entertaining, I liked that it took a somewhat old school approach to action and remained true the genre itself whilst taking the character and his story forward. While I totally agree that the episodes did feel a bit stretched out at times and exhausted me but I had a good time watching it. It's perfect for a lazy weekend binge while being more entertaining than most modern shows with bigger budgets.
absolutely, great popcorn watching for a lazy weekend!
I know Tom Cruise didn’t fit the physical archetype expected by Jack Reacher fans but the first Reacher film is a damned good standalone movie with a high “rewatch-ability” factor.
I agree. I haven't read the books so I don't really know anything about the original Reacher. However TC was great as usual and he had the advantage of being a short guy that is easy to be underestimated by the bad guys.
Cruise has more charm and screen presence, he's also a much better actor.
I agree if you don`t think of Cruise as the Jack Reacher character but imagine if Richter had taken the role.
You've got me curious enough to watch it now.
If you hadn't read the books or knew how Reacher was suppose to look then Cruise's movies were good.
Agree 100% with your analysis.
You should review "The Beekeeper"; It's a straightforward "burger & beer" action flick like 2021's "Nobody"
I love that the scorn is equally applied here drinker. I love the books and own them all but it's good to see you calling out the flaws while acknowledging the strengths. That's all I'VE got today, go away now
The books are vastly, vastly better than this adaptation.
How many books are there?
@@Mereologist absolutely but this is still far better than the films lol
@@williamwallaceoftheus8033 not sure off the top of my head. Must be at least 8, it's been some time since I read them last
@@williamwallaceoftheus8033 There are 28 full-length published novels and a number of shorter stories.
I liked the joke by the Robert Patrick character, not knowing the name "Sarah Connor"....
Hey at this point, I'm happy to see it at all. I think Season 2 still hits hard!
Nice terminator reference at the beginning!
I agree that season 2 was probably not as compelling as season 1 but it is still light years ahead of anything else and utilises a formula that is both classic and appealing to a jaded old sod like me. I look forward to season 3.
Pretty much hit the nail on the head with this statement Jack !!!
I just don't understand all the people saying this wasn't formulaic. For me, this was bad ass dude invincible super hero formula to a T.