Unlike most people (it seems), I liked the Tom Cruise movies. Once you got past the size problem (which, admittedly, wasn't easy), I thought Cruise portrayed the Reacher character quite well: great fighter and better shot; terse, yet funny and flirtatious; rigidly nomadic and spartan; loyal to his friends; merciless to his enemies.
Alan Ritchson brings the size everyone wanted, and gets most of the Reacher character. But he speaks in such a monotone, machine-gun manner and fails to make eye contact consistently in a way that made me think they were putting Reacher on the spectrum. The intense gaze that unsettles people is a Reacher hallmark. Ritchson looks more like he's taking an eyecexam. Also, he has a surprisingly short stride for someone his size, so he walks like a robot (or an animated comic book hero). Hopefully in future seasons, he'll loosen up just a little and show a little more charm and empathy.
One nagging (and possibly spoiling) goof: In the episode 8 flashback scene where Reacher and his brother go to their dying mother, Reacher gets meticulously attired in his full dress uniform but still sports the same 5 o'clock shadow and unbrushed hair as in the rest of the show. No career military officer, or loving son visiting his dying mother, would take such care for his outfit and then ignore his grooming.
Alan Ritchson brings the size everyone wanted, and gets most of the Reacher character. But he speaks in such a monotone, machine-gun manner and fails to make eye contact consistently in a way that made me think they were putting Reacher on the spectrum. The intense gaze that unsettles people is a Reacher hallmark. Ritchson looks more like he's taking an eyecexam. Also, he has a surprisingly short stride for someone his size, so he walks like a robot (or an animated comic book hero). Hopefully in future seasons, he'll loosen up just a little and show a little more charm and empathy.
One nagging (and possibly spoiling) goof: In the episode 8 flashback scene where Reacher and his brother go to their dying mother, Reacher gets meticulously attired in his full dress uniform but still sports the same 5 o'clock shadow and unbrushed hair as in the rest of the show. No career military officer, or loving son visiting his dying mother, would take such care for his outfit and then ignore his grooming.