Before Prime Video’s Reacher chronicled the adventures of the eponymous drifter and former military policeman in a serialized format, Reacher was previously brought to life in a pair of live-action movies, with Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise charged with playing him in 2012’s Jack Reacher and 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Based on Lee Child’s Reacher novels, the television show has been warmly received by fans and critics alike, with many lauding Alan Ritchson’s pitch-perfect casting and the show’s serialized take on its long-running source material as notable highlights.

However, it hasn’t always been sunshine and lollipops for popular culture’s most famous crime-fighting hobo. Tom Cruise’s Reacher movies didn’t work for several reasons, a harsh reality that swiftly becomes apparent upon rewatching them in the wake of Reacher’s historic and ongoing success.

10

Tom Cruise Really Was Miscast As Jack Reacher

A Disastrous Casting Call

It wasn’t until the rave reviews for Alan Ritchson’s take on the character in Prime Video’s Reacher came pouring in that it became apparent just how badly Tom Cruise’s casting as Jack Reacher had been misjudged. A literal man mountain, the visual of the hulking Ritchson lent instant legitimacy to his new charge, a man described in Lee Child’s novels as standing 6’5″, weighing more than 250 pounds, and possessing hands the same size as dinner plates.

By contrast, Cruise’s diminutive build meant that he was a woefully misjudged choice to play Child’s behemoth drifter from the get-go. Even if one were to discount the comical disparity between the former MP’s description in the books and Cruise’s physical appearance, the actor was simply the wrong fit for Reacher’s personality as Child envisioned him. This state of affairs becomes even more apparent when contrasted with the textbook ease with which Alan Ritchson plays the character of Reacher.

9

Cruise’s Casting Undermines The Movies’ Credibility

Reacher’s Trademark Physicality Isn’t Believable In The Films

The star of franchises like Mission: Impossible and Top Gun, Tom Cruise is as close to a bona fide cinematic action hero as one is likely to find. As such, it may seem harsh to argue that his casting as Jack Reacher is so unbelievable that it notably detracts from the movie’s sense of legitimacy, but it’s the unfortunate truth.

Lee Child has a cameo appearance in 2012’s Jack Reacher as a police officer.

Reacher’s borderline-superhuman physicality is inextricably linked with his sense of idenтιтy, providing him with an inimitable presence and aura that Cruise ultimately doesn’t possess. A terrifying vessel of strength and ᴀss-kicking abilities who can’t be bullied or beaten, Reacher is supposed to be a presence who instantly commands the respect and attention of any room he enters. He’s every bad guy’s nightmare, which is something Cruise’s unᴀssuming build simply fails to capture, particularly when compared against Ritchson’s physique.

8

The Movies Have Aged Poorly Thanks To Prime Video’s Reacher TV Show

The Show Has Been Well Received By Fans And Critics Alike

Reception from the Jack Reacher movies that ranges from lukewarm to dismal has been sharply juxtaposed against the response to Prime Video’s adaptation of Child’s novel series. A hit with fans and critics that appeals to new viewers and avid readers of Child’s source material alike, Reacher has received consistently high reviews throughout its run to date.

…Reacher presents an upgrade on the Jack Reacher story in virtually every conceivable manner.

From the polished manner in which the show brings Child’s stories to life to Ritchson’s ᴀssured lead performance as Reacher, Reacher presents an upgrade on the Jack Reacher story in virtually every conceivable manner. It’s great news for the iconic character but less so for the reputation of Cruise’s movies; every piece of positive feedback that Reacher receives serves to overshadow them further.

7

The Reacher Story Format Is Better Suited For Television

The Story Style Doesn’t Suit Feature-Length Adaptations

Another harsh reality that has made itself apparent since Reacher began airing on Prime Video in 2022 was the fact that the format of Lee Child’s iconic novel series simply works better for television. The scale, scope, and standalone nature of the various stories and characters featured in the Jack Reacher books meant that a serialized breakdown of his story was far more suitable than a full-length film.

Furthermore, Child’s novels are notorious for being jam-packed with minute detail, a trademark calling card of the author’s writing style. As such, there’s simply too much material to cram into a quality feature-length Reacher movie while doing the character’s source material justice. Ultimately, television has always served as a better medium for novel adaptations, and Cruise’s over-saturated pair of movies proved to be no exception to this status quo.

6

The Movies Take Themselves Way Too Seriously

Cruise’s Films Lack The Show’s Tongue-In-Cheek Sense Of Self-Awareness

One of Reacher‘s most impressive attributes to date has been how the show deftly balances its high-stakes and intense subject matter with a notably tongue-in-cheek approach to proceedings. There’s a lot of farcical material to be found in Prime Video’s adaptation, but the show is so self-aware that it handles any negative connotations that this might pose with a tasteful wink to the camera.

On the other hand, the Jack Reacher movies offer much of what one would typically expect from a run-of-the-mill action blockbuster, with Cruise playing Reacher like a mysterious drifter who just so happens to also be 007. The relentlessly serious movies arguably raise the stakes beyond any point of legitimate enjoyment while imbuing proceedings with such a grim atmosphere that it rapidly drains them of any semblance of entertainment.

5

The Movies Feature Some Comically Bad Dialogue

Lines That Are Intended To Be Tough Sound Cheesy

In all fairness to the Jack Reacher movies, even Prime Video’s Reacher has not proved to be exempt from a harsh reality traditionally ᴀssociated with ᴀss-kicking characters of Reacher’s ilk: cheesy dialogue. However, while Alan Ritchson’s take on the character has turned in more than a few corny one-liners throughout three seasons, they pale in comparison to the quality of dialogue on display in Tom Cruise’s pair of movies.

While the actor’s trademark panache and suave delivery saves some of his cheesier quotes from complete disaster, there’s only so much that Cruise’s star power can do to redeem a selection of laughably bad lines, H๏τ off the clichéd action hero dialogue conveyor belt. It’s also worth noting that uncomfortable scenes like Reacher hurling an array of crude insults at a young woman in a bar unsurprisingly haven’t aged particularly well.

4

The Movies’ Action Sequences Fail To Do Reacher Justice

The Drifter’s Trademark Style Of Brutal Violence Isn’t Captured

Cruise’s take on Reacher is decidedly no slouch when it comes to combat, frequently dispatching a host of villains through a combination of fists and firearms across two movie appearances. However, his slick fighting style is a far cry from what Lee Child describes in his novel series, something more suited to Cruise’s various spy movie credits.

He’s smashing people into literal pieces courtesy of his terrifying size, strength, and overall physicality.

Child’s version of Reacher is a wrecking ball given human form, a one-man army who batters his foes like a silverback gorilla hammering in a tent peg with its fist. He’s not whipping out the slick combat techniques that Cruise’s take on the character delights in, he’s smashing people into literal pieces courtesy of his terrifying size, strength, and overall physicality. As such, Cruise’s lack of these trademark attributes severely undermines Reacher’s aura in the movies, particularly in scenes where he’s involved in a fight.

3

The Movies Adapted The Wrong Novel For The Sequel

Never Go Back Was A Poor Choice For Multiple Reasons

The eighteenth book in the Jack Reacher novel series, Never Go Back was used as Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’s source material, a status quo reflected by Reacher season 3 swiftly moving to rule out any future readaptations. In terms of the chronology of Child’s canon, the book is set eight novels after the events of One SH๏τ, the source material for 2012’s Jack Reacher, writing off a considerable amount of the character’s story for further exploration as a result.

There’s also the fact that reading Never Go Back can prove to be slightly confusing without having read the three books that precede it. The novel continues the storyline that began in 61 Hours and continued across Worth Dying For and prequel offering The Affair, introducing the literary counterpart for Cobie Smulders’ Major Susan Turner along the way. Accordingly, it’s hard to escape the notion that the movies could have chosen a different story to adapt with more organic results.

2

The Movies ᴀssume An Incredible Degree Of Background Knowledge

Many Of Reacher’s Nuances Go Missed

Prime Video’s Reacher has made a habit of drawing attention to the various nuances of Alan Ritchson’s eponymous character, from his creative alibis and use of second-hand clothing to a deep love for coffee that borders on the unhealthy. They’re small, but integral details of the man drawn from the pages of Lee Child’s novels, a vital element in creating a character of such enormous popularity and lasting cultural influence.

By contrast, the Jack Reacher films either tend to gloss over the minutiae of Reacher’s habits and quirks entirely or simply shoehorn them into proceedings with very little in the way of actual background. Accordingly, anybody without a degree of pre-existing knowledge from Child’s books usually has a hard time keeping up with the movies’ sketchy universe-building and character development, which likely alienated many prospective new fans.

1

The Sequel’s Quality Fell Off Considerably

Any Momentum Jack Reacher Built Was Swiftly Squandered

2012’s Jack Reacher presented the pinnacle of success for Tom Cruise’s pair of Reacher movie adaptations. A production between Cruise and his longtime collaborator, Christopher McQuarrie, the cinematic adaptation of Lee Child’s One SH๏τ received largely positive reviews from critics. The movie clocked in with a respectable Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 64%, highlighting the promising potential for future adaptations centered on the character.

Regrettably, the same could not be said for 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, a follow-up to 2012’s original that replaced McQuarrie with Edward Zwick. The sequel was largely panned by fans and critics, with the consensus labeling Never Go Back as vastly inferior to the original. This unenviable status quo was highlighted by a measly Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of just 37%, with Never Go Back’s failure sounding the death knell for any future Jack Reacher movie adaptations.