Reacher Season 3 (Amazon Prime Video) – Review

Reacher doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not, and that’s been part of its appeal from the start. Adapted from Lee Child’s long-running novel series, the Amazon Prime Video adaption sticks to a formula: a drifter with a moral compass, a town with secrets, and a trail of bodies… and rarely veers from it. Alan Ritchson’s (Fast X, Titans) imposing turn as the 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) former major in the U.S. Army’s military police after Tom Cruise’s (Top Gun: Maverick) forgettable take in the Jack Reacher movies (2012-2016) continues to be the gravitational force holding it all together, whether he’s snapping bones in a bar fight or quietly observing from a corner booth. His physicality is matched by a surprising stillness, which lends credibility to a character who rarely speaks unless he means it.

After the ensemble-heavy setup of Season 2, based on Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble book which leaned into conspiracies and camaraderie, the series now returns to a tighter, more solitary format. Adapting Persuader, the seventh Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, the new season opens in the thick of it: Reacher already undercover mid-mission. The storytelling is brisk, economical, and grounded and instead of juggling plotlines across multiple cities, it zeroes in on a single operation in coastal Maine, which lends the action a sharper edge and a welcome sense of claustrophobia.

Reacher is embedded with a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) task force to infiltrate the inner circle of Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall, The Breakfast Club), a shady businessman with a suspiciously guarded estate and ties to weapons smuggling. At the centre of the operation is an abducted informant whose rescue is the official mission, though Reacher’s real motivation stems from a personal vendetta. Beck’s operation is well fortified, both literally and figuratively, and the presence of Paulie, a 7 ft 3 in (2.22m) towering bodyguard played by Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters (Black Widow), provides the season’s most imposing physical threat. Even Reacher, usually the largest man in the room, finds himself outsized. The eventual showdown between the two doesn’t disappoint – it’s the kind of prolonged, bone-rattling brawl that gives a show like Reacher its weight and its a satisfying fight with no quick dispatch, as every punch feels like it could tilt the balance. 

What also changes most noticeably in this third outing is how the show tightens its geographical focus. The Maine setting, with its fog-drenched coastline and quiet backroads, lends the story a contained sense of danger without sacrificing momentum. Reacher thrives in unfamiliar terrain, and the writers seem to understand that moving him from one place to another, physically and morally, is what keeps the show from calcifying into routine. Even so, once the newness of the undercover setup fades, the familiar rhythms return. Reacher sizes up shady figures, trades clipped quips with untrustworthy allies, and eventually doles out justice with his signature blend of brute force and moral clarity.

Ritchson continues to own the role in a way that makes it difficult to imagine anyone else playing him. His delivery strikes the right balance between deadpan and deadly, and he brings an oddly compelling stillness to a character built on physical power. Whether he’s piecing together evidence or throwing someone through a wall, he remains unwaveringly calm unless provoked. The show remains aware of his physical appeal, leaning into multiple shirtless interludes with a wink (as a female viewer, I am not complaining), but it’s his quiet confidence and dry humour that carry the character beyond the confines of pulp action heroism.

Outside of Ritchson, the rotating ensemble again resets for the new mission, if a little less memorable than before. Frances Neagley (Maria Sten, Swamp Thing) is the only returning figure, though she’s mostly stuck behind a screen as Reacher’s offsite intel provider. Taking her place on the ground is a new crew: Sonya Cassidy’s (The Last Kingdom) DEA agent Susan Duffy, who’s capable but hampered by inconsistent Bostonian accent work, and Roberto Montesinos (We Bought a Zoo) as her weary partner. Daniel David Stewart (For All Mankind) plays the nervous rookie of the team, providing a few serviceable comic beats but little else. Compared to the rich dynamic of Reacher’s ex-military crew in Season 2, this new lineup feels flatter, more functional than charismatic.

There’s also a romantic subplot, though it plays more like a box being ticked than a story being told. Reacher’s past flings with Roscoe (Willa Fitzgerald, Scream) and Dixon (Serinda Swan, Smallville) unfolded with at least a degree of buildup and natural rapport but Season 3’s romance arrives more abruptly, as if continuing the show’s tradition of reminding us that yes, Reacher does have sex between skull-cracking sessions. It’s not bad… it just feels expected but uninspired.

Since we’re talking about skull-cracking sessions, Season 3 does waste little time reminding us how lethal its lead can be. The kill count rises steadily, with each fight scene choreographed to make the most of Reacher’s size, calculation, and unapologetic brutality. There’s no moral hemming and hawing about who deserves what, if you’re on the wrong side, you’re likely getting thrown through a wall or worse. Ritchson leans into the role’s relentlessness with gusto, and the writers seem to revel in his ruthlessness. Cold, clinical, and often shockingly effective, this is Reacher with the safety off. You can cheer for him all you want, but you’d never want to be in his way.

Still, the repetition is starting to show. Showrunner and executive producer Nick Santora’s (Prison Break) formula is solid, but by now it’s practically rigid. You can feel the rhythm of the show before it begins: the beatdown in Episode 1, the team-up by Episode 3, the betrayal, the high-stakes fight, the last-minute save. It’s a franchise in cruise control, coasting on its brute-force charisma. Enjoyable? Definitely. Surprising? Less and less so.

And yet, there’s something cathartic about watching a man with a simple moral code stomp his way through a world full of liars, cheats, and killers. When real life feels murky, Reacher’s brand of unflinching, unfiltered, and unrelenting justice lands like a sledgehammer through drywall. Sometimes you don’t need nuance. Sometimes you just want to watch a man punch through the rot. And Reacher, bless him, is always happy to oblige.

Natalie

Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Caleb from Love and Deepspace.