Admittedly, my low-key expectation was that this would be "worse" than it was, which could still develop to be the case; this was only the premiere. The reason was Amazon's Prime Video. Their shows tend to be hit-or-miss. Out of those I've watched, there was an element of underwhelming-ness in some of them. Especially Hanna. So far, that isn't the case with this show, although as I said: this was only the premiere. I hope it stays like this to the end or even gets better, at times or consistently.
As far as the source material is concerned, I haven't read any of the novels, but I think I've seen 'Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.' I'm not sure about the first movie. I don't remember much, except maybe it seemed like your "average" action-type film, whereas this premiere is already giving off a completely different vibe. Of course, that's not a dig at Tom Cruise or that movie.
All I know about the character, specifically; I don't know anything regarding any of the novels' plots: he's described more in line with Alan Ritchson than Tom Cruise, as well as being tall like the former. So much so: there were instances where his physique was ridiculous enough to where he was close to superhuman. I think that's (one of, or) the main reason why some people didn't like Tom Cruise's portrayal of the character.
So far, Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher is like a different character than Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher, although the former may still be similar to other characters played by Alan, like Hank Hall/Hawk in Titans. But I guess the same could be said with Tom Cruise as well. Not (enough) much differentiation between each character played by both Alan and Tom; the overall acting performance. Acting-wise, Tom Cruise is better than Alan Ritchson. But regarding this specific character, the latter's portrayal of said character is the favorable one, it seems, and not just because of Alan's height and physique.
- It's nice to see Malcolm Goodwin. From the first few episodes of iZombie I watched (I think), his character seemed to be a stand-out. In this show, his character already seems different, yet at times, similar. Based on what I vaguely remember regarding his character in that show. I'm interested in seeing more of his character in this show.
- For the quote, "In an investigation, details matter," to be like a running gag, there's irony in that there seemed to be an inconsistency or inconsistencies, supposedly. Like calling a suppressor/silencer a silencer instead of a can. I don't quite get that one. I guess people who are knowledgeable in that field call them cans. And supposedly, there were other inconsistencies as well: military inconsistencies. I don't know what they are; I didn't even know about suppressors, that they're called cans. So, as you can imagine, I couldn't care less about any of that, let alone see those inconsistencies negatively to where it affects the overall enjoyment of the episode.
- The quick and efficient handling of that guy in the prison cell was good. Even though it was almost over instantaneously, compared to the fight sequence in the shower area, I liked it a little better. The fight choreography of the latter was pretty decent. I hope there's more stuff like that in the rest of the season; action-type stuff.
- I noticed familiarity with the dialogue written for Jack Reacher: and just his general attitude. It reminded me of Tom Cruise('s) (dialogue) as Jack Reacher. I wonder if the writers of this show took inspiration from that or if both iterations are Jack Reacher-esque, and it just comes down to whose portrayal people like better.
- Alan Ritchson's performance as Jack Reacher seems pretty decent so far. He seems to embody the character in a general sense. Maybe because, acting-wise, he's not in unfamiliar territory. The way he plays Jack Reacher seemed reminiscent of how he played Hank Hall/Hawk in Titans. Maybe even other roles of his, too. He doesn't seem to be acting out of his range, playing a character requiring him to act entirely different than all of his roles. But that's not to say: "He's doing a bad job."
I thought this was a decent introduction to the show. Since this was a premiere, it focused on setting up the storyline and getting you somewhat familiar with the characters: Jack's investigative skills served as a bit of disguised exposition. Sometimes, premieres are underwhelming because of that; the focus on setting up the storyline, etc. This one wasn't. If you want to be specific, the beginning was a bit slow; the episode overall was a bit slow, too. But that was never a problem. Its entirety was thoroughly entertaining, and in hindsight, it was even better.
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