Reacher Season 3 Review: Big Bloke, Big Hits, Big Fun

What’s It About

Look, sometimes you don’t want a prestige drama that makes you question the nature of existence. Sometimes you just want to watch an enormous bloke punch bad guys through walls. Reacher Season 3 understands this assignment perfectly.

Alan Ritchson returns as Jack Reacher, the 6’5” mountain of a man who wanders America with nothing but the clothes on his back and an uncanny ability to find trouble wherever he goes. This season adapts Lee Child’s novel Persuader, which sees Reacher going deep undercover to infiltrate the operation of a reclusive arms dealer after a DEA agent goes missing.

The setup is classic Reacher: there’s a wrong that needs righting, a conspiracy that runs deeper than anyone expects, and a whole lot of people who are about to deeply regret making this particular giant angry. The undercover angle adds a fresh wrinkle — Reacher actually has to use subtlety and deception rather than just bulldozing through every obstacle, which creates some genuinely tense moments alongside the inevitable bone-crunching action.

The Verdict

Reacher Season 3 is exactly what you’d expect, and that’s both its strength and its limitation. If you enjoyed the first two seasons, you’ll have a great time here. If you bounced off them, nothing’s changed enough to bring you back.

Alan Ritchson continues to be perfectly cast. He’s got the physicality nailed (the man looks like he was assembled in a lab specifically to play this role), but he also brings a dry wit and quiet intelligence that stops Reacher from being just another meathead action hero. The show is at its best when it lets Ritchson play those quieter moments — Reacher working through a problem, reading a room, or delivering a deadpan one-liner before the chaos erupts.

The action sequences this season are the best the show has produced. The fight choreography is inventive and brutal, making excellent use of Ritchson’s imposing frame. There’s a fight in a warehouse early in the season that’s genuinely thrilling, and the climactic showdown delivers the goods in satisfying fashion. The show has also improved its gunplay and tactical sequences, giving everything a grittier, more grounded feel than previous outings.

Where Season 3 stumbles slightly is in the plotting. The undercover storyline, while entertaining, doesn’t quite have the propulsive momentum of the best Lee Child adaptations. There are stretches in the middle where the pacing sags, and a couple of the supporting villains don’t quite have the menace the show needs them to. The central antagonist is solid enough, but some of the henchmen feel like they wandered in from a lesser show.

The supporting cast does good work with what they’re given, though no one quite matches the chemistry of Season 1’s ensemble. There’s a love interest this season who’s actually well-drawn and played with real spark, which makes a pleasant change from the genre’s usual approach to these things.

Who’s It For

This is peak “grab a beer and switch off your brain” television, and I mean that as a genuine compliment. If you’re into action thrillers — your Jack Ryans, your Jason Bournes, your John Wicks — Reacher is right in your wheelhouse.

It’s also a surprisingly good couples show. It’s got enough action to satisfy the person who wants explosions and enough character work and mystery to keep the person who normally rolls their eyes at this sort of thing engaged. My partner, who claims to hate action shows, was consistently invested in the whodunnit elements and only mildly objected to the violence.

Fans of Lee Child’s novels will find this a faithful and respectful adaptation, with Ritchson embodying the literary Reacher more convincingly than Tom Cruise ever managed (no offence to the man, but Reacher is supposed to be enormous).

Where to Watch in Australia

Reacher Season 3 is streaming on Prime Video in Australia. Amazon Prime costs $9.99/month or $79/year, which also gets you free delivery on eligible Amazon.com.au orders. Not a bad deal when you factor in the shipping savings alongside the streaming catalogue.

Our Rating

7/10 — Reacher Season 3 is a reliable, entertaining action thriller that delivers exactly what it promises. Ritchson remains a perfect lead, the action is top-notch, and the undercover premise adds just enough freshness to keep things interesting. It won’t change your life, but it will thoroughly entertain you for eight episodes, and sometimes that’s exactly what the doctor ordered. A rock-solid watch for action fans.