Fearless, free and feminist: the enduring appeal of Jack Reacher

[snoop1130]

Fearless, free and feminist: the enduring appeal of Jack Reacher

By Charlotte Higgins

 

Scene on screen … Tom Cruise in the 2012 film Jack Reacher. Photograph: Allstar/Paramount Pictures/Sportsphoto Ltd

 

This month, Lee Child’s latest novel – his 24th thriller featuring Jack Reacher, a 6ft 5in, 250lb former US army military policeman – will be at, or near, the top of the bestseller charts.

 

The books have been a publishing phenomenon, a huge commercial fiction brand, since the Coventry-born author (real name Jim Grant) wrote the first, Killing Floor, in 1997, when he heard he was getting laid off from his job as a TV executive.

 

The stories are, essentially, westerns.

 

Reacher is a loner, a wanderer.

 

Full Story: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/18/fearless-free-and-feminist-the-enduring-appeal-of-jack-reacher-

[William Osborne]

I bought a few audio books on Reacher....absolute rubbish series, 

[khaowong1]

I've read all the Jack Reacher novels. Like every one.  Was not very thrilled when Tom Cruise played him in the movies, but I understand that the author really has no say in anything about the movie once he sells the rights.  And I also know,  Cruise purchased the rights to those 2 movies and of course, who is he going to use to portray Jack?  Himself of course. 

[topt]

On 10/18/2019 at 5:07 PM, William Osborne said:

I bought a few audio books on Reacher....absolute rubbish series, 

I have never really listened to an audio book so not sure how it compares to reading. Like many long running "series" some of the plots have been a bit too samey but like @khaowong1 above I have still enjoyed reading them.

[mwbrown]

 

1 hour ago, khaowong1 said:

I've read all the Jack Reacher novels. Like every one.  Was not very thrilled when Tom Cruise played him in the movies, but I understand that the author really has no say in anything about the movie once he sells the rights.  And I also know,  Cruise purchased the rights to those 2 movies and of course, who is he going to use to portray Jack?  Himself of course. 

 

Nothing says 6' 5" 250 lbs like Tom Cruise...  Haven't watched one of his movies since he flipped out on Oprah and went full Scientology.

 

[Doge]

JACK Reacharound

 

Dire series only Cruise could endlessly endure out of sheer ego. Franchise died after first movie. Mission Preposterous franchise is perhaps worse.

[55Jay]

I tried watching the first one a number of years ago, didn't it make it past maybe 10-15 minutes.  Haven't bothered since.

[thaibeachlovers]

Reacher is a feminist? The person that claims that must be demented, IMO. If he doesn't beat up women it's because few ( ?any ) of the opponents are female, and he only beats up the bad guys.

 

I love Reacher books, and the films have been OK so far.

 

My only gripe with the books is that the females Reacher teams up with are all DDG, which is BS in real life. Many male thriller writers suffer from the same impediment- perhaps they are projecting their own desires into the books they write. E E Smith was terrible for it, and Ludlum is almost as bad.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, 55Jay said:

I tried watching the first one a number of years ago, didn't it make it past maybe 10-15 minutes.  Haven't bothered since.

It only got good 20 minutes into the movie.

[Lacessit]

On 10/20/2019 at 11:01 PM, khaowong1 said:

I've read all the Jack Reacher novels. Like every one.  Was not very thrilled when Tom Cruise played him in the movies, but I understand that the author really has no say in anything about the movie once he sells the rights.  And I also know,  Cruise purchased the rights to those 2 movies and of course, who is he going to use to portray Jack?  Himself of course. 

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher has all the credibility of Lee Marvin in drag. What a travesty.

[Lacessit]

IMHO if one could get Denzel Washington to put on white makeup and wear blue contacts, he'd be ideal for the role. He has the right screen presence of quiet menace.

Personally, my favourite Jack Reacher is "Bad Luck and Trouble" because of the associations with former colleagues and their character development.

[tifino]

On 10/21/2019 at 4:12 AM, mwbrown said:

 

 

Nothing says 6' 5" 250 lbs like Tom Cruise...  Haven't watched one of his movies since he flipped out on Oprah and went full Scientology.

 

I always thought he was a short runt of the litter