Reacher is such a huge hit for Prime Video that season 3 was renewed even before season 2 even aired. And anyone who’s seen the action thriller can testify that Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher would be nothing without his no-nonsense partner, s Neagley.

Riding on that wave of success, information has come out that a spin-off for Reacher is in the works, and will be centered on the fan-favorite Neagley. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is the Reacher spin-off about?

Reacher is based on the Jack Reacher books series by Lee Child. Each season adapts a book in the series and follows former U.S. Army officer Jack Reacher as he travels across the U.S. and often finds himself in tough situations. Season 1 of Reacher was a hit and introduced the character of s Neagley, a former military colleague of Reacher’s. As such, the spin-off show for Reacher will be titled Neagley and is centered around the character. 

Neagley played a big role in the second season, as she and Reacher established their dynamic as a charismatic duo. She was one of his closest confidantes due to their shared history in the Army’s 110th Military Police Special Investigations Unit and fans loved her no-nonsense attitude.

Neagley, and Maria Sten’s performance of the character, were so well received by audiences, that Amazon confirmed that she was returning in the third season when it was announced that it would be adapting the book Persuader, which she doesn’t appear in. While fans are concerned about what it would mean for her dynamic with Reacher if she leaves for her own show, there’s no character in the Reacher universe better suited to helm a spin-off. However, it is still unclear what exactly the spin-off will be about, as it is still in the early stages of development. 

Cast, crew, and release window for the Reacher spin-off

Aside from Sten in the titular role reports from Deadline say that Alan Ritchson will also be making guest appearances as Jack Reacher. No other cast have been confirmed. 

Nick Santora, the showrunner of Reacher, will be teaming up with Nicholas Wooton to produce and show-run Neagley. The two previously worked together on Prison Break. Other executive producers on Neagley include Lee Child, Don Granger, and Lisa Kussner, who all worked on Reacher, as well as Dana Goldberg, David Ellison, and Matt Thunell from Skydance Television, the same company that works on Reacher. 

There isn’t an official release date or any detailed news on the plot yet, as it is yet to be greenlit by Amazon. However, reports say that development is on the fast track. Amazon has also had previous success with turning popular shows into franchises such as the various spin-offs for The Boys.

More and more of our favorite literary works are making the transition to film and television, with varying degrees of success. Prime Video’s take on the iconic Reacher books is only a few seasons in, but it already serves as an example of the genre’s very best.

Already approved for a third season, the action-packed adaptation boasts a stellar score on Rotten Tomatoes. Its first two seasons are almost universally popular, and — while the team behind the production certainly deserves plenty of credit — most of the recognition belongs to the books behind the critically acclaimed series. Lee Child’s Reacher books were hugely popular long before Amazon set its sights on the story, and the strong narrative elements sprinkled through the robust series are the core of what makes every Reacher story great.

Should Prime Video continue to dazzle with its adaptation, it could keep going for another handful of seasons. There are a full 26 books in the collection, after all — and that’s not counting the short stories — leaving Amazon with a huge number of options for future storylines, characters, and content. 

How to read the Reacher books in order

You can enjoy the daunting library of Reacher books in pretty much any order that strikes your fancy, but the most streamlined way to read them is in order of release. Each entry works fine as a standalone, so feel free to skip stories here and there as you see fit, but if you want to the ranks of true Reacher fans, here’s how to go about it.

• Killing Floor (1997)
• Die Trying (1998)
• Tripwire (1999)
• Running Blind (2000)
• Echo Burning (2001)
• Without Fail (2002)
• Persuader (2003)
• The Enemy (2004)
• One Shot (2005)
• The Hard Way (2006)
• Bad Luck and Trouble (2007)
• Nothing to Lose (2008)
• Gone Tomorrow (2009)
• 61 Hours (2010)
• Worth Dying For (2010)
• The Affair (2011)
• A Wanted Man (2012)
• Never Go Back (2013)
• Personal (2014)
• Make Me (2015)
• Night School (2016)
• The Midnight Line (2017)
• Past Tense (2018)
• Blue Moon (2019)
• The Sentinel (2020)
• Better Off Dead (2021)
• No Plan B (2022) 
• The Secret (2023)
• In Too Deep (2024)

A series of short stories and novellas also include the character of Jack Reacher, for those looking to truly obsess over the man. 

• Second Son (2011)
• Deep Down (2012)
• High Heat (2013)
• Not A Drill (2014)
• Small Wars (2015)
• The Christmas Scorpion (2017)
• Too Much Time (2018)
• The Fourth Man (2019)

So there you have it, more Jack Reacher than anyone could possibly need in their life. That said, these books are very silly fun, and to this day we’re obsessed with the size of the man’s “Thanksgiving turkey” hands.

Now that Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One is out and trending, annihilating the competition at the box office, it’s easy to see why the Mission: Impossible franchise, starring the iconic Tom Cruise as elite-spy Ethan Hunt, has constantly been the gold standard for action-packed espionage movies. Fans of the spy thriller genre are always in for a real treat thanks to its blend of high-stakes intrigue, daring stunts, high-tech gadgetry, and nonstop action. 

It’s feasible, though, that you’ll be left wanting more after watching every installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Fortunately, the film industry is rife with other entertaining spy thrillers and action extravaganzas that, in their own ways, embody the qualities that give rise to great cinema. Whether it’s the world-spanning escapades, the seemingly impossible assignments, or the murky realm of international espionage, these movies also capture the enticing and thrill-inducing nature of the Mission: Impossible series.

Atomic Blonde (2017)

The 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City inspired David Leitch’s iconic film Atomic Blonde. A beautiful, fast-paced thriller set in Berlin in the waning days of the Cold War, Atomic Blonde stars Charlize Theron as the tough MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton. In the film, Broughton is partnered with the eccentric station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) in Berlin to find a missing list of double agents. Broughton demonstrates her abilities as a cold and effective spy as she maneuvers through a labyrinth of lies and betrayal.

Atomic Blonde is known for its highly stylized action sequences, sometimes in long, masterfully choreographed single takes. The fight scene on the stairs is particularly noteworthy since it showcases Broughton’s devastating combat skills and Theron’s dedication to doing her own stunts. The plot of Atomic Blonde, like that of Mission: Impossible, is intricate and involves espionage, double-crosses, and dangerous missions. But the picture stands out thanks to its unique visual style, rooted in 1980s aesthetics, seen in everything from the neon-soaked color palette to the soundtrack replete with great ’80s classics.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Based on John le Carré’s 1974 novel, Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a Cold War spy thriller from 2011. Gary Oldman (as George Smiley) leads an all-star cast including Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ciarán Hinds. A former spy named George Smiley finds himself drawn back into espionage when tasked with finding a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). 

Unlike the high-octane action of the Mission: Impossible series, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is methodical and cerebral, focusing on psychological tension, human interactions, and complex plotting. In contrast to Ethan Hunt, who is frequently at the center of exciting action situations, Smiley works covertly, using his wits and deduction to untangle the web of lies. The film’s suspense isn’t built through car chases or fistfights but rather through compelling conversations despite their seemingly calm aura.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman’s Kingsman: The Secret Service is an action comedy based on the Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons comic book series of the same name. The film is a tongue-in-cheek homage to the traditional espionage genre, bringing a fresh mix of humor, over-the-top action, and engaging characters. Taron Egerton plays Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, a young Londoner with no direction in life, who the Kingsman recruits. 

Harry Hart (Colin Firth), an experienced Kingsman agent and Eggsy’s mentor, sees potential in him despite the latter’s disadvantaged upbringing. The story intensifies as Eggsy prepares to become a Kingsman and a megalomaniacal tech millionaire Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) threatens to destroy the planet. High-stakes global threats, secret operations, and spectacular action sequences are the bread and butter of Kingsman: The Secret Service, much like in the Mission: Impossible films. It stands apart, though, with its sarcastic spin on standard espionage film clichés.

Salt (2010)

Phillip Noyce and Kurt Wimmer helmed and wrote the script for the action thriller Salt. Angelina Jolie plays CIA operative Evelyn Salt, who goes on the run after being falsely suspected of being a Russian spy. The film opens with a defector claiming Salt is a Russian sleeper agent working for a covert American intelligence agency. After having her loyalties questioned, Salt goes on the run to clear her identity and prove her worth. The more she investigates, the more the boundaries between friend and adversary become hazy.

The plot of Salt is full of unexpected turns, and the spectator is left guessing about Salt’s loyalties right up until the very end. As a highly trained agent, Evelyn Salt can perform incredible physical feats and think quickly on her feet, just like Ethan Hunt. The action scenes in Salt are also excellent along with the physicality and ferocity of Jolie’s performance, which is on par with Tom Cruise’s. 

Jack Reacher franchise (2012-present)

Because Tom Cruise wasn’t done impressing us as Ethan, he became Jack Reacher, a former U.S. Army Major turned vagabond who is lured into deadly investigations thanks to his investigative training and sense of justice in the Jack Reacher film series, adapted from Lee Child’s best-selling novels. These films, like the Mission: Impossible series, are action-thrillers at their core, with plots revolving around intrigue, conspiracy, and daring operations. 

However, the tone and themes of these two franchises are very different. On one hand, Ethan Hunt works with a team in Mission: Impossible, facing global dangers with cutting-edge technology and intricate preparations. In contrast, the Jack Reacher films center on Reacher’s solo, up-close and personal investigations. Reacher works primarily independently, using his wits, fighting skills, and moral com to solve problems. His fights are typically smaller and more local, but their effects can be seen further afield. 

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Spy thriller The Man from U.N.C.L.E., directed by Guy Ritchie, is based on the 1960s TV series of the same name, and it serves up a hefty dose of Cold War-era intrigue and charm. While Mission: Impossible is well-known for its high-stakes action sequences and espionage, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. takes a more light-hearted, amusing, and stylish approach to the genre without sacrificing any of the thrill or adrenaline. As the Cold War heats up, CIA spy Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) must put aside their differences and work together to stop a mystery worldwide criminal organization in this action thriller.

Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki) leads this ruthless group actively seeking to spread nuclear weapons worldwide. A common theme between The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible is the importance of putting together a diverse group of specialists. Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), the daughter of a missing German scientist, is the team’s third member and the key to infiltrating the criminal organization. The film revolves around the chemistry between the three leads, who share witty repartee, unexpected friendships, and a touch of romantic tension.

Inception (2010)

In 2010, Christopher Nolan released his ground-breaking science fiction film, Inception. While not your standard spy thriller, the concept of corporate espionage by infiltrating dreams offers a fresh take on the genre. In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, an expert “extractor” who steals people’s secrets by invading their dreams. However, Cobb’s ultimate aim does not include extraction but rather “inception” — the virtually impossible feat of putting an idea into someone’s subconscious. 

This premise sets the stage for an action-packed adventure that challenges the viewer’s conception of time and space. There are parallels between Ethan Hunt’s IMF squad in Mission: Impossible and Cobb’s team of specialists. From the team’s point man, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), to its architect, Ariadne (Elliot Page), each member contributes something unique to the table. Their job — to plant an idea in the mind of their target so that they think it’s their brainchild — is just as impossible as any mission from the Mission: Impossible series.

John Wick Franchise (2014-present)

The John Wick film series, featuring Keanu Reeves in the title role, has won accolades and box office success for its thrilling action scenes and gripping story. It’s not a classic espionage thriller like Mission: Impossible or James Bond, but it has some of the same characteristics, such as thrilling action sequences, high stakes, and an undercurrent of a hidden world operating beneath the surface of society. The protagonist, John Wick, is a former assassin who, after suffering a personal tragedy, finds himself dragged back into the vicious underworld. 

The films are famed for their “gun-fu” style — a fusion of martial arts and gunplay — which has received widespread acclaim for choreography and execution. Keanu Reeves’s portrayal of the stoic and unyielding assassin is fundamental to the series’ success, making Wick famous in modern cinema. The broad and fascinating world-building in John Wick is one of the film’s distinguishing elements. The movies depict a criminal underworld that is highly organized, with its laws, currency, and places that are all interconnected in a way that is reminiscent of a secret society.

The Bourne franchise (2002-present)

Matt Damon’s portrayal of memory-impaired spy Jason Bourne in the Bourne films establishes a distinct niche for the series within the broader subgenre of spy thrillers. The protagonists of both series are competent operatives caught up in a labyrinth of international espionage, and this is perhaps the most striking connection between them. As an Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent, Ethan Hunt demonstrates ingenuity, loyalty, and resolve throughout the Mission: Impossible series. 

In contrast, Bourne introduces us to Jason Bourne, a former CIA assassin suffering from amnesia and desperately trying to reconstruct his past while being hounded by his former employers. These movies share a setting: the murky, treacherous realm of covert operations. Similar to how Ethan Hunt’s superiors and colleagues repeatedly betray him in Mission: Impossible, Jason Bourne is the target of a massive scheme within the CIA. Both film series are propelled by internal conflict and double-dealing, which adds drama and intrigue.  

The James Bond franchise (1962-present)

The James Bond films are considered the peak of the espionage thriller genre, and they share many similarities with the Mission: Impossible movies, despite having their own unique styles and appeal. James Bond has entertained audiences since debuting in 1962 and like the Mission: Impossible flicks, the Bond movies continue to do so by providing an exciting blend of espionage, villainy, exoticism, technology, and romance. Several captivating performers have left their mark on the James Bond canon, from the timeless charm of Sean Connery to the modern grit of Daniel Craig. 

Similar to Mission: Impossible, the James Bond films feature complex plot twists, high-stakes missions, and threats on a global scale. Both feature jaw-dropping action scenes and set pieces. They are known for their ground-breaking action sequences, elaborate chase scenes, and iconic gadgets, with the former setting the standard with its gravity-defying stunts and the latter for its amazing practical effects.

Like the Mission: Impossible films, the James Bond movies take place across the globe and are rife with international intrigue. Because of this similarity, both genres tend to provide a visual feast of far-flung locations and societies, which adds to the epic scope of the stories they tell.

Tom Cruise doesn’t taste box office defeat all that often, but when he did in the case of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, nobody was happier about it than creator Lee Child.

There had been plenty of controversy when the diminutive action icon was first cast in the role to begin with seeing as he’s roughly a foot shorter than the title hero is on the page, and it’s mind-blowing to think that Cruise secured the part over Dwayne Johnson given the sheer size discrepancy between the two.

Nonetheless, Christopher McQuarrie’s opening chapter was solid throwback thriller that drew strong reviews and turned a decent-sized profit, only for Never Go Back to immediately suffer from the law of diminishing returns. A $162 million take at the box office was poor by Cruise’s standards, while a 37 percent Rotten Tomatoes score was even worse.

Ultimately, any plans for a threequel were scrapped – much to the delight of author Child – with Prime Video stepping in to reboot the property and cast the much more accurate Alan Ritchson as the lead, which culminated in Reacher scoring a rapid-fire second season renewal.

That doesn’t mean Cruise isn’t still a draw, though, and the fact Never Go Back has returned to prominence yet again after FlixPatrol outed it as one of the most-watched titles on Paramount Plus in countless countries across the globe is only the latest in a long line of reminders that even in his 60s, he remains must-watch when he’s getting his hands dirty in an actioner.

Stepping in to replace Tom Cruise is about as daunting a task as you can think of, but people were genuinely thrilled when Alan Ritchson was announced to be headlining Prime Video’s episodic literary adaptation Reacher.

While the Top Gun and Mission: Impossible legend steered his own Jack Reacher to a decent amount of money at the box office amidst strong reviews, the wheels came off when sequel Never Go Back rolled around. Not only that, but there were a lot of people – including author Lee Child – who couldn’t get on board with the diminutive star playing the hulking character.

On the other hand, calling Ritchson a sizeable slab of beef would be an understatement, but the actor revealed during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show that he wrote a respectful letter of appreciation to his predecessor, only to be told that handing it over to the A-list megastar may not be the best course of action.

“You know, Don Granger, who runs film at Skydance, produces all of Tom Cruise’s stuff, has been partners with Tom Cruise for many years and helped put this together with Tom, is my boss and is a producer on the show. I said, “Should I reach out to Tom out of respect?” I wrote him a letter and I was like, “Should I give this to him? Would it be inappropriate?” And he goes, “I think it’s best — he wants to just move on from this, he gave it his blessing, he’s totally fine with what’s happening now, I think we should just leave it.”

So, no, I never talked to him about it. I just felt it was a respectful thing to do. “Dear Mr. Cruise, I appreciate what you did for the brand.” I think a big part of why Reacher is so successful is the eyes he brought to it. Say what you want about whether he was right for Reacher or not, most people know about Reacher because of Mr. Cruise. I have a huge debt of gratitude for him and what he brought to the show.”

Any plans for Cruise’s third outing as the military investigator were abandoned after Never Go Back fell short on a critical and commercial level, whereas Ritchson’s Reacher was renewed for a second season in double-quick time, so it worked out pretty well for everyone involved in the long run.

Outside of being A-list superstars with a penchant for blockbuster action epics, there doesn’t seem to be a lot in common between Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise, especially in the size department.

It would be an understatement to say The Rock is somewhat larger and beefier than the Mission: Impossible figurehead, so you can’t imagine them being in the running for the same sort of roles, never mind the fact Johnson is way too careful to even contemplate doing something half as deranged as the stunts Cruise has been making his bread and butter for decades.

And yet, they were both denied the exact same role within the space of a few years, albeit for very different reasons. When it was first announced that Jack Reacher was in development, Johnson fought hard to secure himself the part, and he’d have been an obvious contender given that he matches the literary creation’s imposing physicality.

In fact, the former WWE star has been open in itting his regret at missing out on the part, while Cruise ended up coming under heavy fire from fans of the source material when he ended up being tasked to headline regular collaborator Christopher McQuarrie’s gritty thriller. Obviously, he’s about foot shorter than Reacher is on the page, but the end product turned out to be a solid old-fashioned thriller.

Sequel Never Go Back was a massive disappointment, though, leading author Lee Child to demand Cruise be booted out. Things didn’t need to go that far when the underwhelming reception saw any plans for a third installment shelved, opening the door for the suitably hefty Alan Ritchson to step in for popular Prime Video series Reacher, which has a second season on the way.

You’d never imagine Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise competing for the same part only for both of them to end up with nothing, but Hollywood has a funny way of throwing up coincidences exactly like it.

A Tom Cruise action thriller that yielded above average reviews from critics, pulled in $218 million at the box office on a $60 million budget, and ended up getting a sequel doesn’t sound like the sort of movie people would struggle to get on board with, but there was a lot of folks out there who could never get over the diminutive star headlining Jack Reacher.

He may be cinema’s most infamous daredevil that’s staked his reputation risking life and limb in the name of our entertainment, but he’s also about a foot shorter than Lee Child’s literary favorite, something a huge percentage of fans couldn’t see past. The author was initially ive, but he too changed his tune eventually, although we can all agree Alan Ritchson fits the bill and then some in Prime Video’s popular reboot series Reacher.

Sequel Never Go Back may have underwhelmed to the point of killing Cruise’s franchise entirely, but the opening installment remains a refreshingly old school bone-cruncher that leans into its hard-boiled trappings to great effect, with Werner Herzog hamming it up as the villain of the piece a welcome addition to any project.

10 years later, and Jack Reacher still packs enough of a punch to put pedal to the metal on streaming, having cracked the most-watched charts on both Prime Video and Paramount Plus this week, per FlixPatrol. Nowhere near Cruise’s best run-and-gun adventure, but far from the worst either, the A-list megastar’s mid-tier offerings are still a great deal more entertaining than plenty of the dreck getting pumped out by Hollywood on an annual basis.

Amazon’s Reacher tv series, a new take on the Jack Reacher veteran character that Tom Cruise once played, is getting a second season, and just became the first Amazon series ever to top Nielsen’s streaming service content rankings.

Today Variety reported the Alan Ritchson-helmed project came in at the top spot on the list from Feb. 7-13, with 1.5 billion minutes watched during its first full week of availability. Nielsen noted the audience for the project was 58 percent male, but also noted it had a younger demographic of streamers, in the 18-34 and 35-49 age ranges.

Projects just below it on the top 10 included Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias, Ozark, and The Book of Boba Fett on Disney Plus. Ritchson reacted very positively to the news, and said via Instagram today the series is open to every person.

“There’s one line from Killing Floor (the book season 1 of Reacher is based on) I vehemently disagree with. Lee Child writes, ‘if you see a bandwagon it’s too late to get on.’ Well this bandwagon belongs to Reacher, so you can bet it’s big enough for all of us. Thanks for making Reacher the most watched show in the world. If you haven’t binged it yet … all aboard.”

No information is public on when a second season will be available, as of this story being filed. For Amazon, the pickup was obvious; as we reported last month, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said the show had a phenomenal start.

“The phenomenal debut of Reacher is a testament to Lee Child’s creation of one of entertainment’s most well-known heroes, Nick Santora’s original approach to the storytelling, Alan’s brilliant embodiment of the character and the dedication of the talented people who worked tirelessly in front of and behind the camera to make such an undeniably binge worthy series.”

Christopher McQuarrie’s old school action thriller Jack Reacher fared pretty well with critics and did a solid turn at the box office back in 2012, but fans of Lee Child’s literary creation could never reconcile with the fact the A-list megastar was almost a foot shorter than the character is depicted on the printed page.

Their discontent wasn’t helped when sequel Never Go Back delivered a vastly inferior follow up, but ers have been much more receptive to Amazon’s recent episodic reboot Reacher, which cast the hulking Alan Ritchson in the lead role.

Child isn’t above throwing some shade in the direction of Cruise, having previously claimed he was too old to be making action movies long before Mission: Impossible 7 even started shooting, and he’s at it again in a roundabout way after praising Ritchson’s dimensions in an interview with Metro.

“There was criticism from the book fans, because they had built up a very clear image of what Reacher should look like. It just became a different proposition and I guess the opportunity of thinking, ‘Alright, we can get a much bigger guy so the book fans are going to be happy, but we’re also focusing on the non-book readers. What do they need"> import PhotoSwipeLightbox from 'https://unpkg.com/photoswipe/dist/photoswipe-lightbox.esm.js'; const lightbox = new PhotoSwipeLightbox({ // may select multiple "galleries" gallery: '#wgtc_gallery-1106611', // Elements within gallery (slides) children: 'a', // setup PhotoSwipe Core dynamic import pswpModule: () => import('https://unpkg.com/photoswipe') }); lightbox.init();

There were initially plans in place for a third Reacher starring Cruise, but after Never Go Back earned just $162 million at the box office on a $96 million budget, any ideas were shelved in favor of the rebooted streaming show. Child is no doubt happier as a result, but we’ll just have to wait and see if Ritchson’s interpretation of the former military investigator is brought back for a second season.

]]> https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/jack-reacher-creator-throws-shade-at-tiny-tom-cruise/feed/ 0 1145569 https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/a-low-key-tom-cruise-thriller-is-stomping-up-the-netflix-charts/ https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/a-low-key-tom-cruise-thriller-is-stomping-up-the-netflix-charts/#comments Fri, 26 Nov 2021 10:23:16 +0000 https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/?p=1102998 Tom Cruise does not make small movies, and even when he does lower the scope and scale somewhat, he's still churning out broad, crowd-pleasing genre films. The actor hasn't starred in anything resembling a straightforward drama since 2007's Lion for Lambs, and that doesn't look as though it's going to change anytime soon.]]>

Tom Cruise does not make small movies, and even when he does lower the scope and scale somewhat, he’s still churning out broad, crowd-pleasing genre films. The actor hasn’t starred in anything resembling a straightforward drama since 2007’s Lion for Lambs, and that doesn’t look as though it’s going to change anytime soon.

In fact, if you include the seventh and eighth installments in the Mission: Impossible franchise and Top Gun: Maverick, then only five of Cruise’s sixteen most recent movies have cost less than $100 million to produce, with just two of them coming in with budgets under $75 million.

Of those two, Jack Reacher also marked the debut of the only character outside of Ethan Hunt that the action icon has ever played more than once, at least until he returns as Pete Mitchell next summer. It additionally saw Christopher McQuarrie direct his first film in twelve years after being hand-picked by regular collaborator Cruise, a decision that’s worked out very well for both parties.

Jack Reacher is a breath of fresh air in the 21st Century Cruise filmography for being an old school, stripped-down thriller that doesn’t hold any airs or graces about being an expansive end-of-the-world story. It’s a lean, mean and hugely entertaining machine, one that’s been rapidly ri the Netflix most-watched list to crack the Top 10, as per FlixPatrol.

]]> https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/a-low-key-tom-cruise-thriller-is-stomping-up-the-netflix-charts/feed/ 6 1102998 https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/dwayne-johnson-tom-cruise-action-movie-role/ Sat, 11 Apr 2020 18:37:47 +0000 https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/?p=890735 Tom Cruise took a lot of flak when he was initially cast as Jack Reacher almost a decade ago, for the simple reason that he was about a foot shorter than the character has always been described in the books. It doesn't matter how good of an actor you are, nobody would be able to convince an audience that the world's biggest movie star has suddenly experienced a mid-life growth spurt.]]>

Tom Cruise took a lot of flak when he was initially cast as Jack Reacher almost a decade ago, for the simple reason that he was about a foot shorter than the character has always been described in the books. It doesn’t matter how good of an actor you are, nobody would be able to convince an audience that the world’s biggest movie star has suddenly experienced a mid-life growth spurt. Diminutive stature or not though, Jack Reacher was nonetheless a solidly entertaining action thriller that fully embraced the old school, and follow-up Never Go Back remains the only sequel that Cruise has made in his entire career outside of the Mission: Impossible franchise. At least until Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters in December. But when it comes to musclebound actors that stand six and a half feet tall that suit Reacher’s profile, there’s really only one man that fits the bill. And sure enough, Dwayne Johnson itted in a recent social media Q&A that Jack Reacher was one of the few times in his career that he’d gone after a role and been unsuccessful.

“There are actors that can vie for a particular role because it allows for them to have a certain look, skin color, size, etc. Fortunately for me, there aren’t a lot guys that look like me. So all of my roles, from the beginning of my career, I’ve been a lucky son of a b*tch that they’ve been created and designed for me. Except Jack Reacher.”

The idea of The Rock and Tom Cruise being in contention for the same role is a funny thought given the size discrepancy, but despite being much closer in stature to Lee Child’s literary creation, Johnson itted that the bigger name was always going to win out in the end.

“Now, this was ten years ago, and I was in a much different place I recognize that. Tom was the biggest movie star in the world, and I was not. I got the call saying, ‘Hey, you didn’t get the role’. Look, I didn’t even know if I had a shot for it, but the people around me at the time made me think that they did. I felt like I did. I felt like, ‘Why not me?’.”

Luckily for Dwayne Johnson, he is in fact the biggest movie star in the world right now, and can pretty much do whatever he pleases. But when it came to casting Jack Reacher when the title role was up for grabs, they were always much more likely to opt for Tom Cruise over the guy that had just starred in The Tooth Fairy.

]]> 890735 https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/jack-reacher-creator-tom-cruise-action-movies/ https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/jack-reacher-creator-tom-cruise-action-movies/#respond Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:10:34 +0000 https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/?p=849432 Clearly, Lee Child hasn't seen Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The author behind the Jack Reacher novels was never the biggest fan of the relatively diminutive Tom Cruise playing a character that was written as a hulking human being, but now Child has gone a step further by claiming that the 57 year-old Cruise is too old to be starring in action movies.]]>

Clearly, Lee Child hasn’t seen Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The author behind the Jack Reacher novels was never the biggest fan of the relatively diminutive Tom Cruise playing a character that was written as a hulking human being, but now Child has gone a step further by claiming that the 57 year-old Cruise is too old to be starring in action movies. While there may be a time for every aging action icon to hang up their boots for good, as recent reactions to both Rambo: Last Blood and Terminator: Dark Fate seem to have indicated for Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the logic hardly applies to Cruise here. After all, the actor is renowned for performing his own stunts no matter how dangerous they may be, whether it be scaling the world’s tallest building or learning how to pilot a helicopter for a high-octane chase scene, all in the name of entertaining audiences.

Cruise may not have been the right fit physically for playing Jack Reacher, but the first movie and sequel Never Go Back delivered two solid-if-unspectacular genre flicks, that allowed the star to play a more grounded role than the likes of Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt. However, after the second installment underperformed at the box office, Reacher went back to the drawing board and is set to be rebooted, with Child also itting that Cruise wasn’t too happy about the news, either.

“He had his own investment in it, he was going to argue against it. It sounds extremely patronizing but I think it’s good for him. He’s too old for this stuff. He’s 57, he needs to move on, transition to being a character actor. He could get another 20 years out of it. He has the talent. He’s a terrific guy, very considerate, good fun.”

Clearly, Tom Cruise didn’t get the memo, as he’s set to shoot the seventh and eighth installments of the Mission: Impossible series back-to-back, so who knows what kind of insane stunts he’s got planned in order to raise the bar even higher. The Jack Reacher movies marked a diversion from the actor’s usual big-budget fare, but with Mission and Top Gun next on the agenda, it seems that the aging action star is content to rely on the franchise flicks that made him one of the biggest names in the business.

]]> https://wegotthiscovered.play1002.com/movies/jack-reacher-creator-tom-cruise-action-movies/feed/ 0 849432