Jack Reacher Books In Order
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Chronological Order of Jack Reacher Books
Publication Order of Jack Reacher Short Stories/Novellas
| Second Son | (2011) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Deep Down | (2012) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| High Heat | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Not a Drill | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Small Wars | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Too Much Time | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Christmas Scorpion | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Fourth Man | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Cleaning the Gold | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| New Kid in Town | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Jack Reacher Collections
| No Middle Name | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Jack Reacher Miscellaneous Books
| Jack Reacher's Rules | (2012) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Jack Reacher Biography:
Jack Reacher is the lead character and the protagonist in the series of books by British author Jim Grant who writes under the pseudonym of Lee Child. The books in the series follow Reacher as he goes through a number of exploits in his world. Reacher has been called one of “this century’s most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes” by the Washington Post. While Lee Child himself has been called a master of his craft by publications such as Entertainment Weekly and the series has drawn quite a following.
Killing Floor: This is the first book in the Jack Reacher series. Child was awarded with both the Anthony Award and Barry Award for Best First Novel. The book starts with Jack Reacher getting off of a Greyhound bus in the town of Margrave, Georgia for the simple reason that he heard that a blues musician that he liked had died in that town.
However, to his surprise he is arrested shortly after on the orders of the local sheriff. The sheriff claims that he saw Reacher leave the scene of a murder and arrests him for that crime. What they don’t know is what Reacher is capable of. Reacher meets the detective, Finlay, and a female officer named Roscoe who believes that Reacher is innocent. Jack will work together with them on the case to bring the right killer
to justice.
Die Trying: This book sees Jack Reacher heading to Chicago where he is witness to a woman being kidnapped off of the street. He’s in the wrong place at the wrong time which leads to him being kidnapped with her. The two are chained together and locked in the back of the van as it heads to an unknown destination. The men who kidnapped them are looking for an impossible ransom. The woman is worth a lot of money to someone and they just might get it.
However, the bad luck turns out to belong to the kidnappers. Jack may have been at the wrong place at the wrong time, but they kidnapped the wrong guy. Jack will do what it takes to save them both from this ordeal – or die trying
Tripwire: Jack is in Key West trying to enjoy the weather and the anonymity, far away from his life in the military police. That anonymity is soon dashed when a stranger show up looking for him with a lot of questions. Jack has questions of his own, but he won’t get any answers from him as the man has just turned up dead.
Reacher will leave Key West behind and head on a trail back to New York where the dangerous corners of his own past await him. A merciless killer lurks and Reacher is the only one who can bring him down.
Running Blind / The Visitor: Jack is trying to settle into a house in New York that he recently inherited from an old mentor. He’s never been one for being tied down though and feels like the house may be tying him down.
Meanwhile, a dangerous serial killer is making their way across the country. Everywhere they go women are being murdered with no evidence left behind, no wounds, no clues, and no motive. These are the perfect crimes and the authorities are struggling to stop them. However, there is one thing that links together all of the victims: each of these women knew Jack Reacher.
Reacher is out to find the killer, but he is running blind.
Echo Burning: Reacher is traveling across the scorching Texas desert when he ends up catching a rife from a woman. Her name is Carmen Greer and she has quite the story to tell him. The woman tells him that the only reason that she stopped is because of her problem: her husband. He is getting out of prison soon and she’s afraid of what will happen to her. She’s looking for someone to kill her husband and she thinks that man is Reacher.
Reacher doesn’t agree to those terms and even tries to escape, but eventually decides to at least look into the situation. It’s a decision that could cost him his life.
Without Fail: The story begins in Atlantic City where Jack has just arrived after hitching across the country. Upon his arrival, he meets a Secret Service agent, M.E. Froelich, who once dated Reacher’s brother Joe.
She needs Reacher’s help with a job to assassinate the Vice President of the United States, theoretically. Froelich needs his help to find the holes in her system because there is a covert group who plans to do it for real. The would-be assassins have thought of nearly everything in their plan to kill, but there’s one thing they didn’t plan for: Reacher.
Persuader: Reacher is on a seemingly never ending quest to right wrongs and rewrite his past. He’s working, unofficially, of course, with the DEA when this story begins to bring down a man suspected of smuggling drugs, but he has his own motivations as well. The plan is to stage a kidnapping of Zachary Beck’s son, Richard, to ingratiate Reacher with them. The plan works and Reacher is soon hired as the man’s bodyguard.
The move will send Jack into a dark world of secrecy and violence as he works towards his ultimate goal of finishing some unfinished business form his past.
The Enemy: On New Year’s Day, 1990, a two-star general was found dead in a North Carolina motel. The only thing missing from his room was his briefcase, but nobody seems to know what was in it. Reacher is called in to control the situation. However, hours later the general’s wife is also murdered and it’s only the beginning.
Somewhere in the U.S. Army, someone is trying to set up Reacher as the fall guy in this case. Some men may go down without a fight, but Reacher is not that man. He’ll fight against an enemy he didn’t know he had and a conspiracy darker than he ever could’ve imagined.
One Shot: The book starts with six shots and five people are left dead. A city is thrown into a state of terror and the police need to work fast to apprehend the killer.
They do just that and make a quick arrest, but the man claims to be innocent. Worse the police, he’s asking for help from one man: Jack Reacher. Reacher heads to town and he knows the shooter well, a trained military sniper who would never miss a shot. That extra bullet is telling to him and he knows that something is not right here. Reacher teams up with a beautiful young defense lawyer as they work to clear the name of this man and find the real enemy who is pulling the strings here.
Whoever the enemy is, Reacher knows that the only way to stop him is to match his ruthlessness and cunning, and beat him at his own dangerous game.
The Hard Way: Jack Reacher sits in a Manhattan coffee shop when he notices a man unlock a Mercedes and drive away. Twenty four hours later, he’s in the same coffee shop and is approached by men looking for answers. The men take him to Edward Lane who wants to know Jack’s description of the man and offers him a job: one million dollars to find his wife and daughter.
As Reacher is on the trail of these vicious kidnappers, he’ll learn the dark secrets of his employer and find that he’s in deep, but it’s too late to stop now.
Bad Luck and Trouble: With no phone and no address, Reacher thinks he’s isolated from the world and his former life, but it’s never that far from him. A woman from his old unit has put up a signal that only the eight members of his former team of army investigators would know so he contacts her.
What she has to tell him is a story of a man they served with’s brutal death and the killer isn’t finished. Reacher gets together with the other survivors of his elite team as they try to put together the pieces of this puzzle. Their trail leads them to more missing comrades, the city of Las Vegas, and the dark world of international terrorism.
Nothing to Lose: Like the singer in the classic Suicidal Tendencies song just wanted a Pepsi, Reacher just wants a cup of coffee. Just one cup of coffee, but he ends up finding himself in a world of trouble.
Reacher finds himself between two Colorado towns: Hope and Despair. He arrives in town and within minutes a deputy is in the hospital, sending Reacher back to Hope. Here, he will set up a base of operations against Despair as the town is doing something that nobody is supposed to see. A group of well-trained soldiers guards the facility.
A beautiful cop who runs Hope joins forces with Reacher to break open the secrets of Despair and expose their connection to the war that is killing Americans.
Gone Tomorrow: It’s 2AM in New York City when Reacher is riding a subway car uptown. There are five other passengers on the subway and one of them isn’t okay. If you think Reacher isn’t going to do something about that, you haven’t been paying attention.
The passenger is Susan Mark, an average woman with a big secret. She’s being watched by people in Washington, California, and Afghanistan, and her watchers all have one thing in common: they are lying to Reacher and it could be enough to get him killed. Reacher will end up fighting against soldiers from all sides of this shadow war, but he won’t stop until he comes face-to-face with his worst enemy.
61 Hours: A woman in a small town is standing up for justice in a small town. She is set to testify in a big case, but there are forces that don’t want her to make it to the trial.
Reacher ends up in South Dakota after a bus crash in a snowstorm which leads him to helping her out. It’s a good thing too because there is a proficient assassin making his way to the small town, a killer who never misses. The enemies he faces will be stronger than he imagined, but so is the woman he is risking it all to keep alive.
Worth Dying For: In the corn country of Nebraska, Reacher finds himself in a world of trouble. First, he meets the Duncans who have been terrorizing the entire county which means that they are immediately on Reacher’s bad side. However, there is also a cold case of a missing child, decades old at this point, that captures his attention and puts him into Reacher-mode.
Jack tries to look into the case, but the Duncans want him gone. They are awaiting a shipment that is already late which puts them at risk of angering their more powerful customers. A normal man would leave this town and its troubles behind him, but Jack Reacher is not a normal man.
The Affair: This is the sixteenth entry in the Jack Reacher series. This book is actually a jump back in time to 1997 when Reacher was still in the U.S. Army. The story sees the elite military cop sent to Carter Crossing, Mississippi where he is sent to uncover all that he can after a murder. A young woman died and there was a cover-up.
The evidence points to a soldier from a local military base who has someone powerful friends that could help to cover up something like this. Reacher meets with the local sheriff who is looking for justice in this case, but the two are uncertain if they can trust each other. As Reacher looks to uncover the truth, there are others trying to bury it forever. He’ll end up uncovering a conspiracy that threatens his faith in his mission and turns him into the scary man that readers know well.
A Wanted Man: This book starts with Reacher in the back of a car, hitching his way to Chicago. He’s in the guy with three others, one of which is telling stories that don’t quite add up. Meanwhile, an hour behind them lies the body of a man who was stabbed to death at a gas station. It was no ordinary crime, it was the work of professionals, and now the FBI has descended on the station to claim the victim.
All Reacher was looking for was a ride, but he now finds himself into something much bigger: a massive conspiracy that will make him a threat to both sides. What they don’t know is just how big of a threat he is.
Never Go Back: Reacher returns to northeast Virginia, the headquarters of his old unit, and the closest place he’s ever had to a home. He’s here to meet Major Susan Turner, the new commanding officer, who he has only spoken to on the phone. However, as he heads to her desk he finds someone else in the seat.
He quickly learns that she is in trouble and he is too. He’ll have to fight his way out, find Turner, and clear both of their names as the Army, the FBI, the D.C. Metro police, and some unidentified thugs are hot on his tail.
Personal: Reacher may have left the Army, but it’s never left him and now he’s being called back into action. Someone has taken a shot at the president of France in the City of Light and the shooter was American. The angle that the shot was taken at was so exceptional that there are very few people on the planets who could’ve made the shot.
One of those men is John Kott, an American marksman who went rogue. Kott is out of prison and unaccounted for, likely headed for the G8 Summit to take out other world leaders. Reacher is the man who stopped him before and now he’ll have to do it again.
Make Me: When Reacher heads to a town called Mother’s Rest all he wants to know is why the town is called that, but no one will tell him. Mother’s Rest is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere filled with watchful people. A woman named Michelle Chang mistakes Jack for her missing partner. He doesn’t have much else to do so he sets out to help her find him.
He thinks it won’t be a tough job, but soon finds himself racing through LA, Chicago, Phoenix, and San Francisco, going against thugs and assassins at every stop. The search will ultimately force Reacher to confront one of the worst nightmares that he could possibly imagine.
Night School: This is another flashback book that takes place in 1996 and sees Reacher sent back to school by the army. He’s one of three in the class with the other two being an FBI agent and a CIA analyst. Like Reacher, they are both wondering why they were sent to this school. They all find out when they learn of a Jihadist sleeper cell in Germany that has received an unexpected visitor with a message.
The message is what draws their attention as the courier states that an American wants one hundred million dollars. They don’t know who is asking, who they are asking from, or what they are giving in return; and this group is tasked with finding all that out. Time isn’t on their side and all they know is that they need to find this man before an epic act of terrorism is committed. Their mission will send them from Langley to Hamburg, Jalalabad to Kiev as they try to stop this act of terror.
The Midnight Line: Reacher makes his way to small Wisconsin town where he notices a class ring for West Point in the window. The year on the ring is 2005 which would’ve been a tough year to graduate with Iraq and then Afghanistan. He notices that the ring belonged to a woman and sees her initials on the inside. This leaves his wondering why she would’ve given up something she worked so hard for and decides to find out by finding her and returning the ring.
His journey will take him through small towns, the middle of nowhere, and the Wyoming wilderness. As he digs deeper into his search, things get more dangerous for him. The ring is just a link on a chain that leads Reacher to a vast criminal enterprise.
Past Tense: A trip from Maine to California sounds like a heck of a journey to Reacher, but he doesn’t end up making it very far. He gets as far as New England before he notices a sign to a place that he has never been before: the place where his father was born and he decides to take a detour.
Meanwhile, a couple of young Canadians are stranded at a motel after their car breaks down. The two were on their way to New York City to sell a treasure and now find themselves stuck in this small town. The owners of the motel are friend at least. Maybe a little too friendly.
Reacher decides to head to the city clerk to see his old family home, but is told that no one named Reacher has ever lived in the town. This leaves him with more questions than answers and he starts to look into things. As he explores his father’s life, his investigation and the danger the Canadians face begin to merge.
Blue Moon: Reacher sets out to help the Shevicks, an elderly couple who are down on their luck. The two have made a few mistakes that have left them owing a lot of money to some very bad people. Reacher’s attempts at help end up turning him into a wanted man in the middle of a turf war between rival gangs. In order to stay ahead of the loan sharks, thugs, and assassins, Reacher will team up with a waitress who knows more than she lets on. Reacher has a plan to make the greedy pay, but it’s a long shot and all the odds are against him.
The Sentinel: Reacher ends up in a town near Pleasantville, Tennessee that is anything but pleasant. In the middle of the day, Jack sees a man about to be ambushed four on one so he does what he does and takes care of it with his unique brand of conflict resolution. The man’s name is Rusty Rutherford, an IT manager, who has just lost his job after a cyber attack took down the town’s data. Rusty thinks that he can clear his name, but Reacher knows there is more to the story. What he’ll find is a conspiracy, cover-up, and murder that some people will go very far to keep secret.
Better Off Dead: When Reacher is out for a walk in the hot desert sun when he comes across a Jeep that has crashed into a tree with its driver slumped over the wheel. The woman isn’t dead, thankfully.
Her name is Michaela Fenton and she’s an army veteran turned FBI agent who is out looking for her twin brother who is into some trouble. Her brother is mixed up with some dangerous people who would rather die than betray their leader, the mysterious Dendocker, but he’s the one who would know what happened to him. Reacher is good at finding those that don’t want to be found and offers his help. Jack has been in some tricky situations before, but going against Dendocker will be one of the most dangerous situations of his life.
No Plan B: This is one you will have to pay attention to! It’s one of those books where there are 4 separate storylines essentially going on. They all come together in the end of course, but it can be a little hard to keep track of initially.
The primary storyline of course involves Jack Reacher. He is standing at a street corner when he sees a man push a woman in front of a bus. He chases (as fast as Reacher can go) after the man to stop him. The man has help, and there’s a big kerfluffle. When it all comes to a head, Reacher is told that the woman actually killed herself.
With so many people involved in the murder of one woman, you know Jack has to get to the bottom of things.
Jack Reacher Novellas
Second Son: This novella focuses on Jack Reacher as a 13-year-old in Okinawa, Japan. Even at this age, he knows how to outwit and overpower anyone that stands in his way. Jack and his older brother get a rude welcome from the other Army brats and make plans to get even, but it quickly becomes clear that there is more at stake here. With his family’s future in trouble, young Jack will rise to the occasion to put things back together.
Deep Down: Reacher is called in by Military Intelligence and sent undercover on a mission. Classified talks about a state-of-the-art sniper rifle are being infiltrated and it’s up to Reacher to sniff off the mole. It’s meant to be a zero-danger mission with no weapons involved, but if there’s one thing Reacher knows it’s that things rarely turn out that way.
High Heat: Jack is seventeen-years-old in New York during the Summer of Sam in this one. Reacher meets a young women who needs help and agrees to help her. Soon after, the power grid fails and the city is plunged into a lawless darkness. What can a visiting teenager do in the dark city? A normal teenager might be in trouble, but Jack is no ordinary teenager.
Not a Drill: Back on the road, Reacher hitches a ride with some Canadians on their way to hack in the forests of Maine. Reacher decides to check out the quiet town, but soon after the trail is closed and the military police arrive. It could be just a drill, but Jack finds that is rarely the case when he’s in town.
Too Much Time: This book works as a prequel to the Reacher novel, The Midnight Line. It takes place after Jack’s time in the Army when he witnesses a random bag-snatching in a small Maine town. To some this would be a simple crime, but Reacher sees much more of it.
Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller: Jack Reacher makes a new acquaintance, Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller, in this short story. The two are sitting in a Boston bar watching a Yankees/Red Sox game when the man sitting between them turns out to be a marked man. We know what this two will do individually in this situation. What will they do together?
Small Wars: Lee Child takes Reacher to the 80s, 1989 to be exact. At this point Reacher is working as an MP who trying to solve the murder of a young officer. The officer was on the fast track to greatness and the hit appears to be a professional one. Reacher will get help from his older brother Joe and Sergeant Frances Neagley to figure out why.
The Christmas Scorpion: Reacher is spending the holidays in the California desert. It’s Christmas Eve and he finds himself in a roadhouse with a bartender, an elderly couple, and two members of the British Royal Military Police. The officers tell Reacher they were escorting a VIP to a top-secret meeting, but have since lost their charge. The threat is coming from a notorious assassin known as the Christmas Scorpion. It will take a Christmas miracle to save their charge and Santa brought Reacher.
Cleaning the Gold: A crossover featuring Jack Reacher coming face-to-face with Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent. Reacher is in Fort Knox looking to bring down a criminal operation while Will Trent is there to bring down a murder suspect: Jack Reacher. What the two don’t know is that there is a much larger conspiracy at play here, one they will have to team up to fight.
Killing Floor details the story of a ex military policeman and a drifter by the name of Jack Reacher. Reacher is just passing through a town by the name of Margrave, Georgia to find out information about a musician by the name of Blind Blake, and finds himself arrested for murder in less than an hour. Reacher is quite aware he did not kill anybody. The detective finds the phone number of a man named Hubble in the shoe of the dead man. Both Reacher and the next defendant Hubble are arrested for murder,and sent to the state prison. While in prison Reacher meets Roscoe a female police offiicer who helps with the two individuals defense.As Reacher alone is not about to convince anyone in Margrave, Georgia of his innocence.
The book details some of the exploits of Reacher as he tries to convince an unwilling populace that he is not guilty of the crime he is accused of committing. The book details Reacher’s interactions with a detective by the name of Findlay one of his main accusers.There are other characters that feature prominently in the novel as well. Some of the other characters of note that are part of the plot in the Kililng Floor include Chief Morrison and his wife who also are murder victims. There is also a multi billion dollar counterfeiting ring that comes in play in the action of this award wining book. There are other sorts of interesting plot twists within this novel that many people will read. Use this story for a great summer read and enjoy the time to delve into this exciting and powerfully written novel.
Some of the acclaim attached to this book includes USA today who stated the “indomitable Reacher burns up the pages. The New York Times called the action “Smart and Breathless.” Newsweek also called the action in he Killing floor “Subtle and nuanced with seductive writing and irresistible plot twists.” This book was followed by a succession of other novels featuring Reacher. All of them have been well regarded and well read. This book is something that you can find and take advantage of when you are looking for classic mysteries. This is one great read, and the Jack Reacher story The Killing Floor is a real page turner as literary critics and readers both agree.
The second Reacher novel to hit the scene was Die Trying. Although, the first novel the Killing Floor was widely acclaimed it did fall party to some critics who stated that the character of Jack Reacher was an unconvincing protagonist.Child attempted to address some of those concerns, in the second novel, lathough he largely paid no heed to the voices of the critics. The second novel may be one of the attempts to get the support of both readers and the voices of the critics.
In the second novel the ex military policeman Reacher is walking by a Chicago dry cleaner when an FBI agent also attractive and young, by the name of Holly comes by carrying some large packages. Holly is also the daughter of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. she is Kidnapped off the street along with Reacher. Only Reacher has the complex finely honed instincts to foil the kidnapping plot, and to see beyond the complex deadly plan of the Montana militia group that has kidnapped him and this young woman. The leader of the military group is a dangerous and charismatic leader who has some brutal action planned for both the kidnapped, and ruthless plans for the United States as a whole. This is a thrilling novel that has numerous plot twists to keep the reader entertained.
This novel is one of the things that you can look forward to when you are looking to find novels that have great stories and the great action that you need to stay involved This novel is one that will thrill the individual. It is one that makes a great summer time read.Readers will be stunned by the action with Die Trying when they decide to read this novel.
Both of these novels follows the larger than life character 6’5 Reacher as he gets very involved in the action and is a hero in his own way. His military training comes in handy within these novels. Read both of these novels as an introduction to the Jack Reacher character, and you may find that you wish to read more. These are some of the amazing novels by Child and can really be interesting and easy to find.
Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know!
Max Martini of “The Unit” . I pictured him as Jack Reacher from the first Jack Reacher novel…tall, sandy hair, rugged, bad ass and looks like Army.
Hahaha I had no idea who you meant when you said Max Martini from The Unit. I loved that show, but we’ve always referred to him as “Bulldog” because of that character. Never knew his real name 😅 and yes you’re right!
Jim Cavaziel from Person of Interest. Tough, tall and handsome, in great shape and could bulk up a little. And excellent actor.
Honestly, I don’t think the movies get made without Cruise. Yes, Reacher is larger than life, but as an actor, who is a bigger star than Tom Cruise? I though he played it very well. There just aren’t many actors who are above 6’2″. Most often they don’t fit into frame, and don’t have the same talent or range to pull of a total badass AND someone who is smarter than most everyone in the room.
i love yr books i became a book addicted because of u love u lee child and i hate blake in the character and love reacher and harper
Jim Caviezel is who I see as Jack Reacher.
Funny… I used to swim with Jim Caviezel before A Thin Red Line was released. He’s no Jack Reacher. Tall, yes. Blue eyes, yes. But that’s it. Certainly not the physical presence of Jack… Or even Tom Cruise.
Anna, I have never met Mr Caviezel so I can’t comment on him first hand. My reasoning is based on his role in “Person of Intrest “. The soft-spoken tough guy image he plays is how I see Reacher in my minds eye. Based on your first hand description of him leds me to believe he might be a better actor than I thought. There are few who could be Reacher and I am not saying Caviezel is one of them. I only think he can play the part.
Since I met him “before”… In fact I interacted far more with his wife, I’ve enjoyed watching his career. Yes, I agree, Jim Caviezel’s acting keeps getting better and better.
My take… Movies and books, at best can they complement each other. It’s like coffee and dessert. You can order pumpkin spice coffee, but it will never be pumkin pie. But still, each is enjoyable…. Obviously, books and movies are totally different forms of entertainment. But even if you think of a movie in terms of literature, a it’s a short story.
So for me, I am able to enjoy them seperatley. The short story version… A shorter, slimmed down, slightly oversimplified, “cleaned up” version… starring Tom Cruise. Filtered and molded by the artistic/financial vision of many… 2 hours in and out. And the real thing, the novel, bigger, beefier, complicated by backstory scars and a larger cast of characters… Hours and hours of reading to let Lee Child’s vision (of mostly one) unfold before me, one page at time.
Clint is my all time hero and a better choice, even at 85, than Cruise anytime, then again anyone over 6 foot tall is a better choice.
But, not so much Clint Eastwood but some of the ‘Clint’ characters like; Josey Wales or Jim Duncan (High Plains Drifter) …minding their own, doing what needs to be done to live their lives …then they made it personal”. Even Harry with the appropriate sense of justice, using “HIS rules”.
…And built like Dwayne Johnson… Huge! …with a huge presence. Tommy, not so much. I don’t think there is anyone with enough talent to make up for such a huge disparity.
When I saw the first attraction for the movie, laughed! …thought it to be a joke. The more I saw the angrier I became …I ranted and raved. explained it to my wife dozens of times …why it was so wrong! I boycotted the movie. Sneered when it came to cable. ANY Jack Reacher fans that saw that movie with anything more than ‘NO expectations’ deserve the disappointment that followed.
However, I think the upside of the movie it brought a lot more exposure to Lee Child and Jack Reacher. I know people who began reading the series. It was interesting to hear how they felt about Cruise playing the part of Jack. They thought he he did a good job. But shocked at how differently Jack was portrayed in the books. It became a whole different experience. Seldom does the movie do the book justice.
It would be great if Mr. Grant could get Eastwood to produce/direct any of his stories. Then you know we’d get the right casting! I think Clint can pull it off!
Agreed
Well said. I reacted exactly the same and my husband, who isn’t a great reader couldn’t understand. Mr. Child makes such an issue about Jack’s size and weight that I couldn’t believe it when they said Cruise would play the part. Agreed, Jack will get more exposure to more people, and Cruise was the one who bought the book rights, but he is so full of himself, he couldn’t see he was wrong for the part. Or, maybe he suffers from small man syndrome and thinks he is that big, who knows, I do know that I was bitterly disappointed and walked out midway through .the movie
Am a huge Jack Reacher fan…Started reading Book 10. Very disappointed with the movie, though. I would have chosen Hugh Jackman, Dwayne Johnson or even Vin Diesel. They have the BODY and the TOUGH LOOK. But hey, who could refuse TOM CRUISE?
Well… If only Jack Reacher is younger, my choice would have been THOR! Chris Hemsworth, you Rock!
One name…Duane “the Rock” Johnson. That’s who I envisioned while reading the books. Tom Cruise? Great actor, but not Reacher.
Having Cruise play the role of 6′ 5″, 250 lb Jack Reacher – is even WORSE than if Cruise played the role of John Wayne. Wayne, 6′ 4″ and maybe 230 lb. Utterly contemptuous. There can be no defense of having Cruise in that role. It’s Hollywood’s way of denigrating a white 6′ 5″ super strong hero. That is that.
And here was me thinking it was just because Tom Cruise bought the film rights to the book. Shows you how dumb I am.
I always use a disconnect when watching a movie based on a series of books I like. As an example I could use the Hobbit series of movies – I like them, but they are not the book, which I loved… same goes for the Lord of the Rings, excellent movies, but not the books. I watched the Tom Cruise movie, it was ok. Mr Cruise is not even close to my favorite actor. The book is not even close to my favorite Reacher novel. To me they came out even. I hope they choose another actor if they go forward with making the Reacher novels into movies. I would probably watch them, on DVD or Cable even if Mr Cruise is Reacher. Books, to me, are better.. they let the mind’s eye work. Movies show both too much and too little. And being 2 hour time slots, more or less, they cannot go into all the things a book does, and will leave stuff out or put stuff in(again the Hobbit is a good example – 3 movies out of a fairly small book?). As far as who could play Jack Reacher? I am not sure the previous choices all have their merits. Of them I like Vigo. To add one – Timothy Olyphant(spelling?).
I actually had a conversation in New Orleans with Mr Lee Childs about Tom playing the role of Jack Reacher and I actually ended up with an answer that struck me a bit odd. Lee explained to me that there is a shortage of A-List actors with any kind of height, rather interesting when you get right down to it…marketing was the point. I also asked why so many facts about the Marine Corps was so far off considering his passion for getting the Army facts nailed to the tee, after all Jack’s father was a Marine. He just said that the average citizen didn’t understand the difference or organizational disparity between the services and he would rather not stir the pot of public perception. All in all, I like the series and I’ll continue to read them as he publishes more in the series. Thanks for the smoke Lee. Top Griz
By the way, I am in the minority here but I have always thought that Dwayne Johnson would be the perfect actor to play Reacher. First of all, he is already a 6’5″ 250lb badass. The Rock is used to playing taciturn characters (Driven, Snitch) as well as tough smart-ass military guys (Gi Joe, Fast & Furious 5-7) and he has gotten much better as an actor over the past few years. Changing the character to a mixed race person is a minor detail, since race has never played a role in any of Child’s books. The right size and body type trumps everything else.
But could take Dwayne seriously. He always strike me as a tongue in chi type of actor. I thought Chris Hemsworth or Liam Neeson. Liam is my favourite.
Yeah, I could see him. The tongue-in-cheekiness that Grannys42 refers to would serve him well in the role.
Mr. Speidel- Add me to the “plurality of readers.” After ripping through the first 14 books in the series, I stopped cold right in the middle of Worth Dying For and haven’t read a word of Lee Child since. I was so turned off by Tom Cruise playing Reacher that I felt I could never look at Reacher in the same light again. And I normally look forward to Tom Cruise movies!!
I am not sure that we can blame Child on this, since no one CHOSE Cruise to play Reacher. The comment below that Cruise took the role since everyone else turned it down is just silly. Cruise simply BOUGHT the RIGHTS to the book and cast himself. Child was anxious to get one of his movies to the screen and he did not object. Still, it has been a couple of years since I bought and read a Reacher novel. I have now decided that I will not let Tom Cruise ruin something I enjoy, I have recently purchased The Affair and A Wanted Man. But I will never watch the movie, or any sequel that Cruise has planned.
I am currently reading Gone Tomorrow, was disappointed with Nothing To Lose, after having read the previous books in order. The flaws in the series thus far, I consider to be 1) formulaic 2) every woman is the most awesome babe you ever met…except for the ugly ones leading into 3) Reacher being as horny as a rooster. Well, what do expect from all that testosterone? We certainly don’t expect a casual nomad to be monogamous. Gone Tomorrow also has the big three for the big man, but at least the story is back on track with rock solid storytelling. Having some little experience in depicted experience, I would have to say that some of it comes across spot on while the beautiful babe angle seems totally designed with “equal parts brilliant cunning and sheer testosterone (Man Who Knew Too Little)” for the eventual Hollywood extravaganza. Don’t laugh now when I tell you that I am reading Jack’s lines with the voice of a young Arnold Schwarznegger. It gives many of his quips the panache of the one liners good old Arnie was so fond of in his heyday. It also obliterates the voice in my head of Tom Cruise, who much like Kevin Costner plays the same character in every movie, just with different names. In my mind there are numerous big men in the industry who could act Reacher, as long as you don’t insist on the fair hair, without relying on a shrimp, Russell Crowe excluded from those who could do it.
I agree with your bullet points, but…
Regarding point #1: Child does a better job than most. BUT it is a series, and series after a while, tend to become a little predictable. Knowing there were more books to read in the series gave me a clue that he wasn’t going to die, and he was going to take out the bad guys. It’s about the story of the journey from point A to B.
Regarding point #2: Maybe his spectrum of beauty is not as narrow as some.
Regarding point #3: “Running Blind” was my first Lee Child book, there wasn’t any sex in that story. Not that that was a bad thing but it was refreshing to read a story where the author didn’t have the need to have an oversexed bull roaming the country; breaking noses, fingers, skulls and occasionally shooting some one to sell his books. Now that I am about to begin his latest release “Personal” I am sure that I will not be surprised to read …coitous as usual …with the hottest babe in town. Oh well.
All women want to be with him …all men want to be him.
After getting involved in reading the November Man series, I can say without doubt, that if I had to take a space shuttle to find a Lee Child book, and could walk across the room to pick up a Bill Granger book…well, I’m sure you get my meaning. I’m a Pierce Brosnan fan, so I thought I’d give the series a run through…took me ten days to get through the first one, not a page turner, and swore that was it, but here I am reading Schism, going on a week and only a third of the way through…so Child better than most? At least that…
I am shocked that no one has mentioned how well Jim caviezel fits the description – both in physique and attitude.
I am amazed that no one has mentioned his chilling performance as the terrorist Carroll Oerstadt in Deja Vu with Denzel Washington. He is no blondie, but neither is the shrimp. Yes…he could do it…but he is almost 50.
I read Jack Reacher books as soon as they are published and Tom Cruise as Jack is ridiculous. Liam Neeson would have been a perfect choice, but someone who wears lifts in his shoes isn’t. The first impression of Jack is his sheer size and ruggedness. Tom Cruise with perfect face, perfect body and short stature, never. Sorry Lee, but you duded us.
For me Sam Elliott should be Jack Reacher. Plain and simple – Sam Elliott. At 6′ 2″ he is tall enough (Cruise is 5″ 7″ and it is evident when he is frame with about any common object) and he certainly has the deep serious voice that is required. Well, that’s just me . . .
Great choice… he fits the physical description in addition to having a face that shows life’s challenges well met and he has the voice & physical presence you take seriously. Cruise is a light weight by comparison. Reacher is never a light weight!
He’s so old and arthritic he can hardly move! I like the guy, but not as an action star.
Y’all are making height the be-all and end-all, like all the NFL teams that passed on Russell Wilson. Ryan Leaf was real tall, too.
Not just height. Most actors just aren’t rugged and tough like our own Jack Reacher!
Why is it that the short stories are only ebooks, what about us luddites who don’t want to read e stuff
I thought the shorts were on the line in certain paperback novels as well…
Love the Reacher books! My vote for Reacher in the movie would have been Tom Selleck, in his prime. Without the mustache, of couse. Movie wasn’t bad, but Cruise just isn’t Reacher.
Let me get this straight— Tom Cruise agrees to star in your movie— and you turn him down? Good thinking—! Who would your pick be— John Cenna,? Hulk Hogan? The Rock? uhh I think I will take my chances with Tom Cruise.
I have to agree and disagree about Tom Cruise portraying Jack Reacher. I did enjoy the movie, he may not have been the best pick for it, but he did do a very good job. It was disappointing to see that the character we’ve all come to know and love in the books was not shown on the screen. But unlike a few of the comments I’ve read, he didn’t ruin the literary character for me. I like the books and the author enough to move past Tom Cruise as the visual character. As would anyone that is an avid Reacher reader.
I have not and will never watch the movie. In my mind the Jack Reacher that Lee Childs built and which dominates the entire scenario and context of the stories could never be portrayed by a runt.
I regret watching the movie. I watched it a few weeks ago, after reading the first 12 Reacher books. Tom Cruise did not fit the image.
You wrote this 3 yrs ago but I still totally agree with you. I regret watching both movies especially the last one.
Here here! Brigit the Midget yes, Jack Reacher never!
Tom cruise SHOULD NOT be portraying Jack Reacher. PERIOD
Agreed! 110%
I won’t watch Tom Cruise in any movie. I’ve been disappointed so many times.
Cruise is a dwarf. Reacher should have been acted by a better actor and one who fit the physical description. Sheesh!
Why do the audio books use someone with a gruff, old man’s voice?..
I also stgarted reading the books after the movie. I almost didn’t see the movie because I dislike Tom Cruise as an actor. (Sorry, Steve Speidel, he just doesn’t work for me.) However, I enjoyed the movie, started reading the books and discovered that I, too, would have prefered an actor with the same stature as Reacher. I am reading the books in order and have just finished The Persuader. It’s almost like being addicted. I can’t wait to start The Enemy!!
Im reading ny very first Jack Reacher and it us Persuaded. It is Awesome! Have been checking online to get books at a good price considering there are 19 Jack Reacher books….one fan states readers should read The Enemy first and The Affair 2nd and then read the rest in order. I hope thats true
Ive been a Michael Connelly fan for about ten years…just read FACEOFF (head to head short story thrillers) looking for new authors to get interested in and came away starting with Lee Child’s Jack Reacher… I’m thrilled with the Reacher series … in about a month I’m through to the seventh book. Great Stuff … look for faceoff it is good stuff
Can we include the short stories too? I’m trying to figure out where in the series each belongs and when they were released.
They are all over. Second son is when reacher is 13 and is about him and his brother in Okinawa. High heat reacher is 16 or 17. Attending west point but the story takes place in Manhattan during the heatwave/blackout of the summer of Sam. Deep Down
reacher is a captain MP he’s undercover trying to figure out who is selling secrets to the Russians. They are good stories but nit add great as the books.
All writing by Child in the Reacher character is good and quite unique. The short stories as presented in the volume ‘No Middle Name’ are pure Reacher; if not always going anywhere, but he is a drifter following the whims of the moment. All good.
The poll below puzzles me. Really? A plurality of readers think “Tom Cruise ruined the series”? That’s just weird. I enjoyed the movie and started reading lee child novels because of it. I’m about half-way through everything he’s written. His direct prose reminds me of Hemingway.
About Cruise. Although he’s a short guy, he has the presence to carry off a big role like jack reacher. Cruise inhabits a role. I’m never aware I’m watching a big shot movie star, but the character he’s playing. Ok, that’s my defense of Tom Cruise, like he needs my defense: he’s the richest guy in Hollywood!
It would not be weird if you had read the books first. After 10 plus books of picturing a 6’5 hunk whose powerful body is a character of its own, an image gets ingrained in your head. You love it and want to keep it. Watching someone 5’7 shatters the image and makes it hard to reconnect to the person in the book, especially when the author tries to reemphasize that image after he has sold out.
Guess Mr. Cruise must be one hell of an actor to shatter the image of a literary character in the hearts and minds of men/women readers. I expect most readers can get past the movie, and enjoy it too. So every author whose book is made into a movie has ‘sold out’? I suppose that could be seen as literally true, no double meaning intended… Jim Grant/Lee Child was co-writer on the screenplay, but usually selling out means either no product left on the shelf, or some kind of disservice for personal gain. Have the two books since the movie been compromised by the movie release somehow? Did the literary character get chopped off at the knees? Do authors have to ‘pass’ on movie deals to keep their ‘integrity’? Mr. Cruise is a producer on the movie and may have been the force to get the first movie of a Reacher book made… And so perhaps wanted to star in it himself. Oh well… too bad for fragile mental images. Just pretend the movie is about Jack Creature and let it go… and stop blaming the author for his payday.
Anona, we are not blaming Lee for selling the rights to Tom Cruise, but Tom as an actor and producer, should have realised he was wrong for the role and given the part to somebody more suitable. As somebody said, Jack is a badass with bruises and scars all over his body. He inevitably breaks the law and kills someone. Tom does not have that look.
Tom’s not 6’5″ and 250lbs, yes. And yes, the post I responded to DID blame Lee for having “sold out”. I was not responding to “we”, I responded to charmain. Still there are lots of characters done by actors who don’t ‘fit’ the part. I have some in mind myself, but indignation and slapping the author who gave us all the stories in the first place… doesn’t play well.
Exactly, and Jack Reacher wouldn’t need a step stool to reach his opponents neck to break it in one swift move. Poor old Tom would be elbowing his victim in the kahunas instead of his windpipe!:-)
My guess is that Childs didn’t realize that Cruise would be the lead until too late. Reacher is Childs cash cow, providing all his income with one book per year. He has a lot of long time dedicated fans, but a new reader thinking he writes action novels is unlikely to finish one book. That decimates his potential fanbase growth.
Yes the literary character was indeed “chopped off at the knees” in terms of height! As to the “casting decision” of Tom Cruise, I’d heard that the actor paid for Jim Grant/Lee Child for the movie rights. I certainly found the movie an incredible let-down as Tom Cruise in that role was just laughable. How many (yes I really mean how few) bad guys would be intimidated by a guy who looks like him? Not many!
Selling out means compromising something essential for something not.
Selling book right without retaining complete artistic control of the character that has been provided , and will provide your income for decades is stupid, but not necessarily selling out.
It depends on the authors circumstances at the time the contract for film options was written. Selling the rights for unlimited use of a character would be moronic under any circumstances. I doubt that is the case here.
Hollywood rarely does anything verbatim. I agree… I doubt the author sold all the books away to Cruise’s company. I don’t think the author was stupid, moronic, or… selling out.
Selling out is a common expression for the compromising of a person’s integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money.
I wouldn’t say it shatters the image but it certainly falls short of the character, as you say the way he is described is very much part of his character. Also Reacher is quite a badass character and no matter how hard he’ll try, it’s not Tom Cruise forte. My take is, Hugh Jackman would have been perfect for the role, Viggo Mortensen or maybe Russel Crowe but definitely not Tom Cruise.
The books came out long before the movie. The movie and word of mouth got me interested in the books. However, I made sure I watched the movie first, and I preach this, if at all possible, always always watch the movie first. Inevitably the books are almost always better. If one reads the books first, the movie will probably be a letdown. IMO this is a classic example. Hollywood likes to take liberties with a story that avid readers will frown upon.
Well said…I couldn’t agree more. The movie all most always is a true let down unless you have a horrible writer. I first noticed this many years ago I believe in Junior High where I read Gorillas In The Mist…based on a true story. Sigourney Weaver played the main character and although she is a fantastic actress…the story lacked like so many others. Details are left out for time allotment. Which is disappointing to say the least.
Absolutely, unfortunately as we’ve all been reading the books for the past how many years, watching the film first wasn’t an option, also, without all the loyal followers of Jack Reacher they wouldn’t have been a film in the first place. As every book without exception mentions his 6`5″ 250lb frame the least the film makers could do is find an actor to fit the bill. Personally, I wouldn’t have been able to have watched Tom Cruise as JR without laughing out loud 🙂
Apparently, many of the “loyal” fans of Jack Reacher stayed away because the movie blasphemed against the true Jack Reacherism.
I’ve read ’em all, and I was surprised that I still enjoyed Cruise in the role despite having him casually thrash 5 or 6 thugs at once called on all my capacities for dispensing with disbelief. I guess I just like the Reacher character so much any bit will do, but I must say the last three novels have toned him down too much. I am 6 chapters into “Night School” and he hasn’t so much as slapped anyone around yet…and this is when he was a Major in the Army!
I guess I’ll have to switch allegiance to John Gilstrap’s Jonathan Grave series now to get a real ball-buster hero again.
“…dispensing with disbelief…”
Umm… don’t you really mean ‘dispensing with belief’. At least that way it makes sense.
No, I think I got it right. You have to look past the disbelief in order to allow yourself to enjoy the unlikely events in the book or even more in the movie with the diminutive Cruz. If you keep telling yourself, “This is beyond credibility,” the books will rapidly lose their appeal. They aren’t written for close examination. The character is a visceral pleasure. I used the term in the same manner that H. Clinton infamously used it when speaking to General Petraus and remarked, “…I think that the reports that you provide to us really require a willing suspension of disbelief.”
And for the record, I suspended reading the rest of “Night School” for the reasons stated…it committed the unpardonable sin in this genre of becoming boring.
I just finished “Night School”, and I was unable to stop reading it. Kudos!
I agree with this reviewer that the books aren’t written for close examination. Readers/movie viewers are getting hung up on one fact difference between the novels and the movies: that Reacher is 10 inches taller in the movies than Cruise is. But movies based on books always turn out differently than the actual novel and more importantly, the reason the novels emphasize Reacher’s size, in my opinion, is to emphasize his character traits of: 1. doing the right thing, 2. Solving problems using his military police training, 3. emphasize his superior fighting skills that he uses because he wants to protect the innocent and do the right thing and solve the problem. Tom Cruise and many 5’7″ people can fight even more effectively than a huge 6’5″ because they are lower to the ground, less bulky, use their muscles in a different mechanical way based on their lower center of gravity and can dart in and out quicker than a huge person can. Also, based on Cruise’s huge muscular chest, shoulders and arms, he is believable in the movies that he has the strength and fighting skills to take out five much less trained street fighting thugs based on his attitude, which is constantly emphasized in the novels just as often as mentioning his 6’5″ size. Also, Cruise is handsome and famous which attracted more movie goers, some of them women, whereas a less handsome movie star Reacher wouldn’t attract the same female audience that Cruise drew in. That’s my opinion.
No, it is called “willing suspension of disbelief” and is a requirement for reading fiction. In other words, I believe in the character and characterization, not in the actor in the role.
The secret is to read them in order, which means “Night School” is the second book. He changes a lot after he gets out.
GOOD THING you didn’t. Worse than laughing out loud, I just about puked.
Couldn’t agree more no way would I go and watch Tiny tom as Jack reacher.
Watching a movie first creates an enduring realistic visual image, without an emotional investment. Nothing is left to the imagination. Unless the character does something impossible, absurd or uncharacteristic, the image stands as real.
Reading the books first builds an enduring mental image similar to the author’s, and the more specific the authors description, the more enduring the imagined character.
When the ptotsgonists physical characteristics are critical to the believability of the written character and the story, a reader remembers them, refines and reinforces the mental image. The character becomes partly the creation of the reader – a child of the imagination of the reader and the author.
This very few book series set in the real world present time are sucessfully adapted to movies and become commercial sucesses eithout major changes. The closer they are to reality, the more the differences between the book characters and the movie character sticks out.
In an action genre film or book, the protagonist fills a slot in the story; the story is more important than the protagonist. In Reacher novels, which are crime stories, the protagonist being what and who he is, is all that makes the stories work.
It’s better to make the actor as much like the described character as possible, or make the setting radically different by setting it in a different era or society and/or the characters name. If the first isn’t possible, the second one clearly separates the two characters.
In this case, you’d think that Cruise would have known that. It’s why his MI character wasn’t Jim Phelps, even though the Bond films proved it was possible to switch actors.
ONLY DANIEL CRAIG worked, the others were as unbelievable as Cruise is in Reacher movies. I read all the Fleming novels back in the day and once again this summer, they are free if you read online. Fleming is the best. His descriptions and characters are the best. His Bond is FOREVER.
I like Craig, but looking at the first 2 films, Connery looked the part and having no experience as an actor, played it straight within each scene. The later movies were so over-produced and over-choreographed that they themselves didn’t match the books upon which they were supposedly based, which were relatively terse, direct and relatively realistic. In early films there was no polished, swave, sophisticate in the action scenes, because Bond was not that by nature, and neither was Connery.
“…Inevitably… almost always” ?
Sort of, kind of, exactly, almost precise.
totally agree…movie first and then the book
I’m always disappointed by fantasy movies based on book set in the real world. The producer and director seldom are familiar with the books and insist on stamping their own brnad into the production, obliterating the authors intention, tone and nuance, and too often amplifiying inconsequential events into hyperinflated action set pieces.
I’ve now seen enough Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise for too many years. From now on his name on a film as the lead will be enough for me to take a pass.
so totally agree…Gone with the Wind movie sucked because I had read the book first (in fact, I took off work to finish it because the book entranced me). I saw the movie about a year, maybe two later, and was just so disappointed.
I think Dolph Lundgren would be the absolute best actor to portray Jack. He has the Height, the build, the presence and whilst not widely recognized as being extremely handsome, he has charm. Tom Cruise did an amazing job playing the character, however through no fault of his own he was not the right choice. The height and build of Jack play such a major part in the books that it simply cannot be brushed off. Also tom cruise is a “pretty boy” or Hollywood hunk” or once was whilst i don’t recall Dolph ever being called these things. Make another movie, use Dolph and the readers, i think, will recognize him as the Jack they have pictured.
Dolph can’t act though and that would definately ruin the story.
Not if it were a Jack Reacher storyminstesf of s Tom Cruise story.
Jack Reacher wasn’t an actor. If Dolph played it straight, he’d be credible.
However Jack Reacher is a man of few words preferring to use his fighting skills coupled with his enormous strength which Dolph could do without much acting skill. I have to agree with the others that Dolph fits the physical description perfectly.
Except Reacher is intelligent…a street smart intelligence.. Dolph could not carry off the intelligence aspect, IMO
Sorry, but Dolph just doesn’t portray the intelligence of Jack Reacher…and as far as using TC as Reacher, the only thing they got right with that was the attitude!!
Although he is four inches shorter than Reacher is supposed to be, I could picture John Cena as Reacher quite easily
Dolph comes very close to my head picture of Reacher. But the voice of Dick Hill over at Audible.com has become my go to Reacher voice. He sounds like Stan Lee… and I like that. One thing that I like about the movie is real female voices for the leading women!
My husband and I also
think Dolph would have been a better choice. Get him a diction coach and we’re all set!
You need to hear him speak out of character. He’s not the stiff clod that he gets type cast as. He has a university degree in engineering and speaks clearly with a very slight European neutral accent, which fits Reacher being raised on military bases all over the world.
I so very much agree. I will stick to the books and my idea of Jack Reacher ( a young Tom Selleck would work for me!)
A young Liam Neeson for me 🙂
Jack Reacher in my mind is Clint Eastwood in his prime you need that tall rangy raw boned look.
When I read about Jack Reacher, I instantly think of Dwayne Johnson playing him. The Rock is 6’5″ and 270 lbs and ripped. The Rock could crush Tom Cruise with his shadow. Dolph Lundgren would be a good physical choice but a poor acting choice. The Rock can definitely act better than Dolph. At the very least, I would be understand him when the Rock spoke.
Love the Rock,, but you may recall Reacher is supposed to be fair haired! Maybe Mike Holmes can take a break from renovating houses in Canada!
True but Cruise isn’t blonde either. At least the Rock is the right size.
If you are going to base and promote a movie on a well established book character, you need to recognise and respect the most critical chatacteristic of that character when they were essential to thevstory.
Hair coloring was never a critical factor in the Reacher stories, but size akways mattered. Think of King Kong on film portrayed by a normal size ape, knocking planes from the sky, holding a woman by its hand while climbing the outsude of a building.
Reachers coloting/race could become indeterminate without a problem, but his size/physique couldn’t without major changes in the kind of story and/or plausibility. .
Nice analogy!
I realize you wrote this comment a year ago, but “The Rock could crush Tom Cruise with his shadow” remark made me laugh out loud. Kudos!
Dwayne would be as unbelievable as Cruise. There are hundreds of out of work actors who are good and built and tall but CRUISE PUTS UP THE MONEY AND BECOMES “THE MAN”. SHAME,SHAME, SHAME.
Pfffttt…
Correct, cash speaks all languages and Cruise has it.
I’d like to have seen Leiv Schreiber, Clive Owen or third choice Liam Neeson. If you can have Cruise as a choice, at least all of these are many times better choice. Unfortunately, I cannot get that image of Tom Cruise without a shirt, out of my head. Wish I’d never seen the Movie
All of your choices are good but I still choose Mr. Max Martini! I loved him in the Unit and still like his other roles.
Woulda shoulda been perfect, but now, (April 26, 2020) he’s 50 and has huge tats, May have started smoking, which is not healthy, so, oh well.
Yup
Me too! – Nationality is much less important to the character than his “Fists the size of frozen chickens”.
And just what actor, or even real person, comes to your mind when you think of an actor who has fists the size of frozen chickens? There are some descriptions in the novels that just aren’t transferable to a movie character. Movies based on books always turn out differently than the novel they were based on.
the Rock was who came to mind for me too!
The Rock is not bright enough nor a good enough actor.
I can’t see any of the actors you listed as Reacher. Maybe Jensen Ackles? He’s the right height, right age, good looks, and he’s proven he can do action.
Generally I prefer to read the book first.
Obviously books take longer than a movie and that makes the thrill of being
sucked into the story a much longer experience and much more exciting. I
enjoy movies a great deal as well. I love to pick out things that don’t
belong…cars too new for the period and such. Having read the book I
get to find things out of place in that regard as well. I got turned on
to the Reacher series just before the movie…I think I was half way thru the
second one. My wife rented the movie so I went ahead and watched it and
intend on skipping One Shot because of this. I just don’t like reading
the book AFTER I have seen the movie.
In the case of Jack himself I am in the anti
Cruise camp. First, I just don’t like the little twerp in general.
Second, while he didn’t ruin the character for me (and thankfully I do
not picture him when reading either) I think he was a lousy choice. We
don’t need much of an actor to play Reacher. His character is not
demanding and I kind of picture him as somewhat awkward as a character now in
the civilian world after being military for so long. As such I don’t think we need much beyond the typical ‘action hero’ type acting ability. Not Crowe, not Jackman and or Mortensen. The all have too much of their previous characters…’type cast’ vibes if you will and I dont think they are the right type of down-home-good-looking-farm-boy type I think Reacher should be. Not Johnson because I he is the wrong ethnicity for Reacher. Lundgren and Neeson are both too old and too foreign (which is ironic in a way) How about someone we really dont know
as an actor, painfully farm boy…John Cena. Johnson proved you could come out of wrestling and shake that prejudice off pretty quick.
It is somewhat pointless because we will never know but Cena is the kind of guy I picture as Reacher and definitely not the runt who got the job.
I’m a pretty fast reader. A Reacher novel takes me about 4 hours, includes lot more information. Inconsistencies stick out.
A typical 90 minute film has a screenplay of about a quarter the amount of screenplay pages as the corresponding novel. Much critical informationis omitted, entire scenes dropped, rarely any internal thinking or back storues. Characters are shallow. If they can’t do something or say something it doesn’t happen.
That’s the nature of movies.
Put Cruise in a film and it had to be a blockbuster to judtify the investment. Blockbuster audiences want action, not introspection, not internal dialogues, not soliloquies that exceed a quip.
No offence to Hugh but he just doesn’t have the look of a smart, tactical-thinker, kinda guy.
I always picture Jason Statham. That’s Reacher.
I most certainly agree. I too almost pucked over Cruise. I would be ready for the next one …
He has the visual toughness, but not the stature. Reacher was more of a tactical brawler than an karate guy. He used his mass and strength because he had them.
If they were making the movie 30 or 40 years ago: there’s a tall actor who used to be an Army captain, West Point grad, and golden gloves boxing champion – – Kris Kristofferson would have worked I think.
KRIS should never be permitted in front of a camera, ever. UGLY weirdo great song writer, but please don’t sing.
He could act it very well and has everything including the ability to appear hard and mean, but he’s not a large man. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Kristofferson in Maui and he’s 5’8″-5′-9″ tops. He boxed as a Middleweight in University so not a big guy. A songwriting Great and a good guy though. I saw him do a solo show in 2011 2.5 hours no repeats. Sorry to hear about the Lyme disease. That sucks.
That’s a poor, lame pun BTW. falls short, EGAD.
Dwayne Johnson ?
Too much baggage playing soft action heroes who happen to be strong.
Gerard Butler or Sean Bean
I thought a young Nick Nolte would have been great!!
David, Yes, Viggo could nail Reacher. In my mind, Lee Child is Jack Reacher. Check book jacket photo
Hugh Jackman would’ve been great too – he’s very versatile and a wonderful actor.
I’m thinking Liam Hemsworth or John Cena…
Definitely Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
I hate to have to agree with you on that, Charmain, but the moment I heard about Cruise being cast I thought the exact same thing in those very words.
A parallel but ultimately very different outcome happened with Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series, going into its second year as a mini-series (though not so mini) on STARZ. Although the books are very different, the fan base is even more intense. Just in case anyone from “Ladies of Lallybroch,” the oldest of her fan pages reads this, I won’t depict them – and me – as rabid. Diana held out for years, refusing to sell the rights, until the producer and the staff who would be working with him told her how much they all had enjoyed the series and promised to stay as true to it as possible. Diana was involved with the casting, and kept us up-to-date; she’s credited as a consultant, and she even had a guest appearance with a line to say! Since the first novel takes place in Scotland, in both the 18th and 20th centuries, Scottish actors were cast in the Scottish roles. The main problem casting Jamie, the main male lead, was very similar to Reacher. In fact, Jamie is very much an 1700s, red-headed Scottish version of Reacher. Claire, his female counterpart, often mentions the fact that she never worried about losing him in a crowd because he stands head and shoulders above the rest, with his long red hair, consisting of all the different hues of red, shining bright. That was a problem for me, because the actor cast had to dye his hair red, and it’s just not the right shade. It’s kind of like his hair, and hers for that matter, along with their eyes have become characters in their own right. But Diana finally had enough of all the suggestions from fans who thought this actor or that me would be better in the role. And she sent out a post reminding her fans that she knows the characters best, because she created them, and so she knows better than anyone what they look like. Luckily, she was right. I only wish that Child had followed Diana’s example instead of Anne Rice’s.
I think Tom Cruise is shorten than 5 7 could be wrong still pretty short
5′-7″, 17lb.
I totally agree I’ve always pictured Jack as a 6 foot something dude. I think the actor who played The Punisher in the War Zone Punisher movie should’ve played Jack Reacher. Or Leiv Shriver from the Wolverine movie.
Chris Hemsworth. Big guy, blond hair. That is Jack Reacher.
Or the actor Jim Caviezel from Person of Interest.
I agree; since they are filming from a trench to make Cruise look larger they might as well use Danny Trejo at least he looks tough enough.
Max Martini, formerly from the Unit etal, would have been MY perfect fit for this role. His build, walk, style and voice all fit what Jack Reacher is described as. What was Lee Child thinking when Cruise got this role. I would never watch the movie be will remain and avid fan of the books.
The only man who could convincingly play Jack Reacher was Clint Walker, who played Cheyenne on TV from 1955-1963. Walker is still alive at 90
agree – particularly as Reacher’s very size in many way defines him and how he is viewed in the world. Further, while the first movie Jack Reacher was bad, Cruise at least attempted to emulate the “character” of Reacher – the second movie was simply a Cruise movie – and the character he claimed to portray was in so many ways the opposite of who Jack Reacher is. Terrible terrible choice.
Tom cruise played the part of jack reacher perfectly. His only problem is he didn’t look the part. I would rather have someone who can act the part than look the part anyway.
Before “One Shot” was made, a friend and I discussed who would be the perfect Jack Reacher. We’re about 50 years late, but the perfect Jack Reacher would have been Chuck Connors, hands down.
I agree with that.
Me too.
Still think Liam Neeson, he was impressive in Taken!
Liam Neeson doesn’t do humor, that I’ve seen. He’s very heavy.
The Jack Reacher books are laced with dry humor that Tom Cruise brought to the screen very well.
I know this is late and a side track. But I was surprised to watch the movie Gun Shy (2000). Liam Neeson did well in the action/humor role.
oh yeah
John Cena?
I actually had the book for years on my kindle and never bothered to read them until I saw the movie. I agree that Tom Cruise isn’t the ideal body shape but he’s probably the only one who didn’t turn it down. I would have loved Daniel Craig in the part. Shame though, I would have loved to see a series of movies made from the books. But I guess since they already have Bond they don’t need another bad boy.
Cuise didn;’t offer that part to anyone else. He bought the movie rights.
Lucky you Steve. Unfortunately for me, I have been a fan of Lee Child for many years and eagerly await his new book each year. Yes, Tom Cruise played a good part, but as an actor, he should have realised he was the wrong choice.
Rubbish, Reacher should have been played by a younger version of Liam Neeson. To put vertically challenged Tom Cruise to play 6`5″ 250lb Reacher is ludicrous and totally unbelievable to every avid Reacher follower
Neeson would have been good as Reacher….. but what about Gerard Butler? He’s only 6′ 2″ but could pull it off.
Tom Cruise may be too short, but he has the attitude down. His production company, Cruise/Wagner, is the one who finally got the books into film. Something several other companies had failed to do. He brought to the screen “Jack Reacher” in more ways than one. Tom Cruise is one of the very few actors that could have pulled “Jack Reacher” off right. So, he is too short, we have seen this kind of thing going from books to movies a million times. I want the personality, the drive, the attitude. Truely, size, in this case, doesn’t matter! I am still buying and reading the books… I am a Jack Reacher Junkie!!!
i just finished the entire series, and, while Tom Cruise is not who I would cast as Jack Reacher, the film is very good. A famous author was once asked if he liked what Hollywood had done with his novels. He gestured toward his library collection and replied, “Hollywood didn’t do anything with my novels. They’re all right there.”
Ha ha ha. That’s good.
On a side note, I’m half-way through Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series, and I’m devastated to learn that he died a couple of years back. He seemed like a real good guy from his acknowledgements. Had a wife and family, too. I wonder who’ll bring that character to the screen.
Anyway, Thank God Lee Child hasn’t kicked the bucket.
I did not know about Vince Flynn and I am very sorry to here this. I tremendously enjoy his novels.
He’s only 62 in 2017.
I agree completely with you about Tom Cruise. I did not think he could pull it off but he did. My choice for the role would’ve been to Wayne Johnson, a.k.a. The rock.
So disappointed Tom Cruise was chosen to play Jack Reacher. Couldn’t watch the film for all I would have on my mind was he was a midget to Jack Reacher’s height.
Reacher is supposed to be a huge guy maybe that’s why ? other than that I think Tom Cruise is perfect.
Cruise has the ego of a much bigger actor :-D.
Tom Cruise is not Jack Reacher as described by the author, not even close.
I never would have know of Jack Reacher if it weren’t for the movie if anything it’s quite possibly getting the series more attention
I have read most of the Jack Reacher series. I did so before the movie appeared on television. Seeing the scrawny Tom Cruise in the title role had me wondering who the casting director was. There is no way on God’s green earth that Cruise can pull off the role. The whole idea of the character is his intimidating presence because. The only way it could be pulled off with Cruise as the leading character is if most of other characters were little people.
Tom Cruise does NOT represent the physical character of Jack Reacher. As others have said the fact that Reacher is 6’5″ is what enables him to take care of the bad guys in fights. No way 5’7″ Cruise could believably take on 4 guys in a fist fight and come out alive. Sorry Lee Child sold out to the movie producers. Just hope in the next movie he doesn’t let them change the story line as well as the character.
OBVIOUSLY, TOTALLY RUINS THE CHARACTER. CRUISE CANNOT “CARRY OFF THE ROLE” by any stretch of the imagination. JUST HORRRRIBLE.
“…he’s the richest guy in Hollywood”
Um… not even close. Nice try though.
I have to agree with Steve….I’m working my way through Lee Child’s books because of Tom Cruise – I ignore the image portrayed in the books and just get down to the story, which I have found entertaining. I like the way Lee Child writes and will continue to buy his books
So I am NOT a fan of Tom Cruise, but in my case I hadn’t read ANY of the Jack Reacher books before seeing the movie (a dozen times). (Kind of like any Lethal Weapon movie, if you’re clicking around the channels and come across it, you watch it).
Anyway, I’m watching the movie – again – and my wife suggested that since I was looking for a new books series to start , I should checkout the ‘Reacher’ series.
I am currently on the 13th book in the series. I have actually gone back and watched the movie – again – to look at Tom Cruise’s portrayal with fresh eyes.
Yeah – he’s NOT the same guy from the book – but I still think he killed it. I have tried to think of who in Hollywood could play a ‘true to the book’ portrayal of Jack, and the only guy I could come up with is Bradley Cooper after his role in American Sniper.
Not sure if changing out Cruise at this point would help – book readers are a finicky lot, always bitching about what was cut to compress the story into 2 hours. Often hate the adaptation! Hollywood goes after the non-reader, and little Tommy Cruise fills seats.
Too many scenes in the books use Reacher’s size as how he overcomes many situations. Cruise could NEVER show that.
Just read your post Steve. I also am a Jack Reacher fan. I’ve read everyone and I’m now in the process of reading through a second time from start to finish. Like you I personally thought Tom Cruise did an excellent job. But just like anything someone will always be ready to criticise whoever played the part.
Tom is a midget. Reacher is a giant.
After seeing Cruise in both the movies, I’d find it hard to see anyone else playing Reacher. He does a great job, as always, to let audiences see his character, instead of Cruise himself. He’s one of the best.
I completely agree with this statement. Tom Cruise does have exactly that: the presence to carry off a big role like Jack Reacher. Cruise inhabits the role. I am never aware Im watching a big shot movie star, instead, his body language, mannerisms and speaking behavior ARE Jack Reacher. I am disappointed that Lee Child caved to some book fans criticism of Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher just because Tom Cruise is 5’7″, and not 6’5″. It seems like Lee Child used Tom Cruise’s fame and popularity as free advertising to draw viewers to watch the first two Jack Reacher movies, then maybe decided to replace him with a taller, less well known actor in future Jack Reacher tv series in order to maybe make more money on the future tv series for himself, because Tom Cruise doesn’t come cheap. Whatever the reason for Tom Cruise’s dismissal, Lee Child knew Tom Cruise was 5’7″ when he approved of Cruise playing Jack Reacher, and it is in poor taste and a sign of low class that Lee Child would let Cruise go after Cruise popularized and made more widely publicly known the Jack Reacher movies and opened up and created possibly millions of new readers to the Jack Reacher novels because of his fame and popularity. I can’t think of a better actor to portray Jack Reacher who can embody the personality like Tom Cruise does, just because a different actor will be 10 inches taller to be 6’5″, like Reacher is in the novels.
My absolute favorite author! Thanks for the great reads!!
Anyone know what the chronological order of the jack reacher books is??
http://www.bookseriesinorder.com/jack-reacher/
Whoever wrote the Biography above needs to hire a good editor.
Why isn’t “The Visitor” mentioned in the List of Books?
Hi Praveen,
The Visitor is the UK title for “Running Blind”, Jack Reacher #4. They are both the same book. However the list SHOULD note that I’ll make a note to update that.
it is under the america name