These 2 Tom Cruise Action Movies Now Streaming On Netflix Will Help Pass The Time Before Reacher Season 3 (2024)

Summary

Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher movies are now on Netflix, offering fans a different take on the character.
Reacher season 2 leaves viewers hungry for more adventures, with 27 novels in the series to explore.
Despite some limitations, Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher movies are a fun watch for fans of the franchise.

For viewers looking forward to Reacher season 3, a pair of Tom Cruise movies that just arrived on Netflix might be the perfect solution. 2022’s Reacher proved a huge success for Prime Video. Alan Ritchson embodied the hulking hero of Lee Childs’ novels perfectly and, although Reacher season 2 struggled to recapture the success of season 1, the series remained a popular guilty pleasure. Now, Reacher season 3 is one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming TV returns and viewers are understandably hungry for more from the super-smart, super-strong former Military Police officer and drifter.

Fortunately, Reacher’s season 2 ending leaves viewers with plenty of other adventure to explore. There are no less than 27 novels in Childs’ Jack Reacher series, beginning in 1997 with The Killing Floor and ending with 2023’s The Secret. October 2024 will see the arrival of the next Jack Reacher book, In Too Deep, while there is also a collection of short stories starring the character by the same author. However, for viewers who prefer to stick with screens, there is another option. Netflix just acquired a pair of underrated action thrillers that star another take on the familiar character.

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All 9 Members Of Reacher's 110th Special Investigations Unit Explained

Reacher season 2 introduces Jack Reacher's former military team, the 110th Special Investigations Unit, composed of highly-skilled members.

Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher Movies Are Now Streaming On Netflix Ahead Of Prime Video Show’s Season 3 Release

Cruise’s Reacher Movies Took A Different Approach To The Antihero

Tom Cruise’s two Jack Reacher movies, 2012’s Jack Reacher and 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, recently arrived on Netflix. Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies aren’t as acclaimed as the Prime Video series, mainly because their star doesn’t fit the character’s description from the novels. Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies did some things better than the later series, but these positive elements were largely overshadowed by the reaction to the star’s miscasting. As such, Netflix viewers might be surprised to discover that Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies are pretty fun for fans of the franchise despite their limitations.

Based on 2005’s One Shot, Jack Reacher is the stronger of the two movies. Werner Herzog is an offbeat, unsettling villain, Robert Duvall offers a stellar supporting performance and Rosamund Pike is typically superb as the hero’s love interest. Cruise might not embody Reacher’s build, but he convinces as a razor-sharp soldier of fortune with a unique set of skills. Director Christopher McQuarrie went on to become famous for his later collaborations with Cruise in the Mission: Impossible series, and Jack Reacher boasts the same fast pace, sharp wit, and inventive action sequences as those sequels.

Which Books Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher Movies Are Based On (& Will Prime Video's Show Adapt Them?)

Prime Video’s Reacher Show May Never Cover All Reacher’s Adventures

While all of the Jack Reacher books have their ups and downs, One Shot works particularly well as a standalone adventure. However, the quality of the source material isn’t reflected in its adaptation. 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was based on the 2013 novel of the same name but, although that book was partially well-reviewed, the sequel wasn’t as successful. Prime Video’s Reacher series has not yet adapted either of these novels and, with so many in the source series, it may never get around to them even after Reacher season 3’s ending.

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