Prime Video really hit it big when they activated the greenlight to adapt Lee Child‘s Reacher books. While there was an attempt to bring Jack Reacher to live action with a couple of movies in the past, Prime Video does seem to be doing a much better job at being true to the books and the character, even getting Alan Ritchson to play the titular mountain of a man, as Jack Reacher is describe in this way. Much more accurate when you compare him to the more lithe and diminutive Tom Cruise who played him in the films.
During the first season, they introduced Frances Neagley, one of Reacher’s closest confidants. She then appears in the next couple of subsequent seasons of Reacher, even playing a major role in the second one. It actually looked like Prime Video had big plans for her and, just this month, those plans seemingly came to fruition as they released Neagley, giving her an adventure mostly Jack Reacher-less. So, is this spin-off actually good despite not having Reacher nor is it based on any of Lee Child’s books? Well, read on to find out!
By the way, I know all of Neagley’s eight episodes have been out for quite a while. But, as I’ve never really been big on binge watching, I only finished the show just now. I would guess there are others who are like me and are taking their time to complete it. Or there might be others who are on the fence as this isn’t based on any of Lee Child’s books and is, like I said, sans Reacher. So, I will be making this a SPOILER FREE review for now.
Anyway, Neagley follows Frances Neagley, a former MP under Jack Reacher and has learned a lot from her commanding officer when it comes to investigation and how to handle herself in combat situations. She uses these skills as a private investigator operating out of Chicago. When one of her friends dies under mysterious circumstances, she takes it upon herself to investigate his death as the police won’t. She eventually enlists the help of Detective Hudson Riley, a police officer trying to shake the stigma off his family’s legacy, Renee, the secretary of the PI firm she works with who is trying to be a private investigator herself, and Keno, a streetwise con artist who Neagley saves.
Now, I was actually pretty nervous going into Neagley as the people behind it were creating a totally new story and not adapting anything. Sure, the same people behind the Reacher series are also doing Neagley but that doesn’t mean they know how to put together an interesting original mystery. With that being said, I can say they did put together a pretty good story but I just don’t like how it diverges from how the Reacher series tells their stories most of the time.
Generally, Reacher doesn’t really give us a window to the villains point-of-view. As such, we’re finding out about who the bad guys are and what their plans are as Reacher and company do. In Neagley, we, the viewers, are privy to the the villains discussions among each other and we also get to see them actually do their villainy stuff. While it does makes us hate them a little more, I do miss the discovery of what evil they’re actually doing.
The writers also tried to do something Reacher stopped doing: focusing on the main character’s backstory. In Reacher’s first season, it made sense as it does deal with the death of Jack Reacher’s brother. In Neagley, it deals with the origins of her haphephobia, the irrational fear of being touched. This was commented in previous seasons of Reacher but, in Neagley, it dives into the origins of why she experiences it. I get it was necessary for character building and growth but I didn’t like it as, whenever the series switched to this storyline, it slowed things down and made it feel like filler. Also, I kind of liked that Neagley was still an excellent private investigator despite having haphephobia as it shows that even someone like her can still function in normal society somewhat. Having her try to figure out why she’s like that kind of hurts the character, in my opinion.
I also of the opinion that Neagley would have been better off with a couple more episodes to tell the story. While there is a logical progression to the investigation overall, there does seem like a lot things happened in the last two episodes. I can’t really get into details as this is a SPOILER FREE review. What I can say is, after getting used to seeing the bad guys explain their machinations throughout the show, they all of a sudden stop explaining their actions to the viewer by the final episode. Adding an episode or two with the baddies monologuing about what they’re about to do next would have been appreciated for consistency.
The acting here is pretty good, overall. Nothing I would call exceptional but I do like how each actor attacked their character. Maria Sten already has Frances Neagley down pat as she’s been playing the character for several years now. The only thing that didn’t work for me in her performance were the more emotional moments as it came off to me as if she was overdoing it just a bit. Still, she does play the hardnosed badass pretty well, which is most of the time. It did take me some time to really understand Greyson Holt‘s Hudson Riley as, early on, he would bounce from angry to calm at a moment’s notice. This did get balanced out as the show went on, thankfully. I also did like Jasper Jones‘ Keno as he did pull off the youthful, fast talking kid with a heart of gold well. I am a little on the fence with Adeline Rudolf‘s Renee but that’s mostly because it really took some time for the character to get a personality. And even when she did, she came off as kind of flat. Not really sure how much of that is the fault of the writing.
In a way, I guess the same thing can be said about the villains. The actors who play the antagonists comes off as hokey and trite because they are written as hokey and trite antagonists. The cult leader comes off as many of the other cult leaders you’ve seen on television and in movies. The other bad guys come off as very typical business bad guys. I guess you can say the people portraying them did a good job because I’m guessing that’s how the writers and the director wanted these characters to come off. Still, I do wish they were less cartoony.
I guess the big question is if Neagley is, at the very least, as good as any of the Reacher seasons. I don’t think it hits those high marks but it come very, very close. It’s good enough to warrant a second season but I don’t think I will be as eager to see it like I am with a new season of Reacher. Still, if you do like Reacher, you should give Neagley a shot.
Have you seen Neagley? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!
