The trope of a loner, either new in town or returning from years away, who is forced to confront the corruption and violence of the bad guys now in charge, is a familiar storyline in both film and TV.
Westerns such as Shane (1953) and the classic TV series Kung Fu (1972-75) revolved around this scenario, but it also plays out in a variety of other settings ranging from Ancient Rome (Gladiator, 2000) to outer space (Soldier, 1998). And all points between.
Amazon’s Jack Reacher adaptation is only the latest in this long line of wrong-righting protagonists and has been picking up positive reviews for beefy star Alan Ritchson’s depiction of the titular character.
In Lee Child’s novels, quintessential ‘stranger in town’ Reacher is a strapping 6ft 5’ man mountain; Ritchson is a more modest 6′ 2″, but skilful camera angles and his sheer bulk render him a near perfect physical incarnation of the books’ anti-hero.
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