Today, we have two streaming shows that help bring the action genre back on its feet. One is the Limited Series, Reacher, based on the Lee Child books - and the second is the new Soderbergh techno-thriller, KIMI.
Reacher (Amazon Prime) - With this Limited series of eight episodes on Amazon, we may very well bid an ambivalent farewell to the cinematic Reacher that Tom Cruise portrayed - and let him call it a day. It’s often been criticized as taking too much of a departure from how the ex-military man is described in Lee Child’s novels, who should be more of a physical threat, stockier, and even funnier. While there wasn’t truly anything wrong with Cruise’s attack on the character, the Lee Child fans were always left wondering ‘What If?’ Well, thanks to those series, they seem to have found the perfect antidote to those Cruise Blues. Based on the first novel that first introduced us to Jack Reacher, and his descending on the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia, this one delights.
Alan Ritchson is the beefy, upgraded Reacher, and his size belies the smarts he has on him. Willa Fitzgerald as lady police officer Roscoe is just one of the strong support cast that helps bring this show to vivid life. Malcolm Goodwin as Chief Detective Findlay is the other interesting character who becomes the voice of reason in this small town with plenty of deep, dark secrets and ulterior motives. What also works is how they faithfully keep to the tone and language of the novels, and use Reacher’s deducting powers to great strength, coming out so unexpectedly. There’s a Lee Child cameo, indicative of the support he gave to this adaptation. The series has been so well-received that a second season has already been optioned and been signed up for. Say goodbye to Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher.
KIMI (USA, HBO Go) - Soderbergh can definitely be forgiven for not knowing the meaning of ‘retired’. A couple of years ago, he officially announced his retirement from Hollywood; and to be fair, he’s come up with several films since then, but all outside the so-called Hollywood system. He’s concentrated on small projects for the streaming services, but ‘work’ he certainly has been doing. His output rivals that of his storied career’s busiest years. This latest was filmed during the ongoing pandemic, and it’s a suspense thriller that knows how to still be cerebral, while addressing our present culture of isolation. At its heart, is a virtual service assistant that’s like Siri or Alexa, but named KIMI; and the story revolves around one of the voice stream operators, Angela Childs (as played by blue-haired Zoë Kravitz).
It’s what happens when this agoraphobic individual stumbles upon a recording that she believes is a recording of a woman in danger, possibly being murdered. Set in Seattle, it’s quite telling how Soderbergh makes the COVID health protocols play a role in the why’s of the narrative. If you had to level a criticism, it would be how measured the pace is for more than half of the film, then suddenly bursts with violence, energy, and mayhem. Corporate politics, the feeling of entitlement by the privileged tech moguls, and how principles, scruples and morality are left on the sidewalk in their pursuit of success, are just some of the themes that swirl around the story. This is modern Hitchcock, and we can be thankful that Zoë Kravitz is such a compelling screen presence, as she carries much of the film - both in physicality and in emoting.