Remember all those times Reacher is trying to tell his girl-of-the-week the whole story as he sees it, based on his final bad-ass deductions near the end of pretty much all the books? And how often the people he's talking to are just going: "Slow down - what the fuck are you talking about? Not only does this not make sense, you're also forgetting that we aren't all mind-readers..."

And I think it makes perfect sense that he comes off as a little awkward. Confident, sure, likeable, depends on who you're asking, but at the end of the day, I think Reachers social skills in certain situations are one of his weaknesses.

Reacher can handle an interrogation, no problem, but his interrogations are pretty much just a bunch of tools. Not necessarily highly developed social skills. His interrogations are pretty much just "If I do this, he should open up", you know, lines and techniques he has learned through repetition. Not to mention how often this fails, too, and he has to resort to violence to get his results.

Reacher is also very skilled at his job, and the vast majority of people he come in to contact with are similarly minded people who do kind of what he does, one way or another. That's why they like him - he's a good colleague and very, very skilled at his job.

Men who are like him are the only ones he can make friends with in the books. And even with these people, he tends to have problems connecting with people. If you notice, he makes far more enemies, and the majority of people who don't outright think he's a pain in the ass, sometimes only tolerate him because they have to. His social circle outside of work is non-existing, and when he does have to speak to civilians, he usually comes off as an arrogant asshole who thinks civilians are stupid and would much rather if they left him alone.

He has no trouble getting laid. He is a walking sex machine. But he does have trouble maintaining relationships, even if the girl in question is a childhood flame that he has everything in common with.

Reacher is a lone wolf, somewhat by choice, but also because he was born and raised in the military, and even after he got out, it's been all he knows. Reacher is not a bad person, he's just somewhat socially impaired, honestly.

And I just feel like the movies want to portray him as a badass in all regards. From his deduction skills to his social skills, Tom Cruise seems to think Reachers awkward half-thoughts are to be dropped like bombs to display how much more badass Reacher is than everyone else. They make it seem like everything he says is calculated, like he knows exactly what to say but he wants you to figure it out for yourself. I've just always read it as if he actually just has trouble putting his thoughts into words.

What do you guys think?