Along Came A Spider
(2001)
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The redoubtable Morgan Freeman returns as Washington, DC police detective Alex Cross, the master profiler, in an exciting thriller based on James Patterson's novel, ALONG CAME A SPIDER. The film is actually a prequel to the box office blockbuster KISS THE GIRLS. Here, Cross is pursuing a brilliantly twisted kidnapper who's holding the daughter of a U.S. senator. When the kidnapper, Gary Soneji (the effectively sinister character actor, Michael Wincott), who had posed as a schoolteacher for two years before making his move, contacts Cross and taunts him, but makes no demands for money, Cross starts to piece together a psychological profile. With the help of a clever and beautiful Secret Service agent, Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter), Cross begins his investigation of the bizarrely elaborate and ruthless crime. But as is usual with Patterson's work, just when Cross (and the audience) thinks everything is resolved, a stunning twist unfolds. Acclaimed director Lee Tamahori (THE EDGE, ONCE WERE WARRIORS) is adept at staging the action, including a tense chase through Union Station during rush hour, and Freeman's pensive presence lends an extra level of gravity to this darkly entertaining thriller. |
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In this suspenseful prequel to Kiss the Girls, Morgan Freeman resumes his role as detective and psychologist Alex Cross. Cross is coming to terms with the death of his partner when a kidnapper (Michael Wincott) leaves a piece of evidence in his postbox. A senator's daughter is being held to ransom, and the Secret Service agent who should have been protecting her (Monica Potter) volunteers to assist Cross. Based on the first of James Patterson's bestselling Cross novels, the film boasts a strong cast that's assuredly led by Freeman as the older, wiser figure among them. Yet the pace of the film seems forced in order to fit in too many plot contrivances.