Cheap Along Came a Spider (DVD) (Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott) (Lee Tamahori) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Along Came a Spider

The Good:

Morgan Freeman did an excellent job as Alex Cross. He was believable and is an incredibly good actor. The plot was good, and the script was actually decent, something I haven't seen in many movies lately, but that's because of James Patterson, I assume.

The Bad:

The opening scene had terrible special effects. The car falling over the side looked incredibly fake, Air Force One-like...when the plane crashed into the water. Other than Freeman, the rest of the acting was mediocre to subpar, besides Monica Potter, who did play a pretty believable part.

Overall, Along Came a Spider isn't the best thriller I have ever seen, but it's a good watch. My advice is wait until this goes to the budget theatre or out to video. It's good, but I think some people might be disappointed if they pay 8 bux to see a movie that's not superb...all in all, if it wasn't for Morgan Freeman's performance, this film would be a flop.

A good film but an even better novel
Glossy thriller doesn't measure up to James Patterson's excellent novel but does have great work by Morgan Freeman and enough action and suspense to make for a good film. Alex Cross is on the trail of psychopath Gary Soneji who has kidnapped a young girl from school and murders a schoolteacher for good measure. Monica Potter seems self-conscious and stiff and doesn't breathe enough life into Jezzie Flannigan's character. Penelope Ann Miller is fine as the distraught mother of the missing girl and Mika Boorem is heroic and resourceful as the kidnapped Megan. The film's opening sequence of a helicopter surveillance of Soneji with Cross' female partner in harm's way provides one of the movie's best moments. Jerry Goldsmith's music score is moody and understated and is a great asset to the movie.

Alex Cross returns
If you are real generous and forgive some major leaps of logic, than "Along Cane A Spider" is a pretty good little thriller. Detective Alex Cross(played by the ever reliable Morgan Freeman) is brought in on a high profile kidnapping case patterned after the Charles Linbergh baby kidnapping. Gary Sonji is a very worthy advacary indeed. With out giving too much away, there is a lot more to it than that. Director Lee Tamahori dose a lot to give the movie a slick style, and that works well, in a "Miami Vice" kind of way. As said before, Morgan Freeman gives a very good performance, though I have a few comments on his Alex Cross. The Alex Cross character is based on James Patterson's novels, and that version of Cross is much younger (in fact I picture Denzel Washington or Wesley Snipes), also with a son and daughter. Also his personal life usually gets a lot of attention (though I liked the movie's decision to not concentrate on his family.) Another complaint is that, yes, Cross is very smart; but to make some of the connections he made to figure out what was going on, he has to be psychic. That seems a little silly. Monica Potter's Jezzie Flenagan was alright, not a lot of depth to her (in the book, she was Cross's lover; that was another change I was happy about). Michael Wincott is the cold blooded Gary Sonji, changed a lot from the book, and not a good change. I liked him a lot, but there really wasn't a lot to go on while trying to figure out what makes him tick. The little girl, Mika Boorem, dose a good job, at least she didn't cry all the time which always gets on my nerves. But on the other hand, she seemed a little too smart and resourceful to be only 10 years old. All in all, it isn't bad, just a little too contrived for my taste.