Customer Reviews

Along Came a Spider

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At the time that I am writing this review I see 140 of these DVDs listed used starting at $2.98. I would consider it a bargain for 3 times that!

To the movie:
I have not read the Alex Cross novels, so I am not able to comment on the movies based on them being faithful or not to the book. I HAVE seen both "Along Came A Spider" and "Kiss the Girls" and I enjoyed "Spider" much more, even though KTG was a good stab at the thriller genre.

Morgan Freeman inhabits Alex Cross more completely, and I suspect that my appreciation of his performance was a combination of his wonderfully intelligent acting and Lee Tamahori's direction. This version of Cross is intelligent, compassionate, brave, and scarcely takes a wrong step. He'd be a good teacher and a good person to go get a beer with. And if some psychotic killer were on your trail - he's the guy you'd want tracking the killer.

*WARNING! Silence of the Lambs Spoiler in this paragraph!*
The writers of thrillers have begun doing cartwheels trying to out "surprise" all that came before. I can't pinpoint when this began.... but do you remember the surprise in "Silence of the Lambs" when Hannibal Lector suddenly appears from beneath the sheets in the ambulance? The story here throws in several twists, and although in the lesser thriller you can often sense the "twists" a country mile before it occurs, I found myself genuinely surprised several times.

It is worth mentioning both the character and performance given by young Mika Boorem as Megan Rose, the kidnapped daughter of a U.S. Senator. In many thrillers adults often behave as if they've been lobotomized, with victims giving killers ample opportunity to have their way and with killers who give the hero a boring explanation of their motives as they also give the hero plenty of time to get the drop on them. Megan Rose is no such character. She is smart, resourceful, and after being kidnapped she plainly has no plans other than escaping. A handful of times she thwarts the villains in ways that would not be thought of by any of the adults you see on "Jerry Springer".

Monica Potter stands up adequately next to Morgan Freeman's powerful performance as Jezzie, the Secret Service Agent who was supposed to be guarding Megan when she is kidnapped suddenly by one of her teachers at her upscale prep school. It seemed a little odd to me that Alex Cross would be initially reluctant to form an alliance with a Secret Service Agent when in "Kiss The Girls" he doesn't have any problem with becoming investigative partners with an amateur - a medical intern.

There are several sequences which I found clever and suspenseful, such as the one in which a ransom of a thermos full of diamonds is transferred to the kidnapper - I always wonder how kidnappers think they're going to get away with it when they're trying to ransom - for you to get your loot you HAVE to go to where the loot is, right? And if the ransom is several million, won't the cops be waiting for you? The way THIS kidnapper overcomes this dillemma is ingenious.... and I read on the IMDB that this sequence was based on a similar sequence from "High and Low" by Kurosawa.

At one point Alex Cross finds himself in the kidnapper's house, looking at two years of work that went into developing the kidnapping plan and he plainly has some admiration.

"Imagine the patience...the dedication..." he murmurs.
Jezzie responds "You sound like an admirer."
"Well, he's like a spider. I happen to like spiders."

I happen to like movies with clever villains, clever resourceful victims, sequences that pay homage to Kurosawa, and smart characters and actors like Morgan Freeman.

Plus you can buy it for less than a rental at Blockbuster....

I have to admit that I never quite understand why a director would decide to make a movie of a perfectly good suspense/mystery story (a best seller no less) and proceed to make wholesale modifications to the plot. It almost guarantees that a good piece of the audience will dislike the film simply because it diverges from the book and never even notice that it is a good film all on its own.

And it is a good film. Morgan Freeman does a superb job of portraying Detective Alex Cross as he tries to peel away the layers of a kidnapping that gets away from everyone - kidnapper and police alike. Gary Soneji(Michael Wincott), a teacher at a posh school for the children of the powerful, decides to improve his social standing by kidnapping Megan Rose (Mika Boorem), a senator's daughter. He has everything worked out in detail, including getting Cross out of of semi-retirement, in order to demonstrate Soneji's brilliance.

Joined by Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter). who was the secret service agent on duty when Soneji makes his move, Cross begins to sift through the details to try to understand Soneji enough to win Megan's Freedom. With each fact comes more confusion and the plot will zigzag all over the event horizon before the final confrontation. In many ways, this is a compelling combination of police procedural and suspense/psychotic film as the film switches back and forth between Cross and Soneji. A lot of people get shot, but the film doesn't dwell on the gory parts.

Mika Boorem does a fantastic job as the kidnapped girl, by the way. She manages to find an unusual balance between fearful weakness and a surprising inner strength. The film is well directed in a nicely understated way. If it wasn't for the arbitrary changes to an already good plot Along Came A Spider would have been a real winner. But even so, the basic surprises are carried over from the book to the film, the work is good, and the popcorn is warm. If you like tricky detection tales, you'll find this film entirely satisfactory.

If you happen to be a fan of "Kiss the Girls," the 1997 surprise hit thriller, then you may be a bit disappointed in its prequel, "Along Came a Spider," which pits Dr. Alex Cross against yet another kidnapper who has an agenda to be dealt with. As Dr. Cross, Morgan Freeman makes the film watchable at best, but the ominous presence of loopholes, twisted logic, and the overall way in which the movie toys with the audience, results in slight disappointment.

The movie opens with a chase sequence that serves little purpose other than to set up a time of emotional turmoil in Cross's life, after the death of his partner as a result of this pursuit. His personal war against himself is put on hold when he discovers that a young girl, the daughter of a Senator, has been kidnapped, and the kidnapper wants Cross on the case.

Teaming up with Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter), who was the child's guardian at the private school she attended, the two of them begin sorting through the clues and details involving the kidnapping, trying to get a lock down on the whereabouts of the teacher they believe responsible. To say that the movie makes a mistake by revealing the kidnapper's identity is a misfire, but the fact that we know who he is doesn't enhance the plot, either.

The movie is a sea of loopholes, from the solving of clues to the realization that the kidnapper may not be working alone. Consider a scene in which Cross goes through computer video in order to find a clue to the villain's whereabouts. He goes from searching through a classroom to a live computer camera that is based in the kidnapper's apartment, without any logical explanation for this transition other than a mere piece of dialogue from an extra to explain that what he is looking at is no longer recorded video.

In another scene, Cross has a conversation with the kidnapper about a ransom exchange that took place in an earlier sequence on a subway train. The amount of the money was a mere ten million dollars, but Cross congratulates him for his retrieval of twelve million. This is one of the movie's more admirable twists, letting us in on the fact that since our villain seems to know nothing of this ransom, then there must be someone else involved.

There are plot points that work, and those that don't, and in the end, the movie has toyed with us a little too much. "Kiss the Girls" toyed with our expectations, too, but allowed us time to build our own conclusion before throwing it back at us, all the while keeping our interest peaked. "Spider" toys with us in ways that leave little time to draw any sort of conclusion about what is going on, leading up to a particularly effective surprise twist ending that doesn't cheat according to the rules the plot has set up, though is somewhat hindered by the heightened disinterest in the lead-up.

It's good to see Morgan Freeman back in such fine form; as Dr. Alex Cross, this is the Freeman we all know and love. His ability to instill calm in the most tense of situations is remarkable, and his solving of the crimes is shown in an intelligent, capable light. I will refrain from commenting on the acting of Monica Potter, so as not to reveal what happens, but I gather that the audience will make their own decision about her acting in the beginning and the end once the ending arrives. Michael Wincott is an ideal villain, and however little of him we get to see, his performance is remarkably chilling.

In the end, "Along Came a Spider" is worth it for Morgan Freeman's acting, and some key plot points, but the overall effect the movie has is disappointing. The plot twists of the movie feel more like obstacles than advancements, while the central mystery never reaches a fully interesting fever pitch until the end. There are things that work and things that don't in this film; unfortunately, they never reach a healthy medium.

It seems as though I am in the minority with this film. I enjoyed the plot twists, though you had to follow them carefully. If you were watching you could, in theory, figure out who the bad guys are, though you really do not have all the facts to truly figure out every detail, somewhat like a Sherlock Holmes story.

Our story focuses on one Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott), who has carefully planned to kidnap the daughter of U.S. Senator Hank Rose, unconvincingly played by Michael Moriarty. The point of the kidnapping is not to kidnap Megan (Mika Boreem), but to get access to a foreign diplomat's son, who is good friends with Megan. Mr. Soneji is, as might be guessed, a bit of a wacko. He wants Dr. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman), a famous profiler, to chronicle the battle of wits between them. Ultimately there is a showdown between the two of them, but the showdown does not reveal the location of Megan.

The plot twists and thickens more, and yet, there were clues in several places, I thought. I was quite puzzled when the security guards went running out the front of the school instead of just closing the gates. Further, I thought someone would have at least tried to grab a car to follow the kidnapper. Later, Jezzie Flanagan (Monica Potter) has a chance to shoot the kidnapper and does not, though she seemed to have a chance to wound him. All these little tidbits hint at the convolutions within the plot that are revealed only near the end of the movie.

The convolutions did entertain me, and I got much more enjoyment out of trying to figure out the plot than with gunshots and car chases. However, I prefer "Murder, She Wrote," "Columbo," and "Sherlock Holmes" to movies with nearly all action and no intelligence in their plot. When you watch this movie, you do have to pay attention or you will lose direction, and you will see more plot holes than there actually are. I thought nearly everything was explained as the movie progressed, and the only plot holes were mistakes by those involved in the kidnapping of Megan.

There were four standout actors in this film. Morgan Freeman is excellent, as usual, as Alex Cross. Michael Wincott is quite convincing as the marginally sane Gary Soneji. Monica Potter brings a good balance of strength and vulnerability to her role as Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flanagan. The real surprise performance is by Mika Boreem as Megan Rose. Megan tries very hard to get away throughout the movie, and uses her head continuously, incidentally saving her own life. Mika's performance is better than many of the adult actors in this film, and bodes well for a future career in acting.

It could just be that I'm getting older, and car chases and flying bullets just are not as enjoyable as they once were. Or it could be that I just liked the intellectual challenge of unraveling the threads of the complicated plot. In any case, this movie is clearly not for everyone, but I would love to watch it again.

ALONG CAME A SPIDER (2001, "R": Violence, Adult Subject Matter and Brief Strong Language)

THE GENRE: Suspense/Thriller/Drama

THE CAST: Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, and Penelope Ann Miller.

THE PLOT: In this prequel to the highly intelligent suspense thriller KISS THE GIRLS, Dr. Alex Cross (Freeman) is dealing with a different breed of a killer. A kidnapper snatches the Senator's daughter, Meghan, with no real motive or purpose. Trying to piece the puzzle together after Cross receives a phone call from the kidnapper, he teams up with the Secret Service Agent assigned to protect Meghan (Monica Potter). The kidnapper seems to have no specific demands, but just toys with Cross. But the tables turn drastically as Cross races to figure out what is really going on in this kidnapper's head, wondering why the kidnapper is saying he's proof that the mind can be an evil thing.

WHAT WORKS: Amazing acting and chemistry between the characters, a remarkable plot with very unexpected twists at every turn, and undeniable spine tingling suspense and thrills.

WHAT DOESN'T: The film can be too smart for the average audience who won't be able to understand some of the plot pieces that fit together so the film adds up.

THE CATCH: You really don't need to see KISS THE GIRLS before you watch this film. This is a movie in its own, even though it follows the character of Alex Cross.

OVERALL: "This is a knockout thriller which punches the buttons of all the other suspense films this year. Plot has never been more thicker and surprises do not get much bigger than this. This is a positive hit that is worth the time."

"Along Came A Spider" is a prequel to the 1997 film, "Kiss the Girls" which also starred Morgan Freeman as detective Alex Cross. Detective Cross is a serial kidnapper profiler who becomes involved in a cat and mouse chase that ensues when the daughter of a US Senator is abducted from her high security private school. In order to solve the crime Freeman teams up with the head Secret Service agent in charge of security at the kidnapped child's school, a dubiously cast Monica Potter. Since I am only used to seeing Ms. Monica frolic about in lightweight chick flick films I was surprised to see her granted such a meaty role...but anyway.

This is the sort of movie that is better if you know as little about it as possible so I will not spoil it for you by getting into details. I will say that, like a spider's web, the plot is as intricately woven and full of dead flies (just kidding about the flies). Some parts of the story are completely unpredictable and exciting while others are almost expected...but in the end you'll wonder about the expected parts...that's all I can say.

Freeman does a fine job in his role...but he's had enough practice don't ya think ("Kiss The Girls", "Seven"). Potter, though at first seemed only cast for her pretty face, really pulls off her role well-I have to admit that I was surprised and as a results she's chalked up a few points in my book.

Recommendation: This film is interesting, suspenseful, and well worth the watch. The people I've spoken with have given it mixed reviews. Like it or not (you'll probably like it unless you have ESP like my Mom...she always figures out the who-done-it's before she even sees the film...well, that what SHE says) you'll have a strong opinion and it will give you lots of fuel for debate. "Along Came A Spider" is no "Silence of the Lambs", but to give it a little more credit...it's also no "Kiss the Girls" (and I mean that in a good way). You'll be thinking about this movie long after the final credits have rolled (check out the credits for "man who can't answer the phone" and "potentially evil guy on train", I'm serious!).

Some of the best sequences in this bewildering thriller come at the very beginning, with a sudden and dramatic turn of events send a Corvette convertible off a bridge with such terrifying and fateful results. Yet this mind-boggling and somewhat implausible thriller brings back Morgan Freeman to reprise his role as the brilliant forensic detective Alex Cross that he played in "Kiss The Girls" to such an electrifying effect.

Of course, this whole opening sequence just lays the groundwork for the premise of the film, which is that Freeman's character has been sent into a tailspin, feeling personally responsible for a colleague's death, and this self-enforced "retirement" from active casework becomes one of the provocative elements energizing the action in this thriller. thus, when an influential senator's daughter is kidnapped in broad daylight from an exclusive Washington private school, Cross is pressed into service in order to generate more ink and electronic media interest.

Of course, some of the gee-whiz aspects of the plot are implausible, like Cross using advanced computer technology to virtually explore the topography of a suspect's room via a photograph, thereby discovering mind-boggling clues from that photograph that strain the credibility of the plot, but not to worry. We are quickly sped on our way toward another aspect of the developing story.

Like the previous movie, there are a number of unanticipated plot twists here top keep one's interest, and the action sequences are very well done. The two aspects of rapid-fire action and a number of bizarre plot turn-arounds have one guessing right up to the end just what the blazes is going on. Like the prior film, it is also an interesting travelogue of the area in which it was shot, this time primarily around the nation's capital. After these two outings, one hopes to see Alex Cross (played by Freeman, of course) will return to truly establish this franchise with a while series of such movies. This is one for a rainy Sunday afternoon, folks. Enjoy!

The movie opens with a failed police sting. Dr. Alex Cross' (Freeman) watches as his partner goes over the cliff in a car with a serial killer.

Next, there's a kidnapping at a DC school for VIP Children. Emily Rose (the daughter of Senator Rose) is kidnapped by her teacher. Mika Boorem plays young Emily and this kid is not your average hostage. She's a bright young girl and she fights back.

Alex Cross is still recovering in his home when the kidnapper calls him and involves him in the case. It seems the man wants to become as famous Lindbergh kidnapper. Dr. Cross is along to 'document the case.' Cross is joined by Jezzie Flannigan (Potter) the Secret Service agent at the school who failed to see the kidnapper as a threat.

"Along Came a Spider" is a fast-paced thriller with the added value of a child hostage and two police who are trying to prove themselves after failures. If I could ask James Patterson one question, it would be who he had in mind for Dr. Alex Cross when he wrote the novels. I cannot see anyone else other than Morgan Freeman even when I am reading the books.

Overall, the film is very well done. I preferred "Kiss the Girls" but I do own both DVDs and watch them periodically.

An intelligent script supports this movie with intriguing double crosses and smart twists of fate, although the information is there in front of us. Don' t blink and pay attention to every single shot. Interesting
psychological puzzle with gratifying results.

I did myself a injustice by reading the book and then watching the movie. To me, the movie was nothing like the book. The only thing that coincided was the title and the storyline(somewhat). I realize that some things have to be left out when a movie is made from a book. But come on, you don't have to rewrite the story. It just didn't fit. The movie itself was good had I not read the book first. If you've read the book, the movie will be a disappointment! If you haven't read the book, then don't, just see the movie.