Along Came a Spider

Rating:
Summary: Freeman does it again
Review: Morgan Freeman is a illustrious, calm actor who plays his parts to near perfection every time. He is one of my favorite actors, so for me, I was very happy with this movie. Not totally satisfied, though, that I can admit.

I did not like the beginning of the movie. I do think it was necessary to show what had happened to Alex Cross (Freeman), but I think the Lee Tamahori could have played it out during the movie is small parts; bit by bit. If you've seen the movie "Signs", you'll know what I'm talking about. Alex never really feels the need to tell anyone in the movie what had happened, but us viewers just had to know. Also, the car falling into some sort of waterfall/pit-thing didn't really cut it. It's not the way most car accidents end. But hey, I don't want to be a 'bad' critic here; the movie was good. Better than I think most people give credit. Freeman stars alongside the up-and-coming actress Monica Potter. She's a very pretty, yet very focused individual who is flawless throughout. I like how Morgan is always cast with a female co-star as in "High Crimes" and in "Kiss The Girls", he starred with Ashley Judd. I think it works wonders for him, although I think it's a little ironic. He doesn't seem like the 'girl type' person you'd only see around woman. And in the movie "Nurse Betty", he looks too awkward next to Renée Zellweger for comfort.

If you love Freeman as an actor, I'm sure you've seen this movie. But if you don't know too much about him, I have to recommend this movie to you. It's a great ransom thriller that keeps you thinking and wondering what'll happen next. It's really good.

Rating:
Summary: Weak and Predictable
Review: Should have read the reviews before I got this video. About five minutes in, I already knew what would happen. Totally predictable. Freeman is good, he always is. But the plot is more suited to a made-for-TV movie. The plot devices are all wrong (two secret service agents posted full time at the school of an obscure Senator's daughter?; the Russian president's son attends a US private school??; the Washington metro line that runs under Union Station doesn't come out of the ground in Virginia; nobody could run from the Watergate to Union Station in a few minutes in street clothes like Freeman does). Just weak.

Rating:
Summary: excellent thriller set in DC
Review: Morgan Freeman stars in this prequel to his movie "Kiss the Girls"as a detective who must overcome a personal and professional set-back in order to save a senator's daughter after she has been kidnapped from her exclusive school, which the children of diplomats other officials attend. Monica Potter is the rookie detective (who previously messed up an assignment and must now redeem herself) who works with him.

Of course, this movie's plot is not that straightforward, and the twists are thrilling.

Best of all is the locale, with real places and plausible situations used. The scene at the Watergate Hotel used the actual employees in their real jobs (not "Bowfinger"-style, they were asked to be in the film.) Such authenticity keeps the movie tight without being overblown and pretentious.

Rating:
Summary: Read the Book
Review: I read this book in the early nineties when it came out and loved it. So when I heard it was being made into a movie I was happy. After I saw the movie, I went back and re-read the book because I didn't reconize anything in the movie. The only thing that the writers took from the book was the title and the character's names and that's it. I was SO DISSAPPOINTED. The main problem I had was the same as I had in KISS THE GIRLS was that Morgan Freeman, though excellent in the role, is to old to play Alex Cross. In the books, Alex Cross is a man in his late thirties. In the book ACS, the characters are well developed and the plot has excellent twist and turns. This movie has almost a completely different plot. It's a shame the could do a movie of the book. Maybe like Red Dragon, someone will make an accurate adaption of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Another Taut Thriller From Morgan Freeman!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: And bored Miss Muffet to tears
Review: Along Came a Spider sells itself as a "suspense" movie and point-blank fails miserably. The pacing is irregular, speeding up and jerking to a halt with no effects on the viewer than mild annoyance. The "twists" are at once so predictable one could deliver the lines right along with the actors having had no prior information about the film and at the same time farfetched, and always unexplained. Rather than challenging its viewers, it leaves us feeling like the filmmakers decided that they were too tired to fill in the blanks and decided to let the audience figure it out on their own. And of course it doesn't matter why the characters do what they do, because we don't end up caring about them at all.
Still, when you don't feel like dissecting a movie, Spider takes you on a ride that is fun if completely illogical. Monica Potter (Head Over Heels) is terrific and young Mika Boorem (Riding in Cars with Boys) delivers an impressive performance. Boorem's character is not [stupid], either - she's conniving, clever and is one of the only characters who weighs the consequences of her actions before carrying them out. It's nice to see that respect given to a child's role. Morgan Freeman (The Sum of All Fears) as Det. Alex Cross is somehow still captivating, despite an annoying, unsympathetic character.
It's an enjoyable movie in its way. Just don't think too hard.

Rating:
Summary: ALONG CAME A STINKER
Review: What a waste of Morgan Freeman's talents! This film is so muddled that it had to be written by a committtee. It is riddled with hoaky surprises and strange plot twists. The kidnapped child ("Meagan") is so obnoxious that one wonders why her parents would ever want her back. It is pure third rate suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Kiss The Girls
Review: I think Morgan Freeman was superb, as always. I was pleasantly surprised with the acting of Monica Potter though. I think that the suspense was great, with plenty of twists through the movie. It was much better than Kiss The Girls in fact, a movie I could figure the "bad-guy" out before it was half over. The only bad thing I can say about the movie, is the car crash in the beginning. It looked terrible, and was too obvious it had been done on computers. If you enjoy drama/suspense films, you'll surely enjoy this one.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing but curds and whey
Review: Morgan Freeman returns as Det. Alex Cross and teams with Secret Service agent Monica Potter to find a senator's kidnapped daughter. Hollywood churns out yet another safe adaptation of a blockbuster best seller. The plot lurches along, introducing characters and abandoning them (Jay O. Sanders), and wrapping itself up with a tidy conclusion. Freeman is outstanding, as always, but the rest of the cast cannot back him up. Tamahori's direction is fine, except for a terrible CGI car crash in the opening minutes. The surprise ending is okay, but I read the novel and knew what would happen. No vision, no suspense, no repeat viewings. The little girl is filmdom's smartest kidnap victim, but Michael Moriarty and Penelope Ann Miller are utterly wasted.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable
Review: I give this movie 2.5 stars because it is not bad but yet not really good.

It is predictable in the plot, there are scenes in the beginning where the filming of the special effects doesn't seem real, kind of like a comic book.

But Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter turn in convicing roles and raise this movie above the rating that should have stuck with it. It is a mystery/crime drama that by the very nature of its plot would seem to bee ho hum, seen them all. But with the performances of Freeman and Potter it is raised quite a few notches.

Not your first movie to rent but certainly not on the bottom of the pile either, maybe 70% of the way through the "view list".