Alex Cross

Alex Cross (Rated PG-13)

• Starring Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Edward Burns
• Directed by Rob Cohen
• Plot: After an assassin kills his wife, Detective Alex Cross tracks down her killer with a vengeance.

Let me start off by saying that, as a crime thriller, I really liked “Alex Cross”.  There’s not a lot of originality to the movie, but Tyler Perry as the titular hero and Matthew Fox as the assassin they call “Picasso” are both intriguing characters and they play off each other well.

But as an “Alex Cross” movie, I was amazingly disappointed.  The move bears little resemblance to anything I’ve read in the books by James Patterson.  Admittedly, Tyler Perry had the unenviable challenge of stepping into the character originated on film by Morgan Freeman in “Along Came a Spider” and “Kiss the Girls”. 

I realize that Freeman has aged out of the role, and I appreciate Perry’s talent as a director; but as an actor I’ve always just found him to be luke-warm outside of his Medea character.  Get him out of the fat suit and dress, and Perry just seems to lack the energy and screen presence of a true leading man. As a fan of the books, he is just in no way my vision of Alex Cross.  Physically, he's fine - it's more his demeanor.

The other big problem was the script, written by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson.  They seem to lack a real vision for the characters and stories of Alex Cross.  The movie is (VERY loosely) based on the novel “Cross.”  However, they have ripped Alex Cross from his native Washington, D.C., and he is now a Detroit detective.  My absolute favorite character in the book (after Nana Mama) is Cross’s partner, John Sampson.  He is not in the movie, instead replaced by a character named Tommy Kane (played by Edward Burns) who I don’t believe has ever been a character in the books.

Don’t get me wrong.  Burns is wonderful, but again – it’s another factor that keeps this from feeling like an Alex Cross movie.

A professional assassin comes to Detroit and starts killing people surrounding billionaire businessman Leon Mercier (Jean Reno).  Cross and Kane dig into the case, but they end up crossing the killer they call Picasso (Matthew Fox).  He attacks and tortures Kane’s girlfriend, a fellow detective, and kills Cross’s wife with a sniper rifle.  They both risk their jobs to track down the killer.

Matthew Fox is brilliant as Picasso (and amazingly cut).  He does crazy very well (maybe it’s from all those years of trying to figure out the plot of “Lost”).  The other casting choice that worked was Cicely Tyson as Nana Mama.  Tyson perfectly captures the spunky matriarch of the Cross clan, showing both her fiery side and the deep love she has for her family.

In the end, I’ll repeat what I said at the beginning of this article.  If you go into “Alex Cross” as someone how has not read and invested years in the Alex Cross character, you will find an entertaining cop drama with some good performances.

If like me, you’re an “Alex Cross” fan, then I would expect you will walk out disappointed.  I saw this with my son, who has not read the books, and he enjoyed the movie a lot more than I did.