Rating: 
Summary: Along Came a Spider a true WHO DONE IT? mystery
Review: Along Came a Spider is a wonderful return to the Who Done It? thrillers that have most recently only been popular on television. This film truly leaves you guessing up until the last second of the film. Morgan Freeman as always is excellent as the gentle, yet profoundly smart Alex Cross on the hunt for Gary Sonjei, the man who kidnapped the daughter of a prominent senator. However, Monica Potter is at her best (alongside Patch Adams) and deserves accolades for her performance (you'll see why when you see the picture). GO SEE THIS AND YOU WON"T BE DISSAPOINTED!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant adaptation of Patterson's novel!!!!!
Review: "Along Came a Spider" is one of the year 2001's best movies. It is very suspenseful and shocking. The film has great actors, Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter included. The movie portrays FBI investigation and procedures very well. "Spider" is the story of madman Gary Soneji, and Alex Cross's and the FBI's pursuit to bring him down. I think the suspect and action were what made the movie so great. The movie is a great adaption of the novel by James Patterson. So, don't just sit there! Get over to your nearest movie theater and catch "Along Came a Spider." Happy Viewing!
Rating: 
Summary: This spider's web is too sticky.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: A good film but an even better novel
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Alex Cross returns
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: shocking just as much as KTG (Kiss the Girls)
Review: this sequal to Kiss The Girls
is just as moving
shocking
plot twisting
and story innovative
it gets more creepy
more strange
more puzzle like
and makes you really wonder who is the killer fully?
you can fully answer that when you see the whole movie
I loved it from beginning to end
Morgan does a great job at acting. I hope he got an Academy award for this one. he shocks, moves you at the same time with his thoughts and dialogue in the movie. brilliant movie. simply such a seducing scary thriller. it will be seen more times in my dvd player when i can. count on it
Rating:
Summary: nothing like the book
Review: this movie was nothing like the book at all! the book was really good and had more to it than the movie. however the movie itself is really good and i enjoyed it. my rating is based on the movie alone not in comparison to the book.
Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 Stars actually - This DVD is a bargain!
Review: 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....
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New
Review: The cute daughter of a US Senator is abducted from her exclusive private school by one of her teachers, Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott). Soneji then contacts Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman), an old detective who has been on an extended sickie after the death of a partner. Cross then teams up with Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter) the federal agent who was supposed to be guarding the girl and off they go to track the baddie down.
So once again we have Morgan Freeman playing a wise, benign but somewhat damaged old copper out to combat evil. And Freeman is as always good to watch though the same can't really be said for either the not very convincing Potter or the not very frightening Wincott. The movie is entertaining enough but if you've already seen Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Kiss the Girls and a few others from the genre, it all seems depressingly old and tired and derivative. Time for American crime movies to go do something else, say I.
Rating:
Summary: A good film but an even better novel
Review: 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.
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