Morgan Freeman could read the phone book and make it sound like Shakespeare, which is why Along Came a Spider(2001) works as well as it does. A twisty, pulpy thriller with enough misdirection to give an owl vertigo, this second installment in the Alex Cross film series delivers suspense, a high-stakes kidnapping, and Freeman exuding intelligence so effortlessly that even the film’s FBI agents look like they got their badges out of a cereal box. It’s not perfect, but let’s be real—when a film’s title comes from Little Miss Muffet, you’re not exactly expecting Citizen Kane.
A Tangled Web They Wove
By the time Along Came a Spider made it to theaters in 2001, James Patterson’s Alex Cross series was already a publishing juggernaut, churning out crime thrillers at a rate that suggested Patterson either had an army of ghostwriters or was an actual ghost, haunting typewriters 24/7. The novel Along Came a Spider, released in 1993, was the first in the series, meaning Hollywood—never one to care about little things like “chronology”—chose to adapt it after Kiss the Girls (1997), the second book. Because why tell the story in order when you can just throw Morgan Freeman into a crime scene and let him figure it out?
The adaptation process was like a ransom note with half the words missing. Screenwriter Marc Moss shredded the book’s timeline, erased key character arcs, and essentially asked the audience to pretend this was a brand-new story that just happened to involve Alex Cross. Gone were the long trial sequences, the psychological deep-dive into the villain’s dissociative identity disorder, and the more disturbing elements of Patterson’s novel. Instead, we got a streamlined, action-packed thriller that, while engaging, bears about as much resemblance to the book as a Big Mac does to the picture on the menu.
Casting, Production, and a Plot That Does the Hokey Pokey
Freeman returned as Alex Cross, which was Hollywood’s equivalent of saying, “Hey, we got this right the first time, so let’s do it again.” Monica Potter stepped in as Jezzie Flannigan, though if you read the book, you might have wondered if they cast her based on a different character entirely. Meanwhile, Michael Wincott, an actor with a voice like a gravel truck shifting gears, took on the role of villain Gary Soneji, bringing just the right level of unhinged menace to the screen.
The production itself was a quick two-month shoot, with director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, The Edge) opting to create a psychological thriller with more action and less nuance. The plot follows Alex Cross as he gets roped into the kidnapping of a senator’s daughter from a high-security school—an inside job orchestrated by a master criminal with a craving for infamy. The film moves fast, layering in double-crosses, betrayals, and enough red herrings to stock a seafood market. And just when you think you’ve figured it all out, the final act drops a plot twist that makes you question everything. Unfortunately, test audiences hated it, so they reshot the ending. Who knows what could have been?
Critics With Knives, Audiences With Wallets
Critics sharpened their knives for this one. With a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the general consensus was that Along Came a Spider was derivative, riddled with plot holes, and a step down from Kiss the Girls. Roger Ebert, never one to let a movie get away with nonsense, called it “loophole-riddled” and gave it two out of four stars. Other critics echoed the sentiment: Freeman was great, the plot was a mess, and the movie had all the narrative logic of a Scooby-Doo episode.
And yet, audiences didn’t care. The film grossed over $105 million worldwide, proving that if you give people Morgan Freeman solving crimes, they will show up. The film’s success kept Patterson’s books flying off shelves and led to another adaptation—Alex Cross (2012), starring Tyler Perry, which unfortunately made audiences nostalgic for the good old days of Freeman’s Cross.
A Thrilling, If Imperfect, Ride
Along Came a Spider isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s a damn good thriller. Freeman holds it together with the kind of gravitas that makes even the most convoluted plots seem plausible. The action is tight, the tension is real, and even when the story takes a detour into Looney Tunes logic, Freeman’s sheer presence keeps it grounded. If you can overlook the plot holes (or drive a truck through them), this is an enjoyable ride into the world of crime, deception, and people making very bad decisions around Alex Cross.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
#MorganFreemanCanSolveAnything #PlotTwistOverload #JamesPattersonDidItBetter #AlexCrossChronologyWhoNeedsIt #DonSiegelWouldBeProud
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