Above-average,
well directed and taut thriller, boosted by a great cast and a nice line in cliché-busting.
In 'Along Came a Spider', Morgan Freeman once again reprises his role as Doctor Alex Cross, the same character he played in serial killer flick Kiss The Girls,
way back in 1997 (both films are based on novels by thriller-writer James Patterson).
The plot starts off fairly simply. At a well-guarded private school for the offspring of political bigwigs
(including the Soviet Premier’s son, brushing up on his computer skills) criminal mastermind Gary Soneji
(Michael Wincott) has been posing as a member of staff for two years in order to kidnap a senator’s daughter and
maybe re-enact the famous Lindbergh kidnapping he’s been teaching his class about.
So, of course, he carries out his plan and whisks the girl off, right out from under the nose of
the 1,000,000 strong Secret Service contingent (and agent in charge, Jezzy Flanagan)
who’d been assigned to protect her.
Dr. Alex Cross meanwhile spends his days mulling over what might have been and making model boats. Being the
genious that Morgan Freeman is though, watching him making toys for a couple of hours would probably make a
riveting movie in itself! But Hollywoods needs must, so, without a fuss, Cross is back at the day
job after he gets a phone-call from the villain, Sonerji.
(Actually he is recovering from a depression induced after a botched sting operation that killed his partner in the film’s
excellent opening sequence, which has easiy the best car crash I have seen on
film to date!)
It’s while watching the film, it is difficult not to notice the director
abandon a lot of the dreadful 'Hollywood' clichés that destroys most films.
Instead he displays a series of genuinely refreshing touches; e.g. instead of the usual ‘police force resentment at an outsider snooping around on their case’
yawn, the Feds welcome Cross’s help, at least after an initial (and
un-needed) confrontation scene.
You can’t ever go wrong with Morgan Freeman, and he doesn’t disappoint here, delivering the kind of seen-it-all, sage-like, wisdom-dispensing performance he can do in his
sleep. He also has the grace and maturity to allow those actors around him to
breath a little. Hopefully this is the second of a respectable franchise for one of the world’s greatest living actors. This elegant and charming presence has few equals in the modern era.
Sidekick Monica Potter (whose resemblance to a blonde Julia Roberts straight out of
'Pretty Woman' is nothing short of amazing) is great, too. She helps the film
tick along
perfectly for the majority of its running time.
Michael Wincott also delivers a suitably menacing performance as the deranged loony trying to outwit the pair of
them, but running up against a heap of bad luck.
Like the novel on which it is based, this is a terrifically enjoyable thriller which has no pretensions
other than to entertain. It’s certainly not high art and won’t feature on any Top Ten lists but it delivers
terrific suspense and excitement by the reel. Hollywood rarely seems to make thrillers of this order anymore so
I can only hoped that Freeman will seriously consider making
more...
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About me...
Hi, I'm Clint, and I have been asked to do a movie review column for
AsiantTS.com, or more specifically the magazine that accompanies it: The
Clubhouse. I am a writer based in Asia and Europe, and I have been widely
published worldwide. I enjoy watching movies, and have written at length
on this genre for many years.
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