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'Alex Cross' falls short of potential
It's not every day you look forward to a sequel to a movie you felt underachieved, but that's where I find myself after watching "Alex Cross," based on best-selling author James Patterson book "Cross."
Morgan Freeman played the title character in two previous films ("Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls"), but this time the role has been handled off to Tyler Perry, known namely for his "Madea" alter-ego. And don't worry, not once does he don a dress and wig in this film.
After the death of a beautiful woman linked to German businessman Erich Nunemarcher (Werner Daehn), Cross (Perry) and partner Tommy (Edward Burns) encounter the killer, known as Picasso (Matthew Fox) while trying to protect his next target -- Nunemarcher.
In the fracas, Tommy shoots the killer in the shoulder, which puts him, Cross and the third member of their unit, Monica (Rachel Nichols) on the killer's hit list.
As they try to anticipate Picasso's next move, the killer swoops in and takes out Monica and follows that up by killing Cross's pregnant wife. This sets Picasso and Cross on a collision course, with the police lieutenant/ psychologist leaving the rulebook at home.
Cross realizes Picasso's ultimate target is billionaire Giles Mercier (Jean Reno).
When the billionaire is set to give a speech at a conference downtown, the police do what they can, but Picasso is able to find a way around the defenses and assassinate Mercier.
Cross gives chase resulting in a epic showdown between himself and Picasso in an abandoned theater. As emotions power his actions, Cross is able to take advantage of Picasso, ending the killer's reign of terror.
Even with the killer out of the equation, Cross now sets his sights on who orchestrated the killings, which results in a surprising revelation.
After checking out reviews following the film's theatrical run, I was fully expecting to be uninterested. Instead I was all in early on in the movie, but continued to find myself frustrated as Perry, Fox and the gang were handcuffed by a very uneven, predictable script.
That being said, Perry and Fox knock it out of the ballpark. Both show their talents are very underrated and I was really impressed with Perry's ability to be believable in a hardcore dramatic role.
Fox really need to get more choice roles tossed his way. The actor dropped 35 pounds for the role of Picasso. He has two big screen flicks coming up this year, "Emperor" and "World War Z."
The DVD release comes with a few deleted scenes, a commentary by director Rob Cohen and a featurette about adapting and filming the movie.
Final Cut: There was enough in the actor's performances to keep me watching and hoping the filmmakers don't drop the ball on the sequel "Double Cross."
The film never lives up to its potential, but Perry and Fox deliver impressive performances and have me hoping the series is redeemed in the sequel.
3 out of 5 stars
Alex Cross
Starring: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Edward Burns, Rachel Nichols, Jean Reno
Director: Rob Cohen
Writer: Marc Moss, Kerry Williamson
Run time: 101 minutes