Along Came a Spider

When a senator's daughter gets kidnapped from a exclusive private school by her teacher Gary Soneji, the FBI are called in. However the kidnapper has his own agenda and phones Alex Cross, sucking him into the case even though he has not worked for almost a year due to the guilt he feels over the death of his partner. With the killer leaving him clues, Cross realises that Soneji is after fame and is using him to communicate to the world. Taking on Secret Service agent Jezzie Flannigan as his partner, Cross tries to work out enough about Soneji to profile and catch him.

It has been too many years since I saw Kiss The Girls for me to be able to comment on the quality or lack thereof in the first film but I decided to give this sequel a try anyway. From the opening scene this is pure Hollywood with its clunky CGI and its simplistic plot device of the dead partner and so we continue with a fairly uninspiring thriller that is engaging enough but never does anything that special. It doesn't help that the primetime schedules are full of versions of Alex Cross in TV series mysteries but generally this film just plods its way through a story that isn't "obvious" so much as it is uninspiring. It is an enjoyable enough mystery that is professionally handled but it lacks imagination and flair. The twists come but the film is not exciting enough to prevent the audience from thinking and, in thinking it is easy to rip massive holes in the logic of the whole thing – and thinking a plot is a bit silly doesn't help keep one interested. Tamahori directs without any distinction – he isn't bad but again he doesn't do anything of that much interest.

Instead he sits back and hopes that Morgan Freeman doing Morgan Freeman's "Zen-cool™" will be enough to carry the audience along with the whole affair. Luckily for him this does work to some degree because Freeman on his day could sell shoes to fish. He is solid and professional even if he is underserved by the script. Wincott is good in a role that he could have made more of but instead is controlled and restrained. Potter is blond and dull and is not suited one jot to the role that her character grows into during the film. Baker deserves a bigger role while Miller, Horsford and a few others provide familiar faces.

Overall then an entertaining but uninspired affair that pushes the right buttons but doesn't aspire to anything beyond the genre. The cast and the budget help but the story gets weaker the longer it goes on and although it will do enough for some viewers, it is nothing that special.

Overall I enjoyed Along Came a Spider, it wasn't absolutely brilliant, but it sets out to be a good thriller and does that. Even with some plot implausibilities, a so-so performance from Monica Potter and one or two moments of forced pacing, it is well made and suspenseful. The cinematography is skillful and stylish, and the music is nicely done and adds to the suspense. The pace in general is brisk, apart from it being forced on occasions when it tried to fit in too many plot twists, and the story springs from an interesting concept. The script has some very good moments, and the direction is very good. The performances apart from Monica Potter are strong, with Morgan Freeman great as always and Michael Wincott solid as the kidnapper. Mika Boorem shows promise as a blossoming young actress, and Penelope Ann Miller does a very nice job as her mother. Overall, decent thriller, with problems, but carried by its cast primarily. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I'm not sure why everyone rated this a mid grade movie. It is far better than a lot of 6&7 star rated movies out there. Never was bored, good storyline, not as predictable as other murder mystery stories.

I just finished watching this movie and really enjoyed it. It is one of those movies where if you walk to the kitchen for two minutes, you probably missed something important. It leaves you on the edge of your seat throughout the course of the movie. The only flaw that I have with the movie is the decision to use special effects in the first few minutes of the movie. These special effects with the car were not very "special" at all. In fact, it was so unrealistic looking that it was borderline pathetic. Fortunately, this only occurred in this one scene. However, the scene with the thermos (as to not give anything away) was excellent and extremely creative. Morgan Freeman did his usual brilliant job of acting. If you like a good suspenseful thriller/mystery, this may be a good choice for you. 8.5 Stars.

The plot starts out in a very straight-forward manner: a man with an ambition to become criminal legend kidnaps the daughter of a congressman right out from under the nose of the FBI. He then sends a note and a sneaker of the girl to Detective Alex Cross, hence forcing him out of his self-inflicted isolation, the reasons of which are explained in the opening scene. Along with the FBI agent who was in charge of security at the scene of the crime, he follows the clues laid out by the kidnapper in order to find the girl. And so the story goes.

The kidnapper is portrayed by the always formidable Michael Wincott, the best serial villain on that side of the Atlantic. He should have the Best Supporting Role awards piled up in his attic. Alex Cross, whom we remember from "Kiss the Girls", and portrayed by Morgan Freeman, is just the kind of cop you like best: sincere, sympathetic, intelligent, thorough and committed. Monica Potter features as the FBI agent determined to redeem herself after she let the kidnapper escape.

This may not be a blockbuster, but this solid and underrated thriller delivers what so few of them have to offer these days: a final plot twist that genuinely surprises. It shall not be revealed here.