Nella morsa del ragno

I've been reading some of the comments for this movie, and think that many of you are over-critical. This is a psychological thriller, and plays it's part well. Morgan Freeman is one of my favourite actors, and he plays Detective Alex Cross very well. I enjoyed the movie on a thriller type basis. If you want to be critical about it not living up to the book's legend then fine... cause I'll be the first one to tell you that it's barely anything like the book. "Along Came a Spider" was a wonderful book and the character of Gary Soneji was compared to a spider... if anyone was wondering why the title was called that. I'm not one to bash movies unless they are horrible, and for those of you that think this movie is horrible... thats just your call. This movie is good, its just not the book. *** out of *****

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.

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.

Crime story-wise, this was nothing extraordinary but was a pretty solid film. He isn't always like this, but Morgan Freeman does best in films where he's the likable hero-cop. He is definitely that in this film although his character, Alex Cross, is a little too sharp for believability. There were just a bit too many "oh, come on's" said by me watching this as Cross would get computer passwords with no trouble, etc. The odds of that happening are millions-to-one but not in the world of films. There were other examples, too, of him figuring out things that were almost impossible.

For a tough modern-day crime story this film, for the most part, was pretty low- key with low profanity and not a lot of gore or overdone action. That was surprising considering the sordid subject matter. The tameness in here, and Freeman, make this a notch (albeit a small one) above the average thriller.

I must say this film was better than your average thriller to me. Call me stupid, that's just fine, but I didn't see the ending coming at all. Of course, it didn't hurt the film's stature to have Morgan Freeman back in the lead role, the guy doesn't seem to be able to make a bad film and is one of the most underappreciated actors of his time. Also, Michael Wincott is one hell of a great villain, as he has proved time and time again in The Crow and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, as well as this film. Monica Potter is indeed Julia Robert's clone, and that's not good in my eyes. I cannot stand Julia Roberts or any movie she has ever been in (I actually WATCHED My Best Friend's Wedding with my girlfriend in the theaters, and it was so bad even she couldn't watch it). All in all, I highly recommend this film as a modern day thriller. Yes, it has a few holes and gets bogged down a bit in the middle, but Freeman as always is a delight to watch and the film is about as good a thriller as you'll find in modern times. That's just one guy's opinion.