Le Masque de l'araignée

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 *****

A terrific movie. Suspense, thrills and a plot that twists and turns. Detective Alex Cross(Morgan Freeman),on sick leave recovering from the lose of his partner, is called back into action when the daughter of Senator Rose(Michael Moriarty) is kidnapped from her private school. Cross is an expert profiler and is very successful in tracking down elusive criminals.

Michael Wincott plays the savvy kidnapper. Also in the cast are: Monica Potter, Mika Boorem and Dylan Baker. Penelope Ann Miller is the Senator's wife. Very tense mood throughout with Freeman strong and steady. Probably the best acting is turned in by easy on the eye Ms. Potter.

The kidnapper has the detective hurrying to keep pace in the race to save the little girl's life. A surprising twist makes for a very satisfying finale. This thriller is just that.

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.

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.

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.