'Alex Cross'...this waste of time off of your list!
'Alex Cross' is quite possibly the worst film of the year, if not the stupidest. This was intended to kick off the franchise once very capably filled by Morgan Freeman; instead the only good thing about this kick-off is the trailer. It is so disappointing too when you consider the pedigrees involved, from director Rob Cohen (The Fast and Furious) to Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox. But incoherent direction, a cliche ridden script and wooden acting serve to sink this ship before it even sets sail.
Tyler Perry is far more comfortable in Madea's dress than he is Alex Cross' trench coat. As the psychologist/profiler detective, the Alex Cross of the Morgan Freeman movies was a hard boiled Detroit cop who knew the mind of a killer. In this newest iteration, he seems more like a lost puppy dog attempting to act tough, with Perry's soft physique, unexpressive eyes and possibly the worst dialogue a movie cop has ever uttered, he is completely unbelievable.
Now I will give Perry the fact that he was saddled with possibly the worst script ever; I have seen better procedural scripts on televisions 'Criminal Minds' than in this movie. Every clue is served up to Perry on a nice platter and every solution just happens without explanation or reason. Add to this mess Matthew Fox's worst Travis Bickle ever and I found myself squirming to see my watch.
Don't get me wrong, when I saw the trailer I actually thought Matthew Fox (of 'Lost' fame) was going to be a pretty darn good psychopath. Instead, we are treated with one bad attempt after another to channel DeNiro's Travis Bickle from 'Taxi Driver'; the character is so lost that we never know what drives him beyond the killer for hire story line. He is simply there to provide an antagonist for Cross, to move the story along and show just how smart Cross is.
Thoroughly disappointing is Rob Cohens direction, which from his past efforts should have positioned him nicely for the franchise kick-off. Instead we are subjected to lazy direction and sloppy script writing. If Perry was counting on this film to free him of Madea's dress, he shouldn't mothball it just yet. Maybe if they are able to tighten up the script, pay more attention to the direction (giving Perry something to work with) and get Perry to a gym; they just might be able to ressurect the Alex Cross franchise. But for now, cross this 1 star effort off of your list. Rent 'Kiss the Girls' or 'Along Came a Spider' instead. Now those are Alex Cross movies!