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Visitors Review

Loretta08 2012-05-24 22:59:11

Horrible plot and script

I've heard more nursery rhymes with "...along came a spider..." in thatweremore exciting than that movie had in its entirety. I left the theaterwanting my money back. Honestly, I would have walked out if I hadn't kepttelling myself "ok, don't worry, it will get better." Morgan Freemantries,but he's out there playing his typical character -this time with aterriblescript. Monica Potter (if you close your eyes, you'll think its JuliaRoberts talking) is trying with just as little success to keep people intothe movie. The little girl in the movie, Megan, is a tad too smart foreventhe most exclusive school. She is saying and doing things that arecompletely unrealistic throughout the whole movie. I could say nothing but"oh please, give me a break" through the majority of it. The writersattemptto make an edge-of-your-seat ending with twists and turns, but they alsofail at that, miserably. The nicest thing I can say about this film isthatI'm glad it's over.

whpratt1 2012-05-24 13:05:33

Great Entertaining Film With Great Stars!

Always enjoy a picture with Morgan Freeman(Alex Cross),"The BigBounce",'04, Alex was a profiler and was called in special for killings thatwere driving the police department and the city officials crazy. Alex getsconnected with Monica Potter(Jizzie Flannigan),"I'm with Lucy",'02, who isalso a detective and works with Alex as his partner. Alex is veryattractive and adds some excitement but very little romance. The film dealsalso with a child being kidnapped and there is also mention about the OldLindburg case in the 1930's. Michael Wincott(Gary Soneji),"TreasurePlanet",'02, plays the bad guy who is very sick mentally and keeps Alex andJizzie on the run through out the entire picture. Morgan Freeman wasfantastic in this picture which kept me on the edge of my seat justwondering how the ending would turn out. Sit back and enjoy this picture,it is worth viewing.

Bubba 2012-05-13 23:39:13

Along came the rain and washed the spider out.

Detective Alex Cross investigates the kidnapping of a congressmans daughter. Lots of twists and turns. This one is defenitly a keeper. If you enjoy this movie check out its sequel Kiss the Girls and High Crimes.

James Hitchcock 2012-05-13 02:29:48

Unconvincing, Hackneyed and Cliché-Ridden

"Along Came a Spider" makes use of two of the most overworked clichésof the modern crime drama. The first is the criminal who commits hiscrimes as a sort of intellectual exercise and then plays games with thepolice by deliberately leaving them clues. In reality, of course, mostcriminals are motivated either by greed or by strong emotions such asanger, hatred or jealousy rather than by the desire to commit theperfect crime for its own sake; Leopold and Loeb may have beenexceptions, but even they were not stupid enough to taunt the police inthe manner of some fictional criminals. The second cliché of which thefilm-makers are guilty is that of the twist, the sudden revelation ofinformation, previously withheld from the audience, which makes themaware that the true situation is not what they had previously been ledto believe. Such twists normally occur towards the end of the film, andoften involve the disclosure of information about the identity ormotivation of one or more of the characters.The modern fashion for the pseudo-intellectual criminal, who commitscrimes so that he can play a sort of mental chess with the detective,seems to have started with "The Silence of the Lambs" (in itself areasonably good film). This fashion was followed in weaker films suchas the overrated "Se7en" and the predictable "The Bone Collector". Thevillain in "Along Came a Spider" is not (as in the examples quotedabove) a serial killer but a kidnapper. His real name appears to beJonathan Mercusio, but in the film he is normally referred to by hisalias Gary Soneji. Soneji poses as a teacher in order to infiltrate anexclusive boarding school and kidnap the daughter of a senator. Soneji,who is obsessed with the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case from thethirties, then contacts the police to let them know what he has doneand to give clues as to the girl's whereabouts. The title of the filmderives from a comparison made between Soneji and a spider.The investigation of the crime is entrusted to Alex Cross, theWashington Police Department detective originally contacted by Soneji,and Jezzie Flanagan, the female Secret Service agent who was assignedto protect the girl and who failed to prevent her kidnapping. LikeJezzie, Cross is haunted by guilt, in his case over an earlier incidentin which a female partner was killed. Like "The Bone Collector", "AlongCame a Spider" teams an older African-American male detective with ayounger white female one. In both cases the female character has anIrish surname (Donaghy in the earlier film).Morgan Freeman is a highly talented actor, as he showed in films suchas "Driving Miss Daisy", "Glory" and "Unforgiven", but his talents areoften wasted in routine thrillers; "Along Came a Spider" is an example,and his next film "High Crimes" another. (Freeman also played thedetective in "Se7en"; I have not seen "Kiss the Girls", the other filmin which he played the role of Alex Cross). Monica Potter gives arather wooden performance as Jezzie; she is not as good as AngelinaJolie, who played the equivalent role in "The Bone Collector", andcertainly not as good as Jodie Foster in "The Silence of the Lambs".I won't say what the twist is that occurs near the end of the film, asI don't want to write a spoiler, although I must say it is not acredible one. Indeed, it has the effect of casting doubt on most ofwhat has gone before, converting a believable if routine thriller intoone that makes no sense at all. (John Schlesinger achieved a similarlydubious feat the previous year in "Reindeer Games", which featured notone but two separate twists). The writers of crime fiction, especiallyscriptwriters for films like this, generally have far more fertileimaginations than do the criminals themselves; consequently fictitiouscriminals tend to hatch over-complicated and unworkable schemes whichno real-life criminal would entertain for a minute. "Along Came aSpider" is the sort of unconvincing, hackneyed, cliché-ridden thrillerof which Hollywood has been churning out far too many in recent years.4/10

DarkATX 2012-05-08 17:26:03

Cross revisited.

The opening grabs your attention and keeps you there til the very end. Ifyou stop to look for a snack or turn your focus away from the screen justfor the slightest of moments you will probably miss out on some clue onlyDetective Alex Cross would find and appreciate. Another kidnapping takesplace and Detective Cross is literally dragged into the limelight onceagain. Clues are scarce and meaningful motives seem lost, yet Morgan Freemanplays a character you can wholeheartedly place your trust upon in thiscurrent thriller.Wincott plays another baddie but it's Monica Potter who distracts the viewerwith her mere presence! Unfortunately, it's not due to any remarkable strokeof acting on her part but it's her voice (and at times even her face)begins to resemble that of Julia Roberts! It's Mika Boorem who steals theshow as a wily kidnap victim who plays wise well beyond her years in thisfilm.This story as a whole is still entertaining and the performances by all theabove were fitting. Goldsmith has created an intriguing score which is worthpaying close attention to during the deep dialogues between the maincharacters. Any glaring plot-holes need to be revisited in order for all tobe clearly understood which gives this film a definite replay value. Againdon't bend over to pick-up that popcorn or you'll be lost.

Lee Bartholomew 2012-05-08 10:01:43

Blah. Definately not Kiss the Girls.

That's what I felt. It's not a scary movie. Heck doesn't even try to be. It's like they decided it's a prequel and so it was supposed to be weaker soas not to defeat Kiss The Girls. I did like it a little, but this isn't a horror movie. Kinda like HannibalI suppose. Both aren't scary. Think I'll go watch The Omen now and see ifthat'll scary me an inch......4/10Quality: 3/10Entertainment: 7/10Replayable: 7/10

kefkajr 2012-05-03 19:54:57

morgan freeman's grade A web of mystery and terror

soneji is one of the creepiest villains i've seen on screen and morganfreeman once again proves that he's one the most excellent actors inhistory. the action is anything but mindless and the mystery is quiteintriguing.

2012-05-03 10:16:55

nothing like the book

this movie was nothing like the book at all! the book was really good and had more to it than the movie. however the movie itself is really good and i enjoyed it. my rating is based on the movie alone not in comparison to the book.

Blake French 2012-04-30 07:21:52

Nice moments and effective twists, but too many plot holes. ** (out of four)

ALONG CAME A SPIDER / (2001) ** (out of four)By Blake French:In 1997, a big year for serial killer movies, Gary Fleder's "Kiss theGirls" enriched the genre with a sense of splendid atmosphere, mystery andintrigue. "Along Came a Spider," based on a novel by James Patterson, is noton that level. It is not really a sequel, but more a continuation of theadventures of Forensic Psychologist Alex Cross. It is a well-made movie withgood performances and effective, unexpected plot twists and startlingsurprises, but so much of it is too conventional. As I watched the film,often spotting ample plot holes, I was astonished at how recycled so many ofthe scenes were. There is a sequence that has Cross running throughout abusy city during rush hour to deliver a ransom. The killer commands him torace from one location to the next answering pay phones. Gee, we have neverseen this idea before.Morgan Freeman reprises his role as Alex Cross who finds himself incomplete grief and remorse after losing a partner during an undercoveroperation that we see at the beginning of the film. It starts out quick ashis time of regret is shattered when he gets a phone call from a killer whojust kidnapped the 12 year old daughter of the Senator (Michael Moriarty).We know this man as a school teacher named Mr. Soneji (Michael Wincott).Although under the secret service protection by Jezzie Flannigan (MonicaPotter) and Ben Devine (Billy Burke), Soneji devised an articulate plan andnow holds the girl captive on his boat.I dare not reveal any more of the story. There are several ninety degreetwists that play games with our mind. However, they are disposable andessentially unneeded, and only rationalize familiar clichés. Some of themare fun, but they seem to crawl out of holes in the plot. As the moviecontinues, it only becomes more absurd. And it is particularly vulnerable tologic, or perhaps it is just poorly edited. For instance, what if thedetectives missed any of the killer's clues? Any given clue? Then what? Hisentire plan would be shot to hell because each clue he leaves sets thepolice up for the next one. So I question: why do killers always want toplay elaborate cat and mouse games with detectives?Unlike "Kiss the Girls," "Along Came a Spider" lacks suspense and thrillsbecause there is little tension in its structure. We already know thekiller's identity-but do we? The movie certainly ends up on different floorsthan where I thought it would land, and it works to some extent. I stillthink the movie could have had some more thrilling moments of suspense andchills instead of indulging in a crime case that is not really all thatinvolving. Actually, we never really care if the killer is caught. Since thefilm's villain is so much more interesting than the good guys, I wasactually rooting for him in some scenes. When the girl tries to escape fromSoneji, I was hoping she would be caught, because I wanted Soneji to laydown more puzzle pieces for Cross. There are nice moments here, effective scenes of action. Morgan Freeman isa little too calm and collected for such an intense situation, though.Monica Porter has a great performance, however, in one of the film'strickiest roles. "Along Came a Spider," directed by Lee Tamahori ("TheEdge," "Mulholland Falls") has a lot of potential-but strays from its rootsand becomes just another contrived thriller in which we have already seencountless times before.

Bodean 2012-04-29 22:56:21

Another Good One

This is another good Morgan freeman movie. It's sort of the next movie in the line of kiss The Girls. Freeman continues to play the role of Alex Cross. It's a real thriller. Nice one to own to catch anytime you like.

The Black Englishman 2012-04-25 23:28:46

Morgan Freeman and an Attractive Leading Lady

With his female colleague dies in a car accident at the beginning of thefilm, Freeman blames himself for the cause of her death, and is exploited byhis new female colleague that helps him to investigate a case. After shekills the main suspect, she unconvincingly attempts to killFreeman.

Zork G. Hun 2012-04-25 13:37:58

Holes and nothing but holes

`Along came the spider' is infuriatingly bad. Not that it had holes, but ithad nothing but holes. Stupid clichés thrown together in an incredible mess.You know types: the let's watch the video that we saw a hundred times againso that we can discover something that should have been plainly obvious thefirst time.This movie was never able to figure out what it wants to be: A psychologicalthriller, a political thriller or a clever double and triple crossingsuspense movie. The wise producers must have thought that throwing threemovies in one will make three times the money. Their wisdom probably did notreach the height to realize that such attempts never work.The film can keep your attention, cinematography is good and Morgan Freemanis an excellent actor who can project integrity even if the world and thestory around him have none. Her co-star on the other hand fits with thestory perfectly. Equally dumb and pretty. I doubt that we will see too muchof her in the future but maybe for the same reason we will. If you do not mind lack of logic watch it. I did not walk away from it, butmaybe I should have.

2012-04-25 18:22:36

Along Came A Mediocre Thriller.

Morgan Freeman was fantastic but Monica Potter puts you to sleep.The first movie was way better than this one.The villain is not exciting and the plot sucks.This movie will never reach the standards of Silence Of The Lambs, Seven, Bone Collector and other thriller movies that has graced the cinemas.Try avoiding this movie and watch other stuff.

zcrooge 2012-04-24 20:41:01

Morgan Freeman, need I say more...

This is a movie well worth watching.After the somewhat weak and pretty badly done intro with the car hangingoffthe bridge or whatever, that is...Good plot, with some nice twists in the end, a bad guy who isn't madeunbearably unsympathetic and overall good acting.Except Morgan Freeman who is absolutely great, as always. His presence isnext to tangible.If nothing else, don't miss Freeman doing another stunningperformance.

2012-04-19 22:07:18

Wonderful suspense movie- Morgan Freeman- what else can you want?

This movie is FANTASTIC. I'm not a big fan of spiders and I don't like scary movies (I've never seen "Kiss the Girls" that this one is compared to by other reviews). I was initially a little leery of watching it, but I'm thrilled that I did.There are a lot of other reviews on here stating the plot, so I just want to add that Morgan Freeman's acting is fabulous, the story line keeps you guessing and you'll be very glad to have seen this if you're in the mood for a great drama with some action thrown in.I've watched it over and over, as it's just that good.Happy watching!

Michael O'Keefe 2012-04-19 10:42:10

The book is not closed. A mind game with a profiler.

A terrific movie. Suspense, thrills and a plot that twists and turns. Detective Alex Cross(Morgan Freeman),on sick leave recovering from the loseof his partner, is called back into action when the daughter of SenatorRose(Michael Moriarty) is kidnapped from her private school. Cross is anexpert profiler and is very successful in tracking down elusivecriminals.Michael Wincott plays the savvy kidnapper. Also in the cast are: MonicaPotter, Mika Boorem and Dylan Baker. Penelope Ann Miller is the Senator'swife. Very tense mood throughout with Freeman strong and steady. Probablythe 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 savethe little girl's life. A surprising twist makes for a very satisfyingfinale. This thriller is just that.

Court-13 2012-04-15 16:19:10

Excellent Movie

This was a terrific movie. It keeps you guessing right up until the end. Ihave heard that the book was better, which is usually the case, but If youhaven't read the book, I highly recommend this movie! I am truly surprisedthat it hasn't received higher ratings. I love mysteries, and this was byfar one of the better mysteries that I have seen in a longtime!

Joe Petrizzi 2012-04-15 12:05:30

Somewhat entertaining...like a Lifetime movie

This movie was fairly entertaining if you can get past the plot holes.It'sa thriller, where Morgan Freeman brings back the role ofdetective/profiler/mind-reader Alex Cross, who you may remember from Kissthe Girls. It's based on the novel by Patterson, which I haven't read,about the kidnapping of a senator's daughter. It was OK, but it couldhavebeen so much better in the hands of a great screenwriter. Instead, itfeelslike Hollywood mailed this one in once Freeman signed on.The movie reminded me of the movies they show on the Lifetime network. Iwatched this movie with my wife and she loved it as much as she loves theLifetime marathons on Sunday. The problem with Lifetime movies, and ACAS,is that they all treat the audience members like total idiots. Importantknowledge about the story is handed to the main characters, charactersknowor remember things that you wouldn't expect, etc. Instead of creating aninteresting way to get from A to B, we go straight out the A door and intothe B door, as if the only reason the story even happens is so that we getcaught by the plot twist at the end. It's not suspenseful, and the onlyreason we get caught by surprise at all is because we've been lulled tosleep. Thankfully, the movie ends quickly as soon as the pony shows hisonetrick.Along Came A Spider also contains my pet peeve, which is that it abusestechnology to advance the plot. The victims this time are once againcomputers and the internet, which the script abuses throughout the film -including the now classic "I could explain the whole movie if I only knewthis computer's password!" I would have been less insulted if the ghostofAlfred Hitchcock appeared and moved the story along.Monica Potter doesn't really get the job done as the female lead. She'scertainly pretty, but she's also as wooden as a mannequin. I'm sure shehasa bright career ahead of her starring in straight-to-Lifetime movies like"She Walked Alone" and "Stranger With My Baby." In fact, the onlydifference between Along Came A Spider and your standard Sunday onLifetimeis another great performance by Freeman, who is one of a few actors we canreally count on. He raises the bar on this film around 2 points for me,soI rate it a 6.

MrPink080 2012-04-15 14:00:44

Rose. . . Megan Rose

Along Came a Spider tries to follow in the footsteps of its successful andsuspensful predecesor, Kiss The Girls, but instead of holding its own,AlongCmae a Spider is squashed like a bug.While Morgan Freeman remains and gives an equally outstanding performance,his supporting cast is not up to the same standards. Monica Pottershowcasesneither the depth, nor the charisma that Ashley Judd did in its predecesor.The villians whoms names i willnot reveal here do not rival that of TonyGoldwyn, nor Cary Elwes. Megan Rose is played well for a young actor, butthe part was written far too unbelievably. I began to wonder if she was thedaughter of James Bond at certain points in this picture. The scenariothatgoes down in the last 15 minutes is so far-fethced that i found myselfyearning for Starship Trooperish realism.To the movie's credit, aside from the lack of realism, the first 3/4ths ofthe movie was at least able to hold my attention, but the ending was sobizarre and unexplained that i wished i hadn't bothered with the rest.The best i can give it is a 3 out of 10.The script has more plot holes then this review has words. I'm not surethatI've wondered "why did that happen?" or "how did that happen?" so manytimesin a single film.

pbjamieson 2012-04-15 01:34:24

Good story, poor acting.

The most disappointing vehicle I've seen Morgan Freeman in for quite awhilenow, considering his abilities as one of the best actors around. It's agoodstory, but the acting and lines are almost laughably bad in parts. MonicaPotter is gorgeous, but delivers her lines with little drama. Why is itthatso many directors these days are intent on the ladies' hair always being insuch perfect shape, and even after severe exertion don't show any sweat?!Anyway, wait until this is on video; no, better yet, wait until it's ontelevision so you can see it for free!