Along Came A Spider — more like along came a disappointment. The movie had a potential plot, but it all went straight to hell in a hand basket.
This new thriller, starring Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter, has the plot of a who-done-it and shoot-em-up, ask-questions-later type of movie — two genres that go together as well as chitlins and strawberry ice cream.
The young daughter of a United States senator is kidnapped by a man who hopes to make the kidnapping the crime of the century. Dr. Alex Cross (Freeman) is a profiler for the Washington, D.C. police department and is brought into the case when the kidnapper sends him the shoe of the girl.
Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott) is the kidnapper who wants to get Cross involved because he believes that having him on the case will increase his notoriety. Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Potter) is the secret service agent who was in charge of protecting the girl. She teams up with Cross during the investigation into the girl's disappearance and vows not to rest until the girl is recovered.
The story ensues and many more plots unfold while Cross and Flannigan work tirelessly to capture Soneji and return the girl to her parents.
Going into this movie I expected it to be like the movie Seven or even Kiss the Girls, a movie that makes a person think and takes the audience on a roller coaster ride through the mind of a genius detective or criminal mastermind. However, that type of plot never surfaces.
Throughout the movie there are several twists and turns, which could have made up a fine plot. However, after the plot takes a "twist," it just dies. When the plot gets backed into a corner, the writers just "shoot" their way out.
Instead of using some clever deductive reasoning to figure out a clue, Cross and Flannigan turn to their handguns and just kill whoever gets in their way, and so does Soneji.
I expected so much more from the makers of Kiss the Girls, which was truly a suspenseful movie that made viewers think about the intriguing plot. Along Came a Spider shocks audience members with the huge amount of gratuitous violence.
This movie was based on the book by the same title, which was the precursor to Kiss the Girls.
However, the movie industry turned it into a sequel instead of a prequel — perhaps this is why the entire plot was so jacked up. There are just certain occasions when Hollywood should leave well enough alone.
This movie had such promise of making a great suspenseful movie, but all hope was flushed down the toilet when they attempted to make it into a carbon copy of a Hollywood action flick. Avoid this movie if you are looking for something to stimulate your brain cells.
