Hi, Bryan Here….

‘Alex Cross’ was such a let down. James Patterson’s novel or novels about a clever cop did not adapt well to this particular film.  I feel like this movie could have been 100 times better than it was.  I think it was in the wrong hands from start to finish and it just completely imploded on itself.  Maybe this will make money in the box office due to Tyler Perry’s fan-base wanting to see something completely different from the actor than what he normally does, but I don’t see people giving a second though, or really even a first thought while watching this poorly made movie.

There are tons of books about this character Alex Cross in the Patterson archive, and this one is not based on any certain one of them.  But it does feature the cop Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) and a sadistic serial killer called The Butcher aka Picasso (Matthew Fox from LOST). At one point during the film, The Butcher tells Cross, “Inflicting pain is a crucial part of my true calling.”  And yes, he does some pretty sick stuff, however you never really see any of it, since the film is rated PG-13.

I really wanted this film to be good.  And the film sort of bills itself to be in the vein of the movie ‘Se7en’, but it is nowhere near in the same ballpark as that.  First off, when we see Cross and his partner Tommy Kane (Ed Burns) looking for clues at a crime scene, for no reason whatsoever, Cross immediately knows everything about the crime scene.  He doesn’t even have to look at clues, he just…..knows.  I guess because he is doctor.

After a few more crime scenes, and a few more close calls, both Cross and The Butcher end up face to face with nothing but their fists on top of a catwalk at an old abandoned movie theater.  I can’t make that up if I tried.  This is one of the worst climactic fights I have seen this year, the other being ‘Taken 2’.

Tyler Perry was miscast completely in this role.  He brought nothing but emotionless dialogue and a big name to the film.  Idris Elba was originally sought after for the role of Cross, but luckily he knows how to choose movies well. The dialogue in ‘Alex Cross’ is super cheesy and the direction and editing seemed like it was done by a kid in grade school.  Every fight scene and every scene with action was edited so quick you can’t tell what’s happening, none-the-less see who’s winning the fight.  On-top-of that, there is no set up of suspense in any scene.  There was not one moment where I was on the edge of my seat.

Instead, we have a character who knows everything before anyone else, therefore there are no surprises.  Plus, being a PG-13 film about a sadistic serial killer, it made me laugh when Cross got mad and called the serial killer a maggot a few times instead of a few 4 letter words.

‘Alex Cross’ missed the mark from what it tries to be by a light year.  The heavy shaky camera work, Tyler Perry not being right for this role, the cheesy dialogue, and a serial killer film that is not scary, thrilling, or suspenseful in any way, make this movie a turd.  The only thing good about this film was Matthew Fox as the serial killer.

Although his script wasn’t great, Fox pulled off being a real creep and psycho very well.  Fox even went to the physical extreme by losing a ton of weight and toned up to where he was all solid muscle. And I’m talking like Christian Bale from ‘The Machinist’ weight.  Fox was very creepy in a PG-13 kind of way, however, you just itch for him to break out and go completely crazy.  However, the short time Fox is on film, is not enough to see this movie.  If you’re looking or a good serial killer film, watch ‘Se7en’ again.

-Bryan Kluger