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Along Came a Spider (2001)
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Reviews Counted: 119
Fresh: 38
Rotten:81
Average Rating: 4.6/10
Consensus: Derivative and contains too many implausible situations.
Theatrical Release:Apr 6, 2001 Wide
Box Office: $73,587,034
Synopsis: The redoubtable Morgan Freeman returns as Washington, DC police detective Alex Cross, the master profiler, in an exciting thriller based on James Patterson's novel, ALONG CAME A SPIDER. The film is... The redoubtable Morgan Freeman returns as Washington, DC police detective Alex Cross, the master profiler, in an exciting thriller based on James Patterson's novel, ALONG CAME A SPIDER. The film is actually a prequel to the box office blockbuster KISS THE GIRLS. Here, Cross is pursuing a brilliantly twisted kidnapper who's holding the daughter of a U.S. senator. When the kidnapper, Gary Soneji (the effectively sinister character actor, Michael Wincott), who had posed as a schoolteacher for two years before making his move, contacts Cross and taunts him, but makes no demands for money, Cross starts to piece together a psychological profile. With the help of a clever and beautiful Secret Service agent, Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter), Cross begins his investigation of the bizarrely elaborate and ruthless crime. But as is usual with Patterson's work, just when Cross (and the audience) thinks everything is resolved, a stunning twist unfolds. Acclaimed director Lee Tamahori (THE EDGE, ONCE WERE WARRIORS) is adept at staging the action, including a tense chase through Union Station during rush hour, and Freeman's pensive presence lends an extra level of gravity to this darkly entertaining thriller. [More]
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Penelope Ann Miller
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Penelope Ann Miller, Michael Moriarty, Mika Boorem
Director: Lee Tamahori
Director: Lee Tamahori
Screenwriter: Marc Moss
Producer: David Brown, Joe Wizan
Studio: Paramount Pictures
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Reviews for Along Came a Spider
I don't begrudge Freeman his own hero-man franchise, but I wish the movies worked harder to be worthy of him.
I felt like I was kidnapped and forced to watch this drek as punishment.
Enjoyment, or even tolerance, of 'Along Came A Spider' hangs upon a couple of plot twists, which even by Hollywood standards are pretty far-fetched.
It's a good-looking, mostly well-acted but preposterously plotted movie.
The best I can say is that this was a relatively inoffensive way to pass a couple of hours, but after about a day I'm having trouble remembering any of it already.
Director Lee Tamahori and screenwriter Marc Moss treat their star (and his character) with all due respect, and manage to turn out an engrossing, entertaining movie in the process.
Freeman, as always, is a still center of dependable calm and intelligence, but Potter registers only as another generic blonde.
Even at half speed, Freeman excels: He knows how to whip out his badge at a crime scene and make it seem as if he had been doing it his whole life.
Along Came a Spider isn't a smart thriller like Se7en or Copycat; instead, it's more of a watchable idiotic thriller.
[Lee]Tamahori keeps the pacing lively enough that he doesn't allow the audience time to linger on the many plot implausibilities
Is it too much to ask for reasonable explanations of human behavior in a psychological thriller?
so hell-bent on surprising us that it's willing to sacrifice just about anything -- logic, credibility, common sense, etc. -- in the hopes of catching the audience off-guard.
There are popcorn movies, and then there are movies like this one, which, by its conclusion, make you want to toss your empty popcorn bag at the screen.
Latest News for Along Came a Spider
April 26, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Just What Moviegoers Want, Another Nic Cage Action Flick
For the fourth consecutive weekend, four or more new wide releases will cram into multiplexes trying to get at their piece of a dwindling box office pie. More...
February 02, 2006:
Director Lee Tamahori Charged With Solicitation
According to celeb-watching site TMZ.com, New Zealand-born director Lee Tamahori was arrested January 8 in Hollywood for solicitation of an undercover cop; furthermore, the... More...
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