
Alex Cross
2012, Mystery and thriller/Action, 1h 41m
126 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox do their best, but they're trampled by Rob Cohen's frustrating direction and a tasteless, lazily written screenplay. Read critic reviews
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Where to watch
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Dr. Alex Cross
Picasso
Thomas Kane
Monica Ashe
Leon Mercier
Nana Mama
News & Interviews for Alex Cross
Critic Reviews for Alex Cross
All Critics (126) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (112)
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... Alex Cross is certainly the weakest of the series, which reportedly will continue with Perry in the next film. God help us all. We can only hope for the best with that one.
September 7, 2017 | Rating: D | Full Review… -
[Perry] has rarely been less convincing than when locking and loading from his home arsenal or dangling from a decaying Detroit edifice.
November 27, 2012 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review… -
Alex Cross is coarse, punishing, and, in all the ways that matter, conscienceless ...
October 22, 2012 | Full Review… -
So cloddish, slapdash, gracelessly written, and visually fugly that it's difficult to distinguish Perry's limitations in the role from those of the whole unpleasant enterprise.
October 21, 2012 | Rating: D | Full Review… -
A strong candidate for dumbest film of the year ...
October 19, 2012 | Full Review… -
For a franchise with an off-the-charts nuanced thinker as its protagonist, Alex Cross isn't very smart.
October 19, 2012 | Rating: 1.5/4
Audience Reviews for Alex Cross
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Oct 05, 2014The movie starts with detectives Alex Cross(Tyler Perry), Monica Ashe(Rachel Nichols) and Thomas Kane(Ed Burns) apprehending a serial rapist, but not before chasing him all over an abandoned warehouse, drop kicking him off a floor and shooting him in the leg. Even after all of that, a mystery man(Matthew Fox) is none too impressed. Still, he impresses Fan Yau Lee(Stephanie Jacobsen) with his bare fist martial arts prowess. When she turns up brutally murdered the following morning, the detectives are on the scene, not only to find her murderer but to stop him from striking again. On the one hand, "Alex Cross" is a more faithful rendering of James Patterson's hero than previously done, giving us a much more robust character than portrayed elsewhere by Morgan Freeman. But honestly, all that really means is that this version adheres much closer to Patterson's simplistic worldview of demonic evil vs angelic good. That's not to mention the empty sadism and misogyny on display here. As the cast is going off in every direction imaginable, they make little difference, even Giancarlo Esposito with a cameo in the Henry Ford Museum. Speaking of which, at least the movie takes full advantage of Detroit locations, especially in the climax.Walter M Super Reviewer
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Aug 17, 2014James Patterson's detective series is rebooted by Tyler Perry with Alex Cross. The story follows Detroit homicide detective Alex Cross and his team as they investigate a series of murders by a contract killer. Starring Tyler Perry, Edward Burns, Rachel Nichols, and Matthew Fox, the film has a decent cast. However, it's hard to live up to Morgan Freeman's portrayal of the Cross character, but Perry tries (and fails). It's actually Matthew Fox who steals the film, giving a captivating performance as a ruthless and sadistic killer. Yet the plot is formulaic, and has been done a dozen times over. In the end Alex Cross is a mediocre thriller that covers the basics, but doesn't bring anything new or exciting to the genre.Dann M Super Reviewer
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Apr 12, 2014Miscasting is one of the major problems with this film. Tyler Perry was the wrong choice to play Alex Cross. He is no Morgan Freeman. They should have casted someone like Terrence Howard or Jeffrey Wright. They would have been awesome in the role. Perry seems out of place in this action film. The film also needed a rewrite. A lot of the dialog seemed sloppy. Also the film was predictable. I wasn't surprised by some of the things that happened in the film. I knew right away who hired Matthew Fox's character. Matthew Fox is the best reason to watch the film. He is really good as the killer Picasso. He was also good when he played the villain in Vantage Point. I would love to see him do more villain roles. The problem here is that he doesn't have a good foil in Perry. Perry also doesn't have a good on screen chemistry with Ed Burns. Ed seems like he is trying to make it work as best as he can. Of the 3 Alex Cross films that were made, Along Came a Spider, would be my favorite. As for this film, check it out for Matthew Fox's performance. If you want to see a good Alex Cross film, then check out, Along Came A Spider.Sol C Super Reviewer
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Mar 18, 2013A movie Tyler Perry is in sucks. That really isn't a surprising statement as the majority of the films he's in, minus Star Trek, end up being horrible because of his creative involvement, when he's not really that good at writing a decent script. The one surprise in this film, if it can be considered that, is that the film would've sucked regardless if, instead of Tyler, you cast Denzel Washington instead. I don't mean to say the guy is great in this film, but he's fairly passable and doesn't, in any way, detract from an already terrible film. The script is just awful. It's generic and dull. In a post-Seven era...hell in a post-Girl with a Dragon Tattoo era, you just need to do better than this tripe. The film fails to build suspense at all. Things that happen are quickly forgotten about in the next scene, the whole film just does not flow well at all. Not to mention the story being completely nonsensical. Something about a french jerk hiring a ruthless assassin to take out his partners in his company for one reason or another. Do you ever get that reason? No, not really. The editing is also just absolutely disgraceful to the art of editing. I think the film, from an editing standpoint, falls apart in the climax. There's one scene, that's edited to look like it's one continuous shot, of Matthew Fox driving out of a parking lot and Alex driving right into his car. And the editing of this scene is just outright awful. If there's one thing that even remotely redeeming about the film is Matthew Fox's performance. I mean, some of his lines are really corny and I think he's too over-the-top at times, but he's still a highlight in an otherwise terrible film. I thought he was very committed to the role, even if the script outright failed him. As mentioned, Tyler Perry is passable. I thought he tried to play the character too low-key and sometimes he came across as lacking charisma. But, again, he wasn't bad and doesn't make the film any worse than it already is. As it stands this is just an awful movie that's just, technically, a mess from top to bottom.Jesse O Super Reviewer
Alex Cross Quotes
Alex Cross: | He won't stop. I've seen his face. I've heard his voice. I will meet his soul at the gates of hell before I let him take a person that I love away from me. |
Picasso: | Inflicting pain is a crucial part of my true calling. |
Tommy Kane: | Hey, Monny, what's with that kneecap shot of yours? |
Monica Ashe: | Up yours! |
Alex Cross: | It's like working with sixth graders with you two. |
Tommy Kane: | You don't play the game, the game plays you. |
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