Movie #114 - Along Came a Spider

"The game is far from over."

A sequel to the critically acclaimed, Kiss the Girls, this film follows the character of Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) as he tries to solve another mystery - the kidnapping of an U.S. Senator's daughter.

Based on the novel by James Patterson, Cross is pitted against another criminal mastermind in trying to solve this elaborate plot. As an audience, you are captured by this film from the beginning. Its filled with drama, suspense, and intrigue that you are somewhat disappointed by the ending, which I won't spoil here.

This film is highly underrated on the whole because its actually a solid suspense thriller. Morgan Freeman is the protagonist, but similar to his bumblings in Kiss the Girls, he makes a number of mistakes and poor decisions, leading to the deaths of many people in the process of attempting to save the young girl.

Monica Potter provides a solid support role in this film. Its one of only a few films that Potter completed in the early part of the decade in which it was not a time piece (seek out Patch Adams and Without Limits as examples). She does have that 70's look to her, even with the modern clothing and style - probably just type-cast and its hurt her longevity in the movie business. Potter has moved onto starring television roles, which has proven to be fruitful for her career in the end.

In the end, the real treat of this film is the kidnapper, portrayed by Michael Wincott (Gary Soneji character). He not only scares you throughout this film, but it follows a strong line of movies in which he plays a shady character or villain. Not known for any of his other movies, he is a great antagonist in this movie, which makes it a fun watch overall. I'd like to see Wincott continue in his portrayal of evil villains - he could easily capture the essence of a serial killer, crazy mad bomber, or even a mad scientist.