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Along Came a Spider
Paramount Pictures

Along Came a Spider reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 42 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.8 out of 10
based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for violence and language

Starring Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Jay O. Sanders, Penelope Ann Miller, Michael Moriarty, Mika Boorem, and Billy Burke

A psychological suspense thriller adapted from James Patterson's first highly acclaimed novel in the Alex Cross series. (Paramount Pictures)


GENRE(S): Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: James Patterson (novel)
Marc Moss
 
DIRECTED BY: Lee Tamahori  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: September 25, 2001 
Video: September 25, 2001 
Theatrical: April 6, 2001 
RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Freeman fills Cross's gumshoes with distinction.
Read Full Review
75
Portland Oregonian Barry Johnson
The perfect thriller. Nothing too gross to creep you out.
75
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Broody fun.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's a superior film in every way to its predecessor "Kiss the Girls."
Read Full Review
63
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Best advice: Just sit back and watch Freeman anyway. The man's a cinematic treasure.
63
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Freeman gives his overwrought, over-familiar scenes an unlikely shot of intelligence and dignity that cuts through the formulas and almost makes them work.
Read Full Review
63
Miami Herald Curtis Morgan
A mediocre widget stamped straight out of the mold of the popular police procedural.
50
USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
It's instantly devoured and quickly forgotten.
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50
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Efficient, but in the end quite pedestrian.
50
Washington Post Rita Kempley
A corkscrew of a thriller, has more twists than a tarantula with a permanent.
Read Full Review
50
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
A reasonably diverting albeit frequently improbable thriller.
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50
Film.com Robert Horton
As executive producer of the film, he (Freeman) clearly sees something in Alex Cross, a man much more interesting than the cheesy plot surrounding him.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A few loopholes I can forgive. But when a plot is riddled with them -- I get distracted.
Read Full Review
50
New York Post Jonathan Foreman
But even that talent (Freeman) isn't enough to distract you from the general predictability of Spider or the absurdity of its elaborate last-minute plot twists.
50
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
The script is so ridiculous that nothing rings true.
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50
Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
An efficient, if overly mechanized, delivery system of thrills 'n' chills.
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50
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Alex Cross has been neutered on film, deprived of his sexuality, his family, his friends.
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50
Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan
A thriller is only as good as its villain is bad, and this is the film's problem.
47
Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark
With the dependably compelling Freeman present, even its worst moments are not unwatchable.
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40
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
If Michael Wincott -- who under normal circumstances can chill your blood just by breathing -- can't make the villain compelling, you know the movie's in trouble.
Read Full Review
40
New York Magazine Peter Rainer
There's not much here for a great actor to sink his teeth into once, let alone twice.
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40
LA Weekly John Patterson
By the time it hits you, you're worn out by all the dead ends and false trails the movie has put you through.
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40
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Mr. Freeman, a superb actor, creates the illusion of drama even when there is none.
40
Village Voice Dennis Lim
A disingenuous and colossally daft whiplash twist (presumably Patterson's) that only further perforates an already ragged plot.
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40
Variety Robert Koehler
Weaves a humdrum plot that's never ahead of the audience until three-quarters through.
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38
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
It's blah. Worse than blah, actually, because it's so stupid.
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30
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Overplotted, hollow thriller.
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30
Salon.com Charles Taylor
A dreary, ludicrous thriller.
Read Full Review
25
San Francisco Chronicle Wesley Morris
Relentlessly bland.
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20
Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton
Screenwriter Marc Moss can take credit for the film's laughable dialogue.
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10
New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky
Deadly dull thriller.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.8 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Andrew M. gave it a 6:
As a film alone, it is a fine effort. Some good suspense, a twist or two, great acting, good direction. As an adaptation of a brilliant novel it is disappointing. Most of the main aspects that made the book so great: brisk telling, unforeseen twists, psychological uncertainty, a sense of evil, and deep character development were missing. Watch and enjoy the movie, then read and love the book.

Jeremy gave it a 6:
It's too formulaic, and ultimately too implausible to accept, but a skilled performance by Morgan Freeman, and slick direction by Lee Tamohori make it seem for a while like a reasonably entertaining time killer.

Jack D. gave it a 4:
I was a big fan of "Arachnophobia"(1990). Can you imagine my surprise to find that this wasnt the "prequel" I expected? There is no compelling reason to see this movie in theaters..wait for the DVD release and postpone your suffering..unless you believe that Senator's kids each have 5 secret service people guarding them...

Dekel B. gave it a 10:
Great Thriller! Watch out for the ...

Don D. gave it a 2:
This movie embarassed the effort of "The Seven Deadly Sins." The story line was implausible from the convoluted part about the school teacher's identification to the idea of a two-bit U.S. Senator with a masive Secret Service detail to the wanton killings with no rhyme or reason. A 36 rating is better than deserved!!

Matt M. gave it a 3:
A terribly formulaic action/thriller with no good scares and even less action. A nice twist arrives at the end, but even that seems cheap and manipulative. Morgan Freeman is fine, but Monica Potter is as believable as a Secret Service Agent as Denise Richards was as a nuclear physicist in "The World Is Not Enough." This film is just nonsensical trash trying to pass itself off as a thriller.

Wobiekisser M. gave it a 6:
Though Freeman is excellent, the so-called "twist" is discovered with a horrible scene, which makes the overall impact of the surprise disappointing.

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