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Along Came a Spider
Paramount Pictures


5.8

based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

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

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...

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Freeman fills Cross's gumshoes with distinction.

Portland Oregonian Barry Johnson

The perfect thriller. Nothing too gross to creep you out.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Broody fun.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It's a superior film in every way to its predecessor "Kiss the Girls."

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Best advice: Just sit back and watch Freeman anyway. The man's a cinematic treasure.

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.

Miami Herald Curtis Morgan

A mediocre widget stamped straight out of the mold of the popular police procedural.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

It's instantly devoured and quickly forgotten.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Efficient, but in the end quite pedestrian.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

A corkscrew of a thriller, has more twists than a tarantula with a permanent.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A reasonably diverting albeit frequently improbable thriller.

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.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A few loopholes I can forgive. But when a plot is riddled with them -- I get distracted.

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.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

The script is so ridiculous that nothing rings true.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

An efficient, if overly mechanized, delivery system of thrills 'n' chills.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Alex Cross has been neutered on film, deprived of his sexuality, his family, his friends.

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

A thriller is only as good as its villain is bad, and this is the film's problem.

Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark

With the dependably compelling Freeman present, even its worst moments are not unwatchable.

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.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

There's not much here for a great actor to sink his teeth into once, let alone twice.

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.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Mr. Freeman, a superb actor, creates the illusion of drama even when there is none.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

A disingenuous and colossally daft whiplash twist (presumably Patterson's) that only further perforates an already ragged plot.

Variety Robert Koehler

Weaves a humdrum plot that's never ahead of the audience until three-quarters through.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It's blah. Worse than blah, actually, because it's so stupid.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Overplotted, hollow thriller.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

A dreary, ludicrous thriller.

San Francisco Chronicle Wesley Morris

Relentlessly bland.

Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton

Screenwriter Marc Moss can take credit for the film's laughable dialogue.

New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky

Deadly dull thriller.

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.

Along Came a Spider Paramount Pictures

Along Came a Spider
Paramount Pictures