Along Came a Spider

Directed by Lee Tamahori
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Mika Boorem, Penelope Ann Miller, Michael Moriarty, Dylan Baker.
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language.

Review by Matt Heffernan <matt@filmhead.com>
April 24, 2001

I wish I could give Along Came a Spider the review it deserves, but I'm afraid that it will have to be short like the rest of my recent articles. So be it.

Morgan Freeman once again plays Dr. Alex Cross (reprising his role from Kiss the Girls), a forensic pathologist who works as a profiler for the Washington, D.C. Police Department. After losing his partner in a botched sting, he is dragged into a kidnapping case by the perpetrator himself. Megan Rose (Mika Boorem), the daughter of a U.S. Senator (Michael Moriarty), is kidnapped by her teacher (Michael Wincott), who happens to be a psychotic admirer of Dr. Cross. The most important material witness is Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter), a Secret Service agent who was supposed to be watching Megan when she was taken. Despite this lapse in her duties, she teams up with Dr. Cross to find Megan.

Along Came a Spider showed a marked improvement over Kiss the Girls, in which director Gary Fleder blatantly stole from Hitchcock whenever he could. This time, Lee Tamahori is in the chair and brings a new energy to the franchise by avoiding the derivation while making a slick thriller.

Freeman and the rest of this top-notch cast do a good job, as expected. They help to elevate what is essentially a pulp plot to a respectable degree of sophistication. However, I will admit that just when I thought things were working out predictably, a couple of twists came by that really made the film interesting while not being too sensational. Only very rarely am I duped like this, and I welcome it every time.

So, Along Came a Spider is the best adult thriller you can see at the cineplex right now. It ain't Hitchcock, but at least it doesn't try to be.

Here's some merchandise for sale at

Along Came a Spider (2001)	-- VHS
Along Came a Spider (2001)	-- DVD
Along Came a Spider, a novel by James Patterson	-- Hardcover
Along Came a Spider, a novel by James Patterson	-- Paperback
Along Came a Spider, a novel by James Patterson	-- Audio Cassette (read by Charles Turner)
Along Came a Spider: Soundtrack	-- Compact Disc

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