Alex Cross

Based on a book by James Patterson, Alex Cross follows the title detective (Tyler Perry) as he and his partner (Ed Burns’ Tommy Kane) attempt to track down and stop a vicious madman known only as Picasso (Matthew Fox). It’s clear immediately that Perry, picking up where Morgan Freeman left off, is simply unable to convincingly step into the shoes of Patterson’s grizzled yet sympathetic creation, as the actor, though competent, doesn’t possess the presence or gravitas that the role clearly demands (ie he’s just bland here). Beyond that, however, Alex Cross, for the most part, feels like a substandard thriller that should be premiering on home video – as the narrative has been suffused with elements of a decidedly (and palpably) generic nature (including the yawn-inducing central investigation and the stereotypical portrayal of certain periphery characters). There’s little doubt, then, that the film’s passable nature is due to Fox’s magnificently over-the-top turn as Picasso; rail-thin and stripped entirely of his charismatic demeanor, Fox delivers a jaw-droppingly transformative performance that’s consistently engrossing and flat-out hypnotic – to the extent that one can’t help but wish that his character were the focus here. The otherwise lifeless atmosphere is especially disappointing given the revenge-heavy bent of the narrative’s final stretch, with the climactic battle between Cross and Picasso drained entirely of its energy by director Rob Cohen’s reliance on some of the shakiest camerawork ever committed to celluloid. The end result is a disappointingly half-baked endeavor that could (and should) have been so much better, and it’s ultimately impossible not to wonder why Fox went to such extreme lengths for such a forgettable movie.

** out of ****