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    Alex Cross

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    So Bad it’s good rating: 3,5/5

    “Alex Cross” is a by-the-book detective thriller that’s kind of enjoyable to watch, but isn’t particularly good. Dr. Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) is a psychologist and police lieutenant who’s one top of the world. His long time best friend Tommy Kane (Edward Burns) is his partner on the police squad, he’s got a beautiful, loving wife, two daughters, another baby on the way and his sassy mother (or is it grandmother? ) lives with him in a huge house. He’s so good at his job he can tell you what your favorite colour is based on the type of ice cream you ordered. That’s when our villain for the movie comes in. Matthew Fox plays a devious serial murderer nicknamed “The Picasso Killer”. He uses a drug that paralyzes people’s bodies (but not their eyes or their mouths) yet enables them to feel pain. He tortures them to get information, then kills them for fun and, feeling inspired, creates a charcoal drawing afterwards for the police to keep. Apparently, this guy’s been hired, or has some kind of super elaborate agenda because he is going after high-ranking employees of CEO Giles Mercier’s company (Mercier is played by Jean Reno) When Cross gets in the way, Picasso decides to take the fight to a whole new, personal level...

    I’m not going to say that this movie’s great. I wouldn’t even say it’s good, but it is entertaining. The entertainment value is mostly due to the game of cat-and-mouse between Alex Cross and Picasso. I give credit to the movie for actually making two characters that feel like they are evenly matched. Alex Cross might be a super detective, but Picasso, he’s a super assassin with Batman-level gadgets and insane skills. You will not believe to what lengths this guy goes to get his prey and you will wonder how many people will bite the dust before Cross manages to take him down. I also enjoyed Matthew Fox’s totally outlandish performance as the killer. It’s a nice balance to Tyler Perry’s totally wooden and bland performance. Kind of like a steak that’s totally burnt on the outside and raw on the inside, but tasty around the edges where the two extremes meet. The film is that right mix of flat-out ridiculous, predictable and bad elements combined with enough actually intriguing developments to make the whole thing watchable. Well, as long as it’s with a bunch of friends who will make it that much more fun by laughing at it.

    When it comes to the bad elements, there’s no shortage in “Alex Cross”. Here are some more memorable examples. Characters that appear to be crucial to the plot are suddenly dropped from the story entirely. What, I ask you, happened to Rachel Nichols’ character? I don’t mean the obvious. I mean: can someone tell me why there’s a big moment with her, and then we never see her again? Characters are either ridiculously skilled, or so dumb they would struggle to survive on a daily basis. When it becomes obvious that the Picasso killer is inside a building, looking to kill his next target Tommy hears an explosion and runs out of the room, leaving the intended target alone for the killer to pick off. What a dummy! This is also a movie where characters just know things because as long as they’re off-screen they don’t actually exist within the movie. While on the side, they’re sitting in a comfortably while reading the script and taking notes. Take the Picasso killer. He’s just encountered the police for the first time, unexpectedly. Somehow though, he just happens to have a newspaper clipping showing Alex Cross, his partner and the other officer that confronted him tacked on his wall. How did he figure out who was going to come after him? Afterwards, how does he figure out where these people live? The only explanation can be that he read the script and it told him where to go.

    Another great example: Cross is talking to a high-ranking criminal in a car so that they can be “alone”. He’s bribing the criminal in order to get some much needed information to catch Picasso. The bribe in question is a piece of evidence that would otherwise incriminate the guy if the case was ever revived. The bad guy comments that on top of the pistol that Alex is offering him, there was another one in the evidence locker. At that very moment, Tommy shines the laser scope on the mobster’s forehead, shutting him up and making him agree to cooperate. Understand that Tommy is at least 10 meters away and there was no way he could have heard the conversation. How did he know the exact moment to shine the light on the guy’s forehead? For that matter, why didn’t the body guards catch the guy pulling out the gun and pointing it towards their boss?

    “Alex Cross” is a film that’s badly put together and not particularly inventive either. The editing is simply awful when it comes to the action sequences, the characters’ actions often don’t make any sense and the story is utter madness more than once. Let’s not forget the performances from the leads, which are so outlandish I recommend you watch the film just to see them. Tyler Perry is 100% uncharismatic and about as emotive as the Easter Island statues. Matthew Fox, he’s playing an all-out lunatic, so over-the-top he’s straight from a cartoon. The film is never really painful to watch, but the director really let these actors down. It boils down to a complete mess that’s so bad, it becomes good again. (On Dvd, August 1, 2014)

    5
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    adamwatchesmovies@  28.2.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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