The big question most people seem to have about Alex Cross is, “How will Tyler Perry do as an action hero in a movie that doesn’t feature him dressed in drag to play an elderly woman?” And since he’s the star of this movie, portraying a character from James Patterson‘s novels previously portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the film adaptations of Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, that is a legitimate concern going into this film.
Tommy (Edward Burns) and Alex (Tyler Perry) investigate a crime in "Alex Cross."
But it doesn’t take long for the focus to be taken off of Perry, though I don’t think that is intentional. As Alex and his partner Tommy (Edward Burns) track a methodical serial killer, we find out that Alex has an unexplainable sixth sense for things. In an early scene with his wife (Carmen Ejogo), for example, Alex is able to deduce within a few seconds the details of her day (things like the smell of gas fumes and sanitizer on her hands). It’s these same skills that have made him one of Detroit’s top detectives, earning him a lucrative job offer from the FBI in D.C. He’s considering the job, especially now that his wife has revealed that she is pregnant. But first, he has to track this mysterious assassin’s next target.
That’s the first act of Alex Cross, which is filled with unconvincing dialogue, cop drama clichés and the attempted comic relief of an overbearing grandmother (Cicely Tyson). But it’s not until Alex and Tommy cross paths with the killer (Matthew Fox) that things begin to get intensely interesting. Having already seen the chilling results of this killer’s first sadistic act, they know they’re dealing with a trained professional. But what they don’t realize is that by disrupting his pattern and preventing him from killing his second victim, this killer will now turn his attention towards Alex and Tommy’s families in order to get revenge.
Matthew Fox's villain is the most interesting element of "Alex Cross." Photo by Sidney Baldwin.
In its second half, Alex Cross takes on a bit of the dark psychology of Seven (ironically, yet another crime thriller starring Morgan Freeman), though it never gets nearly as deep as that film did. Though Perry is still the hero of the movie, Fox becomes the real star of the film, portraying the killer known as Picasso as a psychotic (and oddly admirable) man of integrity, talent and unstable determination. The questions of who this killer is, who hired him and how he’s become so hardwired that he can snap a man’s arm, shoot innocent civilians and find pleasure in methodically cutting off a beautiful woman’s fingers (rather than accepting her invitations for carnal enjoyment) become far more interesting than anything going on in the lives of the heroes.
While investigating the killer’s first murder, Tommy jokingly says he wishes Alex could be wrong about something for once so Tommy would know Alex isn’t always right. Later in the film, as both men are commiserating the loss of their respective loved ones at the hands of this killer, Alex says to Tommy, “I was wrong” about the killer turning his attention to them rather than carrying out his mission. Those three words carry more weight than anything else in this movie. Perry does well with what he’s given to work with in Alex Cross, as does the rest of the cast. But overall, the movie doesn’t give us enough to be emotionally invested in any of these characters. Which is probably why Fox’s emotionless assassin becomes the easiest element for viewers to attach themselves to.