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Alex Cross (film)

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Alex Cross
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRob Cohen
Screenplay by
Based onCross
by James Patterson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRicardo Della Rosa
Edited by
Music byJohn Debney
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • October 19, 2012 (2012-10-19)
Running time
101 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million[1][2]
Box office$34.6 million[1]

Alex Cross is a 2012 American action thriller film[3][4][5] directed by Rob Cohen, and starring Tyler Perry as the title character, and Matthew Fox as the villain Picasso. The adapted screenplay was written by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson. It is based on the 2006 novel Cross by James Patterson and is the third installment of the Alex Cross film series, which was considered as a reboot of the series. The title character was previously portrayed by Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001).

Unlike the previous films, which were distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film was released by Lionsgate Films on October 19, 2012. It was panned by critics and became a box office bomb, and a planned sequel was cancelled.

Plot

Dr. Alex Cross is called by the mayor of Detroit, the city where he lives with his family and works as a police lieutenant and psychologist. Disturbed by the murder of Yau, Cross pledges to bring the perpetrator to justice and heads the investigation. As he works, the evidence points to a mysterious man known only as Yau, the same man who recently won the underground fight. Cross begins to track down his prey and discovers the Tiger is a notorious serial killer with ambitious plans to dominate world organized crime. He also learns that the killer is targeting Maria, who is now pregnant. Torn between his commitment to justice and his love for his family, Cross decides to accept an offer from the FBI to become a profiler in Washington, D.C., in order to protect Maria and save the world from Yau. But Cross is unable to escape his past, and soon finds himself in a race against time to stop Yau and save his family and the country.

At the crime scene, Cross and Kane arrive at the CEO's home, attempting to stop him, but they are too late and discover both the CEO and his family dead. The duo finds a painting of a naked woman left behind by Picasso as a memento. After a lengthy organized search for Picasso, the police manage to track him down in a hotel, where Cross and Kane confront him. A gunfight ensues and the police finally manage to capture Picasso, thwarting his plans and saving the city. At the trial, Cross testifies as a witness to bring Picasso to justice without mercy. With the help of Dr. Erich Nunemacher's expert assessment, Picasso is ultimately convicted of multiple murder charges, sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. The aftermath of his crime spree caused public fear in the city, but with Cross and Kane's brave efforts, soon the city's residents felt safe again.

Picasso had a plan to kill Nunemacher, but Cross and Kane foiled it. Furious, Picasso plotted his revenge and decided to attack Cross and Kane's colleague, Monica Ashe. He tracked her down and tortured her to death, devastating Cross and Kane. He then set his sights on Cross himself, and tracked him down while he was on a date with Maria. With no mercy, Picasso killed her with a sniper rifle, leaving Cross a broken man. Filled with hatred and vengeance, Picasso had gained his revenge.

At a conference where renowned art investigator Nunemacher and Maria Mercier, a woman who worked closely with Picasso in his criminal activities, were speaking, Picasso suddenly appeared with a gun. He coldly aimed it at the pair and fired, killing Nunemacher and seemingly Mercier. Detective Cross was deeply disturbed upon hearing the news. He had previously come close to apprehending Picasso but he had managed to escape. Now Cross was determined to bring Picasso to justice and he and his partner Kane began tracking Picasso to his hideout, which turned out to be an abandoned Michigan Theater. Upon arriving, Cross and Kane knew they had to act fast and they tracked Picasso to the top of the theater. Picasso had become aware of Cross and Kane’s presence and the showdown began. Cross and Picasso fought, exchanging punches and kicks and eventually they were thrust through the weak and crumbling ceiling of the theater. Cross emerged victorious when he managed to kick Picasso off the beam they were standing on and down into the depths of the theater, killing him. After avenging Maria’s death, Cross was helped to safety by Detective Kane and the nightmare of Picasso had finally come to an end.

Alex Cross has finally cracked the case of his nemesis, Jean Mercier. After a long and exhaustive investigation, Cross discovers Mercier's employer: he had stolen money from his clients and needed the help of Yau and Nunemacher to fake the death of the real Mercier and flee to Bali. To finish the job, he had hired a criminal and hired Picasso to eliminate Yau and Nunemacher as well as have a double lest around to pretend to be Mercier. Cross had taken it upon himself to frame Mercier for drug smuggling and Mercier was subsequently arrested and sentenced to death by firing squad in Indonesia. Cross' job was complete: Mercier had been punished for the murder of Maria as well as his other crimes, and Cross finally found peace of mind. Feeling a sense of closure, Cross decides to accept a job offer from the FBI and move with his family to Washington.

Cast

Production

A reboot film about Alex Cross character began development in 2010, with a screenplay by Kerry Williamson and James Patterson.[6] David Twohy was attached as director, and was set to rewrite the screenplay. In August, Idris Elba was cast as Cross.[7]

Towards the end of 2010, QED International purchased the rights, and initial screenplay by Williamson and Patterson.[6] By January 2011, Tyler Perry had replaced Elba in the starring role, and Cohen was hired as director.[8] The production company, QED, set Marc Moss, who worked on the previous Alex Cross films, to refine the screenplay for Perry and Cohen.[6] With a production budget of $35 million,[1] filming began on August 8 in Cleveland, Ohio and lasted until September 16. Filming locations in northeast Ohio served as a backdrop to Detroit, Michigan, where the character works for the Detroit Police Department. After Ohio, filming also took place in Detroit itself for two weeks.[9] The production office remained in Cleveland throughout production inside an empty portion of the old American Greetings Company Factory.

Summit Entertainment purchased domestic distribution rights in March 2011,[10] and set the release date for October 26, 2012.[11]

The theatrical release poster featured the tagline, "Don't ever cross Alex Cross", The Playlist at indieWire was critical of the tagline, saying that "it'll be impressive if anything dumber appears on a movie poster this year".[12]

Reception

Box office

The film opened in 2,539 theaters in North America, grossing $11,396,768 during its first weekend, with an average of $4,489 per theater, and ranking #5 at the box office. The film ultimately earned $25,888,412 domestically and $8,730,455 internationally, for a total of $34,618,867, on a $35 million production budget.[1]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 11% of 129 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox did their best, but they're trampled by Rob Cohen's frustrating direction and a tasteless, lazily written screenplay."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 30 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[15]

The film earned a Razzie Award nomination for Perry as Worst Actor.[16]

Cancelled sequel

Prior to the film's release, Double Cross was scheduled to be adapted into a film, with Perry reprising his role,[17] but the sequel was cancelled, following the critical and commercial failure of Alex Cross.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Alex Cross at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ "Weekend Box Office: Alex Cross Bombs And Paranormal Activity Plummets". CinemaBlend.com. 21 October 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "Alex Cross (2012)". Irish Film Classification Office.
  4. ^ "Review: 'Alex Cross' and Tyler Perry are armed with silly lines". Los Angeles Times. 18 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Alex Cross Movie Review". Common Sense Media.
  6. ^ a b c Bierly, Mandi (February 1, 2011). "Tyler Perry in, Idris Elba out of Alex Cross reboot: Producer explains why". Entertainment Weekly.
  7. ^ Fleming, Mike (August 18, 2010). "Idris Elba Is New Alex Cross In Relaunched James Patterson Film Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  8. ^ Fleming, Mike (January 31, 2011). "Tyler Perry As Alex Cross In James Patterson Franchise Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  9. ^ O'Connor, Clint (October 12, 2012). "Tyler Perry tough-guy: The megastar talks about 'Alex Cross', the new thriller he shot in Cleveland". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (March 24, 2011). "Summit acquires U.S. rights to 'Cross'". Variety. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  11. ^ McNary, Dave (February 7, 2012). "Summit sets 'Alex Cross' for October". Variety. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  12. ^ Lyttelton, Oliver (October 17, 2012). "Don't Ever Cross Alex Cross: The 10 Most Awful Movie Poster Taglines". The Playlist. indieWire. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  13. ^ "Alex Cross". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Edit this at Wikidata
  14. ^ Alex Cross at Metacritic Edit this at Wikidata
  15. ^ "'Paranormal Activity 4' Opens With $30M For $56.5M Global Weekend; Tyler Perry As 'Alex Cross' Low $12M; Ben Affleck's 'Argo' Holds". Deadline Hollywood. October 21, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  16. ^ Coleman, Korva (9 January 2013). "Honoring The Worst In Hollywood - The 33rd Annual 'Razzies' Awards!". National Public Radio. Retrieved 29 November 2019. Tyler Perry...for Alex Cross
  17. ^ Trumbore, Dave. "Tyler Perry and James Patterson Finalize Deal for ALEX CROSS Sequel, DOUBLE CROSS". Collider.com. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
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