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Alex Cross2012 | 101 min | PG-13 | 2.39:1
On his own, director Rob Cohen is responsible for movies such as “Stealth,” “The Skulls,” “XXX,” and “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.” On his own, star Tyler Perry is responsible for “Madea’s Witness Protection,” “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Madea Goes to Jail,” and “Madea’s Family Reunion.” To the financier who decided to pair these two up for “Alex Cross,” I ask, are you crazy? It doesn’t take a genius to comprehend that two dreadful forces of filmmaking are going to manufacture an abysmal film, and “Alex Cross” is an exceptionally rancid feature. When it’s not being completely idiotic, it’s frightfully tasteless, with both Perry and Cohen making sure the entertainment factor is thoroughly sucked out of this ludicrous thriller. 
A Detroit detective with his eye on a cushy F.B.I. profiler job, Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) lives a content life with wife Maria (Carmen Ejogo), mother Nana (Cicely Tyson), and his two kids. Solving crimes with partners Tommy (a dismal Edward Burns) and Monica (Rachel Nichols), Cross comes across the adversary of his life when Picasso (Matthew Fox) steps into view. A brutal hitman with a flair for theatrical murders, Picasso has been hired to wipe out associates of French businessman Mercier (Jean Reno), leaving behind drawings to mark his territory, taunting the police to catch him. When Picasso makes this cat-and-mouse game personal, Cross abandons his skills of detection and reason to hunt the killer down, steeling himself for a fight across the empty battle zone of a decaying city. The last time the character of Alex Cross graced the big screen, he was played by Morgan Freeman in two pictures, 1997’s “Kiss the Girls” and 2001’s “Along Came a Spider.” With Perry taking over the role, the production (inspired by novels by author James Patterson) finds an aptly imposing man to portray Cross’s dazzling intellect and detective skill, with Perry committing to the role to the best of his ability, creating a hazy contrast between Cross as a family man and his work bustin’ baddies. It’s not an especially inspired performance (we are denied the chance to see the actor play Nana as well), but Perry is perhaps the least offensive element of the production, with his zombified sense of outrage easily ignored while Cohen makes a mess out of the movie, treating a modest revenge thriller like WWIII for reasons that are never fully understood. 
“Alex Cross” is an ugly film, visually through cinematographer Ricardo Della Rosa’s uselessly underlit work, and dramatically via Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson, whose screenplay is a wildly disjointed creation that mistakes suffering for tension. Missing here is an air of gamesmanship, with Cross and Picasso trading threats and experiencing near-misses before their ultimate showdown. Instead, the story burns through the set-up, establishing Picasso as a monster who enjoys torture, paralyzing victims with a green drug before he mutilates their bodies (somehow this foul feature nabbed only a PG-13 rating), climaxing with a hasty drawing of his manic headspace. The madman would be palatable if played with some degree of sinister patience. Fox, all sinewy and free of directorial control, works the part like a deranged Henson creation, with broad tics and snarls that immediately trigger unintentional laughter. The audience should fear Picasso, not Fox’s absurd overacting. Further malevolence is added with the saga of Mercier, but Cohen is too busy dishing up repellent violence to make the character stick. At one point, a pregnant woman is murdered (again, PG-13), which is too dire a situation for grungy junk like this to process without completely derailing. It’s difficult to accept “Alex Cross” as harmless escapism when it grows so unreasonably sadistic. There’s little procedural concern to “Alex Cross,” which switches over to action mode quickly, ignoring the character’s ace mind to portray the cop as a relentless force of sweaty vengeance. The script treats local law enforcement as total boobs, while Picasso’s means of infiltration grow implausible as the picture unfolds, but this disregard for coherence is Cohen’s specialty, playing into a chaotic sense of action as the dueling brutes work their way through phone taunts and threats. “Alex Cross” is so over the top, it’s impossible to catch the exploitation spirit the director constantly mangles, finding Cohen depressingly butterfingered, with the supporting cast a mess of amateur actors and overheated line readings, while the ending is straight out of a lesser Bond movie. 
“Alex Cross” is stiff and painful to watch, downright loathsome at times, especially when it cranks up the cruelty to get arise out of its audience. The ending promises a sequel, but I take it more as a threat, especially if Cohen returns to guide Perry. While I applaud the cult star’s desire to break out of his routine, he’s better off directing himself, keeping Cohen’s grotesque genre appetites away from the screen. Starring: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Rachel Nichols, Jean Reno, Giancarlo Esposito, Edward Burns Director: Rob Cohen » See full cast & crew |
 
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