Along Came a Spider [Blu-ray]

Director: Lee Tamahori Lee Tamahori

Overview

Morgan Freeman returns as forensic psychologist Dr. Alex Cross in this thriller based on the novel by James Patterson (whose work also formed the basis of the hit Kiss the Girls). Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott) is a brilliant but remorseless psychopath who has landed a teaching position at an exclusive private school in Washington, D.C. Using his extensive knowledge of kidnapping (he's taught a class on Charles Lindbergh), Soneji abducts one of his students - Megan (Mika Boorem), whose father Hank Rose (Michael Moriarty) is a United States senator. Ollie MacArthur (Dylan Baker), the detective investigating the case, has strong words for Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter), the Secret Service agent who mistakenly let Megan slip through her fingers. But when the kidnapper contacts Dr. Cross, the psychologist is brought in on the case, and Cross seeks out Flannigan, who he believes might have a valuable insight into the case. Soon, Cross and Flannigan come to the terrible realization that this crime only represents the tip of the iceberg for the ruthless Soneji. Along Came a Spider also features Penelope Ann Miller, Jay O. Sanders, and Kim Hawthorne.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/28/2020
UPC:	0032429335241
Original Release:	2001
Rating:	R
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Time:	1:43:00
Sales rank:	18,408

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Morgan Freeman	Alex Cross
Monica Potter	Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan
Michael Wincott	Gary Soneji/Jonathan Mercuzio
Mika Boorem	Megan Rose
Penelope Ann Miller	Katherine Rose
Michael Moriarty	Senator Hank Rose
Dylan Baker	Special Agent Oliver `Ollie' MacArthur
Anton Yelchin	Dimitri Starodubov
Billy Burke	Secret Service Agent Ben Devine
Kimberly Hawthorne	Agent Hickley,Agent Hickley
Jay O. Sanders	FRI Special Agent Kyle Craig,Actor
Scott Heindl	Floyd the Fisherman
Christopher Shyer	Jim
Jill Teed	Tracie
Ian Marsh	Sam
Raoul Ganeev	Bodyguard
Samantha Ferris	Mrs. Hume
Ocean Hellman	Amy Masterson
Tom McBeath	Country Chief Campbell
Tamara Taggart	Reporter
Suzette Meyers	Reporter
Brian Arnold	Reporter
Chris Robson	Reporter
Jonathan Walker	Reporter
Debra Donahue	Reporter
Mila Dobrozdravich	Hannah
Aaron Joseph	Kennedy
Ravil Isyanov	Lermontov
Ronin Wong	Medical Examiner
Campbell Lane	Mathias
Charles Andre	Diplomatic Patrol Officer
Claire Riley	News Anchor
Paul Carson	News Anchor
Donna Lysell	News Anchor
Kevin Hayes	News Co-Anchor
Steve Makaj	News Co-Anchor
Anna Maria Horsford	Vickie
Nathanial Deveaux	Coast Guard Captain
Nguyen Hall	Watergate Employee,Watergate Employee
Charles Andison	McArthur Entourage Member
Tarie Tennessey	McArthur Entourage Member
Darryl Scheelar	McArthur Entourage Member
Craig March	McArthur Entourage Member
Darryl Dillard	D.C. Policeman
Carter Jahncke	Man Who Can't Answer Phone at Station
Jim Hild	Potentially Evil Guy on Train
Debra Donohue	Reporter
Nathaniel DeVeaux	Coast Guard Captain
Jerry Goldsmith	Composer
Mark Isham	Composer

Technical Credits

Marc Moss

James Patterson

Lewis Colick

Lee Tamahori	Director
Marc Moss	Screenwriter
David Brown	Producer,Sound Effects
Denise Chamian	Casting
Morgan Freeman	Executive Producer
Martin Hornstein	Executive Producer,Executive Producer,Producer
William H. Orr	Special Effects
Melissa Stubbs	Stunts
Joe Wizan	Producer
Charles Andre	Stunts
James Patterson	Screenwriter
Erik Akutagawa	Special Effects
Bob Baron	Sound Effects
Eric Batut	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Dean Beville	Sound Effects
Anne Couk	Sound Effects
Lewis Colick	Screenwriter
Chuck Jeffreys	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

The novel by best-selling author James Patterson becomes this thriller that, in the chronology of the writer's series of books featuring the character of Alex Cross, is actually a prequel to Kiss the Girls (1997). Morgan Freeman brings his usual intelligent gravity to FBI Special Agent-In-Charge role he's assayed once before, while Michael Wincott, always so memorable in villain roles, plays his genius kidnapper with a nervous, detached reserve that's a thoughtful contrast to the expected over-the-top histrionics of most cinematic antagonists. His motivations are never made clear or believable, but Wincott's Gary Soneji is sufficiently frightening in his off-kilter, wounded way. Jezzie Flannigan, as portrayed by Monica Potter, is more problematic. The actress plays the tough, smart, morally conflicted Secret Service agent as a wide-eyed runway model at best, an emotionless automaton at worst. It could be to throw the audience off in preparation for a third-act twist, but Potter lacks authenticity in a part that should have been played by a seasoned performer (such as Susan Sarandon) to provide a mature, full-bodied foil for the daunting presence of Freeman. As for the story itself, major changes from the source novel may leave Patterson fans enraged, but director Lee Tamahori provides his underrated, skillful service, keeping the pace brisk and the unanswered questions properly glossed-over. Not as artistically nutritious as The Silence of the Lambs or as good as its predecessor, Along Came a Spider is just good enough, never quite reaching the heights that everyone involved is capable of, existing instead as a proper, adequately entertaining example of its genre.