It's hard not to look at the newly released trailer and poster for Alex Cross and think about what might have been. Morgan Freeman played James Patterson's popular psychologist/detective in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, and when this film was announced it was Idris Elba(Prometheus) who had the inside track. What we ended up with ultimately was Tyler Perry, which never seemed like a natural fit. Now that we've seen him in action, that certainly appears to be the case.
Directed by Rob Cohen(The Fast and the Furious) and telling an earlier tale featuring a much younger Cross investigating a grisly series of murders committed by a mob hitman known as Michael "The Butcher" Sullivan. A bald, ripped, and jacked Matthew Fox plays the gruesome killer, who apparently is an avid cage fighter when he's not taunting Cross and threatening his family. There's actually quite a bit of tension built up just in this small amount of footage, and it's a welcome change to see a more aggressive Cross in action, but Perry really looks out of his element here. There's nothing natural about the way he delivers some of the dialogue, and he's not at all believable when trying to look tough. Perhaps he'd be more comfortable in a dress and wig? Even the great Cicely Tyson looks blanked on how to react to such wooden acting.
Edward Burns, Rachel Nichols, Jean Reno, Giancarlo Esposito, Cicely Tyson, and John C. McGinley will co-star when Alex Cross opens in theaters on October 19th.[Comingsoon]
