Alex Cross

Alex Cross - Dir. Rob Cohen (2012)

Is the world truly prepared for Tyler Perry: Action Hero?

Perry has carved his own little niche in the film industry by writing, directing, producing, and starring in a string of comedies and dramas. Each picture has found box office success, despite frequent critical derision. His casting as James Patterson's famed character seems little more than a calculated marketing decision. Perry has yet to distinguish himself on a project not his own, outside of a brief cameo in Star Trek.

The character of Alex Cross is a detective and psychologist, who first appeared in Along Came a Spider, published in 1993. Morgan Freeman previously played Cross in an adaptation of that novel and the sequel Kiss the Girls. Development began in 2010 to reboot the franchise with Idris Elba originally attached as the lead.

Here, Cross (Perry) is a lieutenant in the Detroit police department and the father of two kids. Cross is mulling over a transfer to the FBI in D.C. for a profiling gig when his wife, Maria (Carmen Ejogo), elatedly announces a third child is on the way. A cushy desk job and a quiet domesticated life aren't in the cards with the arrival of a twisted serial killer calling himself the Butcher of Sligo (Matthew Fox). The Butcher has also earned the nickname of Picasso for the surreal charcoal drawings he leaves at the scene of his crimes.

While Perry will bring in many of his loyal fans, he won't win any awards for his wooden performance. He delivers the same flat line readings whether he's cracking wise with his partner and childhood friend Tommy Kane (Edward Burns once again cast as an Irish cop) or ominously throwing psychobabble terms to describe the villain ("He's a narcissistic sociopath…"). He's even less convincing as a gun-toting badass and Rob Cohen's choppy direction doesn't help. Cohen may have kicked off the Fast and Furious franchise, but his initial installment was the cheapest looking and least thrilling of the series, which got slicker and more exciting in the hands of Justin Lin. The climactic fight scene between Perry and Fox is nothing more than a series of brief and abstract close-ups.

The supporting cast with actors such as Rachel Nichols, Jean Reno, and John C. McGinley as the clichéd police captain is largely wasted. At least, Matthew Fox gets the opportunity to chew some massive scenery as a lean, mean torture machine. In spite of sharing his scenes with Perry, Giancarlo Esposito gives a good performance as a local crime lord. There's also Cicely Tyson as Cross's "Nana Mama," a role that might have been more interesting had Perry pulled double duty as Nana Mama Madea.

Alex Cross is supposed to be the start of a fresh, new franchise, yet it comes off as a stale pilot for any of run-of-the-mill police procedural clogging up network TV. There are more thrills and chills to be found in your average episode of Criminal Minds.

Rating: * (*****)