Here comes the understatement of the year. Tyler Perry is NO Morgan Freeman. I know. You’re shocked and chagrined to hear this (sarcasm intended), but really, that’s the one thought that kept bouncing around inside my head the entire time I watched Alex Cross. Sure, the script does Perry no favors, but his appearance in this film as the protagonist (Police Det. Alex Cross PhD) is a case of gross miscasting of epic proportions – the likes of which we have not seen since Tim Burton tried to cast Nic Cage as Superman some fifteen years ago.
But I digress. Alex Cross, the character, is from the pages of a series of novels penned by author James Patterson. In these literary works, Cross is an athletic heroic figure with a doctorate in Psychology and an incredible acumen for detection that borders on genius. Before this film, this character had been brought to life twice on the big screen by Morgan Freeman in “Kiss the Girls” and “Along Came a Spider.” And while those films were not remarkable, Freeman delivered layered performances that captured Cross’ aura of superior intellect and keen detection skills.
In this film, Perry is charged with building upon Freeman’s performance while adding a bit more physicality to the role as he jousts with a professional assassin, hired to eliminate some of the corporate elite taking up residence in Detroit. Aided by his Detroit PD task force, Perry’s Cross must bring down this assassin and uncover the motives behind his benefactors while the lives of those he cares for hang in the balance.
It doesn’t sound like too bad a premise – not groundbreaking, but with just enough there to put together a decent narrative. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be make the mistake of empowering writers (Kerry Williamson and Marc Moss) who simply are not up to the challenge. If you are going to write a character of incredible intelligence then the writing itself has to be incredibly intelligent. Otherwise, the movie completely lacks credibility. Sadly, the writing in this film is rudimentary leaving this script with about as much credibility as Lance Armstrong.
Tyler Perry as the lead exasperates these issues immensely. Having Cross deduce that his wife drank a latte because she has a stain on her jacket isn’t a sign of great detection. It’s called comment sense. And having other characters talk about his PhD as a means to convey brilliance is weak at best. I know a ton of advanced degree holders who won’t be getting an invite to join MENSA anytime soon (including yours truly). The failure to convince the viewer that Cross is a savant is a fatal flaw because his brilliance as a detective is the crux of the plot. Sadly, this Alex Cross seems more suited for CSI Miami with David Caruso than as a future elite profiler for the F.B.I.
What can I say about Tyler Perry’s performance? It’s clumsy, lazy, and void of any conviction. Yes, he brings greater physicality to the role that his predecessor, but it’s a awkward hulking portrayal of a character who is meant to be calculating, efficient, and precise. And in those moments when the script calls for him to emote, things completely fall flat. It is as inept a performance as I have ever seen and it completely drags down the work of some pretty fair actors in Ed Burns, Jean Reno, Cicely Tyson, and (to a lesser extent) Rachel Nichols.
As for Matthew Fox, clearly he goes under an impressive physical transformation to take on this role and when he doesn’t speak a line, he does a fair job of playing the part of a deadly assassin. Unfortunately, when he does interact with other characters, his work unravels in much the same way that Perry’s does. In my opinion, Fox has never been much of an actor but has had the good fortune to fall into two television roles (Lost, Party of Five) that garnered him more attention than he deserves. In one regard, he is the perfect choice to play the antagonist to Perry as they are equally bad actors.
I think when you look at a movie and say that the writing is bad and that both the protagonist and antagonist are terrible, it more or less tells you everything you will ever need to know about the film. And not only should you avoid this film, you should perform a public service act by preventing others from seeing it. Station yourself at the local Best Buy and dissuade uninformed consumer from buying it; or start one of those asinine petitions that people send to the White House (like building a Death Star, or getting Piers Morgan deported) to beseech the Obama Administration to ban Tyler Perry from ever making another movie. Whatever your methods, you have been warned about this film and it is your civic duty to extend that warning to others.
Standout Performance: No one.
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