That was NOT Alex Cross!!!

I hate when movies BASED ON BOOKS stray so far from the story that you wonder why they even bother to connect it to the book. 

Okay, if you know anything about me, you know I am an avid reader.  A good portion of my free time is spent reading various genres.  Once such genres is Crime/Mystery.  I have read every Alex Cross book and am waiting (not patiently) to be able to justify buying Alex Cross, Run.  Since I enjoyed watching the Kiss the Girls movie and Along came a Spider, I figured this one being supervised by Mr. Patterson would be at least good. 

Side Note - Morgan Freeman is not how I picture my favorite Psychologist/Detective/FBI Agent but I like him as an actor and thought he did a pretty decent job of representing the idea of Dr. Cross. 

When I heard who they cast as Alex, I was leery but I gave him a chance.  He still didn't come close to the image my mind created. . . Alex is slender but muscular...he's tall...he's sexy and he's suave...not to mention he is a freaking genius! 

The scene opens, they are chasing a perp through a warehouse...exciting.  Yea no...it looked like Dr Cross was about to have a heart attack from running.  Look I like Tyler Perry but he just isn't the right actor for the role.  Then the movie went on and I spent 75% of it trying to figure out which book they were trying to portray.  Apparently its supposed to be based on the book named "Cross" and it was so far from the book it wasn't even funny.

Where to start...oh I dunno lets start with it takes place in Detroit...DETROIT!!!  Alex Cross lives in D.C., he has always lived in D.C. And in Cross the book he is leaving the FBI where in the movie he is about to leave the police to join the FBI.  Then there is the whole his wife Maria is alive and she is preggars with little Alex.  Then she is killed by Picasso.  Yes in the book there are flashbacks to Maria but she isn't alive. Its a flashback. . . Maria is dead when the first book comes out.  He is a single father living with Nana Mama and raising his 2 older kids.  Then he meets Christine and SHE has little Alex and gives him to Alex to raise because she cannot.  Plus while in the movie Picasso is a bit disturbing and Matthew Fox did a decent job of portraying that but its not the same killer in the book.  The villain in the book is The Butcher who is just royally f****d up and there are unsolved rapes...and the girls are sometimes left alive but won't speak of said rapes.  And it all somehow links to Maria, sort of.  It seems like a whole different thought process.  Also, Perry just didn't make me believe he was a crime solving genius.  He's more of a funny man, which Alex is not.  Yes he is quick witted but not like what Perry depicted.  Oh and don't forget another pet peeve...John Sampson is his childhood BFF...not Tommy whatever.  Unless I missed something.  I may have to re-read and make sure.  While the books I don't think even say Sampson is black, they elude to him being as tall as Alex and more muscular...not exactly what they showed in the movie.  One more thing, Nana Mama in the books is Alex's grandmother...in the movie it seems the elude that she is his mother.  But part of Alex's personality is created because he was raised by Nana Mama instead of his mother. I know its difficult to fit a whole novel in 2 hours but its almost like they didn't even try.  I thought previous Alex Cross movies paid enough homage to the original stories.  I mean I saw Kiss the Girls before I read the book and Casanova scared the living daylights out of me. 

So if you've never read an Alex Cross novel the movie isn't bad. . . its not great but it's watchable.  Honestly they probably could have shown a better representation of Patterson's famous detective if they would have just made this rated R.  I know they were trying to pull in more audience but the Cross series villains are disturbing to say the least.  To water it down to PG-13 just takes away the suspense created in the stories. Alex Cross the movie is more of a high level summary pulled from various books.  And to be honest, its not done very well.  It's very choppy and doesn't always make sense, leaving the consumer wondering why they are even wasting their time.  If you have read any Alex Cross books DO NOT WATCH THIS!  You will be fuming by the end.  Like I said, this is not my Alex Cross.