Reason Writers at the Movies: Peter Suderman Reviews Alex Cross

Sure, Alex Cross is a terrible movie. But at least it's an honest terrible movie, writes Senior Editor Peter Suderman in his Washington Times review:

"Alex Cross" is a strictly by-the-numbers thriller — a detective on his way to a desk job takes after a sadistic high-profile killer, and things quickly get personal. There is something bracing and even refreshing about its honesty, though, in its willingness to execute tired cop-film cliches unapologetically, without any hint of a knowing wink.

It's a movie that never pretends to be anything it is not. Here's what I am, take it or leave it, is its message to the audience.

I'd leave it. The film's self-confidence is admirable. The rest of it is not.

Based on James Patterson's novel "Cross," the movie follows Detroit police detective Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) as he tracks down a particularly violent and skilled assassin nicknamed the Butcher (Matthew Fox) who is targeting a group of wealthy foreign businessmen.

Cross is a burly, serious man who is good in a fight. He also is a psychologist who recently accepted a gig with the FBI as a profiler. He's the kind of detective who has the spooky ability to get inside the minds of the killers he's tracking, which turns out to mean he has the mysterious ability to intuit complicated plot points without nearly enough information.

Read the whole review.