| Alex Cross | |
| Director: | Rob Cohen |
| Cinematography: | Ricardo Della Rosa |
| Music: | John Debney |
| Distributor: | Lionsgate |
| Runtime: | 101 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $35 million[1] |
| Gross: | $34.6 million |
Alex Cross is a 2012 American action thriller film[2] [3] [4] directed by Rob Cohen, and starring Tyler Perry as the title character, and Matthew Fox as the villain Picasso. The adapted screenplay was written by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson. It is based on the 2006 novel Cross by James Patterson and is the third installment of the Alex Cross film series, which was considered as a reboot of the series. The title character was previously portrayed by Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001).
Unlike the previous films, which were distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film was released by Lionsgate Films on October 19, 2012. It was panned by critics and became a box office bomb, and a planned sequel was cancelled.
Psychologist Dr. Alex Cross is working as a detective for the Detroit Police Department together with his childhood friend, Thomas Kane, and Monica Ashe. Outside of work, Cross lives a happy suburban life with his mother, his pregnant wife, and their two kids. Kane and Ashe are romantically involved with each other but try in vain to keep this a secret from Cross.
One night, Cross and Kane are called to investigate the torture and murder of businesswoman, Fan Yau. Cross determines from the clues in the crime scene that this was done by a single person, and Kane notes that this must be the work of a professional. They also find a charcoal drawing of Fan Yau's death in the room, which lead them to dub the killer as "Picasso."
Cross' team eventually link Fan Yau with two other businessmen: Erich Nunemaker and Giles Mercier. This, together with the letters E and N found in the charcoal drawing, lead the team to believe that Picasso will attack Nunemaker next, with Mercier being the likely final target. Cross, Kane, and Ashe arrive at Nunemaker's building and are able to prevent his assassination. However, in the firefight that ensued, Picasso was able to identify the composition of their team. Picasso was also able to escape despite being hit by Kane on the shoulder.
Worried for their safety, Kane asks Cross if he thinks Picasso will now attack them and their loved ones. Cross reassures him that he believes Picasso is a professional with narrow focus, and thus would not deviate from his list of targets. This assessment would be proven to be incorrect as Picasso immediately plots his revenge against the team.
Cross and his wife, Maria, are out for dinner to celebrate the conception of their third child. Cross says that he is considering taking a job with the FBI as it has better hours, pay, and benefits, and it would mean more time for his family. Maria is reluctant because taking the FBI job would mean moving to Washington D.C. and her career is based in Detroit. Their discussion is interrupted when Picasso calls Cross' phone using Ashe's number. Picasso sends a picture of Ashe, whom he tortured and killed, to Cross. Cross attempts to prod and profile Picasso by taunting him and asking questions. Enraged, Picasso, who has had a sniper rifle trained on Cross all along, decides that the best way to take revenge on Cross would be to kill his wife. He shoots Maria in the chest and she dies in Cross' arms.
Cross and Kane, reeling from the losses in their personal lives, make it their personal crusade to bring Picasso to justice, through whatever means. They track down the chemist who supplies Picasso with the drug used on both Fan Yau and Ashe and are able to pinpoint his location. Cross and Kane rush towards Picasso's known location when they realize that he is going to assassinate Giles Mercier. Picasso is able to launch an RPG towards Mercier's convoy, apparently killing him. The pair pursue Picasso and eventually catch up to him. Cross and Picasso fight in the rafters of a church, where Picasso falls to his death, but not before telling Cross that he made him who he is today.
Cross deduces that Mercier is in fact alive and had been the behind the attacks all along. Mercier hired Picasso to fake his death in order to escape entanglements with the German government. While Mercier is hiding out in Indonesia, Cross calls him and informs him that his assistant has sold him out for immunity. The local cops converge to arrest him for drug smuggling charges, which is punishable by death in Indonesia. Satisfied that justice had been served, Cross and Kane both express their intent to work together at the FBI
A reboot film about Alex Cross' character began development in 2010, with a screenplay by Kerry Williamson and James Patterson.[5] David Twohy was attached as director, and was set to rewrite the screenplay. In August, Idris Elba was cast as Cross.[6]
Towards the end of 2010, QED International purchased the rights, and initial screenplay by Williamson and Patterson. By January 2011, Tyler Perry had replaced Elba in the starring role, and Cohen was hired as director.[7] The production company, QED, set Marc Moss, who worked on the previous Alex Cross films, to refine the screenplay for Perry and Cohen. With a production budget of $35 million, filming began on August 8 in Cleveland, Ohio and lasted until September 16. Filming locations in northeast Ohio served as a backdrop to Detroit, Michigan, where the character works for the Detroit Police Department. After Ohio, filming also took place in Detroit itself for two weeks.[8] The production office remained in Cleveland throughout production inside an empty portion of the old American Greetings Company Factory.
Summit Entertainment purchased domestic distribution rights in March 2011,[9] and set the release date for October 26, 2012.[10]
The theatrical release poster featured the tagline, "Don't ever cross Alex Cross", The Playlist at indieWire was critical of the tagline, saying that "it'll be impressive if anything dumber appears on a movie poster this year".[11]
The film opened in 2,539 theaters in North America, grossing $11,396,768 during its first weekend, with an average of $4,489 per theater, and ranking #5 at the box office. The film ultimately earned $25,888,412 domestically and $8,730,455 internationally, for a total of $34,618,867, on a $35 million production budget.
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[12]
The film earned a Razzie Award nomination for Perry as Worst Actor.[13]
Prior to the film's release, Double Cross was scheduled to be adapted into a film, with Perry reprising his role,[14] but the sequel was cancelled, following the critical and commercial failure of Alex Cross.