Along Came a Spider

"The game is far from over."

2001 1h 44m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 2,138

CrimeMysteryThrillerAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the harrowing death of his partner, forensic psychologist and best-selling author Alex Cross cannot forgive himself and has retreated to the peace of retirement. But when a brilliant criminal kidnaps a senator's young daughter, he is lured back into action as the kidnapper wants to deal with Alex personally. Teamed with Jezzie Flanigan, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the missing girl, Alex follows a serpentine trail of clues that leads him to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom.

“The game is far from over.”

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Cast

Morgan Freeman
Alex Cross
Monica Potter
Jezzie Flannigan
Michael Wincott
Gary Soneji
Dylan Baker
Ollie McArthur
Mika Boorem
Megan Rose
Anton Yelchin
Dimitri Starodubov
Kim Hawthorne
Agent Hickey
Jay O. Sanders
Kyle Craig

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lee Tamahori
Writers: Marc Moss, Paul S. Power
Languages: English, Russian
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Alex Cross Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

279+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lee Tamahori, shot by Matthew F. Leonetti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lee Tamahori directs. Matthew F. Leonetti behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. Neil Travis cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.
4International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
5Part of the "Alex Cross Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6279+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Lee Tamahori, shot by Matthew F. Leonetti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Neil Travis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter and Michael Wincott carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "The game is far from over.".
12IMDB entry: tt0164334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 17 themes, including "based on novel or book", "detective", "fbi", "teacher".

The technical file

Cinematography: Matthew F. Leonetti
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: Neil Travis
Production design: Ida Random
Makeup / hair: Michael Westmore
VFX supervisor: Bill Westenhofer
Sound: Eric Batut
Stunt coordinator: Melissa R. Stubbs
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $105,200,000
Return: 175% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Along Came a Spider (2001)

Part of

Alex Cross Collection

Collection of thriller films, based on the fictional character of Alex Cross, who originally appeared in a series of novels by James Patterson.

Also by

Lee Tamahori

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-06-20
★ 5/10
Good, but farfetched with an eye-rolling ‘big reveal’ D.C. forensic psychologist Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) investigates when a senator’s daughter is kidnapped from a private school by a man obsessed with the infamous Lindbergh abduction (Michael Wincott). A secret service agent at the school assists him on the case (Monica Potter). “Along Came a Spider” (2001) is an improbable detective thriller like its predecessor “Kiss the Girls” (1997) except that it doesn’t rip-off “Silence of the Lambs” (1991) or “Se7en” (1995). Both were based on the books by James Patterson. The opening is great with a thrilling dam sequence. The ensuing story of the kidnapping & investigation is compelling but, like the first film, a plot wrench is thrown into the works that muddles everything. I can roll with that, but not the absurd ‘big reveal’ at the end, which comes off as a wannabe “Fooled ya” by the writers. They might’ve fooled me, but they also ruined the movie with the eye-rolling twist. Like “Kiss the Girls,” “Along Came a Spider” is worthwhile if you like proficient detective thrillers and the cast, but be prepared for a wildly unrealistic tale. The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in the Vancouver area, British Columbia, and Owings Mills/Baltimore, Maryland (the train sequence), with establishing shots of Washington DC. GRADE: C
CinemaSerf2022-09-06
★ 6/10
Morgan Freeman is psycho-detective "Cross" who has retreated from his work after an operation went awry, killing his wife. Shortly after, the daughter of a senator (Michael Moriarty) is kidnapped by one of her teachers, and when he calls "Cross" to lure him back into the business the game is afoot. Aided by one of the girl's now disgraced Secret Service agents "Flannigan" (Monica Potter) the two have to piece together a puzzle that will track down and rescue the girl. The snag with this thriller is that it is all just bit too straightforward - there are no real problems with that puzzle as the pair solidly proceed. There is precious little jeopardy, and the characters are all just too sterile - it's just lacking in anything that gives it a sense of peril before an ending that really does have you saying "Hmmm...". Freeman certainly has a charm to him, but that's simply not enough to ignite this by-the-numbers effort from a director who couldn't, or couldn't be bothered, to make this more interesting and challenging to watch. Television fodder, I'm afraid - and not likely fodder you will recall next week.
Andre Gonzales2023-07-07
★ 7/10
Easily in the top 10. Probably the best mystery thriller I've ever.