Along Came a Spider (2001)
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A retired detective and a Secret Service agent must team up to rescue a kidnapped girl from a man seeking notoriety through a high-profile crime.
The story
After Washington, D.C. detective, forensic psychologist and author Dr. Alex Cross loses control of a sting operation resulting in his partner Tracie Fisher's death, he retires from the police force. His departure is short-lived when Megan Rose, the daughter of a US senator, is kidnapped from her private school by a man named Gary Soneji, who has disguised himself as one of her teachers for years. US Secret Service Special Agent Jezzie Flannigan is held responsible for the breach in security that allowed Soneji to take the girl. In response, Cross and Flannigan join forces to track down Soneji and find Megan.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a failed operation leads to his partner's death, detective Alex Cross retires but is forced back into action when Megan Rose, the daughter of a US senator, is kidnapped by Gary Soneji. Cross teams up with Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan to find her. Cross realizes Soneji is attempting to replicate the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping to gain notoriety. While the FBI struggles to catch Soneji, Cross discovers his plot involves the son of the President of Russia, Dimitri Starodubov. Cross and Flannigan successfully block Soneji from kidnapping the Russian boy, but Soneji demands $10 million in diamonds as ransom for Megan. Cross complies, and during a confrontation, he shoots Soneji dead. However, Cross later discovers that Flannigan had been working with Soneji as a pawn in her own plot to extort Megan's family. He finds her at a secluded farmhouse where she has murdered her partner, Ben Devine. Cross ultimately defeats Flannigan and saves Megan.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Lee Tamahori
- Writers
- Marc Moss · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Morgan Freeman · Alex Cross; Monica Potter · Megan Rose; Michael Wincott · Gary Soneji; Penelope Ann Miller · Jezzie Flannigan; Michael Moriarty · Kyle Craig
- Genres
- thriller; crime; psychological
- Themes
- justice; sacrifice; betrayal
- Tone and mood
- tense; suspenseful
- Premise and plot tags
- kidnapping; conspiracy; police procedural
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1993 novel by James Patterson
- Franchise connections
- Alex Cross film series
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and mixed reviews on Metacritic, but was a box office success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 32% · review count: 124; Metacritic · score: 42 · scale: 100 · review count: 31
- Awards and nominations
- BMI Film & TV Award · original score · win; NAACP Image Award · Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film is a sequel to Kiss the Girls.; The character of Alex Cross was rebooted in 2012.; The film was produced on a budget of $60 million.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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