Along Came a Spider (2001)

A congressman's daughter under Secret Service protection is kidnapped from a private school by an insider who calls Det. Alex Cross, sucking him into the case even though he's recovering from the loss of his partner.

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writers:

James Patterson (novel), Marc Moss (screenplay)

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Hickley
Jay O. Sanders	...	Kyle Craig
Billy Burke	...	Ben Devine
Michael Moriarty	...	Senator Hank Rose
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Elizabeth Rose
Anna Maria Horsford	...	Vickie
Scott Heindl	...	Floyd the Fisherman
Christopher Shyer	...	Jim
Jill Teed	...	Tracie

Storyline

Detective/psychologist Alex Cross loses his partner in an out of control 'bust.' He stops working and cannot forgive himself. He is drawn back to work reluctantly when a senator's daughter is kidnapped and the kidnapper seems to want to deal with Alex personally.

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Plot Keywords:

school | partner | secret service | kidnapping | psychopath | 

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Taglines:

The game is far from over.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA Germany Canada

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

6 April 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Telaraña

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,155,221 (Italy) (26 October 2001)

Gross:

$1,155,221 (Italy) (26 October 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, David Brown Productions, Phase 1 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This story takes place over the course of a few days. In the novel that the film is based on, the story takes place over the course of around two years. Also, in the book, Alex Cross is 38 years old with two kids, where as in the film he is in his mid to late fifties.

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Goofs

When Soneji returns from his firefight with Cross and Flannigan outside the Russian President's house, he has a silencer on his gun, but during the firefight he clearly doesn't have one on.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tracie: Tonight was your first night at the club, wasn't it?
Jim: No. I've been there a few times before.
Tracie: Really? Well, how come I haven't seen you?
Jim: I noticed you the first night I walked in. You always stand out.

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Crazy Credits

The final two characters listed are Man Who Can't Answer Phone Potentially Evil Guy On Train

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #8.71 (2009)

User Reviews

C+

"Along Came a Spider", with Freeman leading the way as a super sleuth cop who sets about to solve the kidnapping of a Senator's daughter, is strictly Hollywood formula film-making. The flick follows the rules, lacks in creativity, twists and turns a little in the middle, and provides a modicum of entertainment. With the always good Freeman and the always delicious Potter in the foreground, there's little to fault and little to rave about in this middle-of-the-road thriller.