Alex Cross follows the young homicide detective/psychologist (Tyler Perry), from the worldwide best‐selling novels by James Patterson, as he meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox). The two face off in a high‐stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this taut and exciting action thriller.
Tyler Perry had to undergo some rigorous training in the self‐defense art of Krav Maga used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies. “I trained about three times a week and it’s the most ass‐kicking workout I’ve ever experienced,” says Perry.
Alex Cross reboots the movie series that started with the movie Along Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls. The story takes Alex Cross back to show the origins of the character as a Detroit police department detective. His lifelong friend Tommy Kane (Burns) is also his partner and the two also work with detective Monica Ashe (Nichols), who gets caught up in the chase for the serial killer nicknamed Picasso (Fox).
Picasso’s ultimate target is Detroit‐based multi‐national industrialist Giles Mercier (Reno) but what appears as obvious, is anything but, as Cross has to try to get into a killer’s head to anticipate what could be next and to check the violent urges that Picasso has brought out in him.
Alex Cross is directed by Rob Cohen; screenplay by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson; based on the novel “Cross” by James Patterson. Producers are Bill Block, Paul Hanson, James Patterson, Steve Bowen, Randal Emmett and Leopoldo Gout.
The creative production team includes Brazilian director of photography Ricardo Della Rosa, ABC who makes his American debut, editors Thom Noble (Oscar®‐winning editor of Witness) and Matt Diezel, production designer Laura Fox (Hesher, 500 Days of Summer) and costume designer Abigail Murray (Warrior, Kiss The Girls).
The movie’s title, while the same as one of the Cross books, is not based on any particular book (although it’s closer to the book Cross than any other book), but it does merge two astoundingly popular American entertainers: Tyler Perry and James Patterson.
“I am sure a lot of people were confounded when they heard Tyler was doing this character after Morgan Freeman did the role in earlier movies,” says director Rob Cohen. “Tyler usually sticks to his own productions but if you read Jim’s books, the character is a 40‐year‐old guy who is big and physical; that’s Tyler. He’s truer to the Patterson character from the books than what was previously done on screen with Morgan.”
For his part, Tyler Perry admits to a little bit of trepidation stepping into the role. “Knowing that Morgan Freeman had done this role was very, very intimidating but also thrilling to know I took on something that Morgan said yes to,” says Perry.