I saw this a long time ago and recently rewatched it. The ending still surprised me. Definitely a classic!

When a movie begins with the level of action, excitement and pace that this one does, it's obvious that the emphasis is on entertainment and so it's no surprise that this gripping psychological thriller turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser that did great business at the box office. What's not so obvious is that the story that follows is intriguing, suspenseful and brilliantly twisted. Based on James Patterson's first novel that featured Washington D.C. police detective Alex Cross, it provided Morgan Freeman with his second outing as the forensic psychologist whose skill at profiling criminals is universally respected. Interestingly, his first appearance as Cross was in "Kiss The Girls" (1997) which was based on the second novel in the series.Life at an exclusive private school in Washington D.C. is thrown into turmoil when the daughter of a U.S. Senator is abducted by her computer science teacher who also kills one of his colleagues before taking Megan Rose (Mika Boorem) to his houseboat. Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott) changes his appearance immediately by removing the disguise that he'd worn during his two years at the school and telephones Dr Alex Cross who he instructs to check his mailbox. On finding, what proves to be one of Megan's shoes, Cross is convinced that he's been contacted by the real kidnapper.Cross had suffered a period of depression and retired from his job following the death of his partner in a sting operation that had gone horribly wrong but reluctantly now finds himself drawn into this case because he's been personally contacted by the kidnapper. Under-pressure FBI Agent Ollie McArthur (Dylan Baker) is in charge of the investigation and undiplomatically refers to Cross as "damaged" as well as being equally scathing in his attitude to Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter) who'd been in charge of security at the school when Megan was abducted. Despite initially being unenthusiastic about involving them in the investigation, McArthur agrees that Cross and Flannigan could both be useful to have on board and so they team up to try to hunt down Soneji and rescue Megan.It gradually becomes apparent to Dr Cross that Soneji's motive in contacting him had been to elevate his own status by having an adversary of the highest calibre so that by outwitting him, he could assert his own superiority and prove his brilliance as a criminal mastermind. Unusually, this psychopathic killer was not motivated by greed but instead wanted to achieve fame for having committed one of the crimes of the century, in the same way that Bruno Richard Hauptmann had after his conviction for the 1932 kidnapping of Charles Lindberg Jr. Dr Cross has to think again however, when he realises that there's more to Soneji's criminal agenda than simply kidnapping Megan.Director Lee Tamahori does a terrific job on this movie by injecting it with great pace and tension at various junctures as well as choreographing the action sequences so effectively. It's also rich in atmosphere and the cinematography is exceptional. The quality of the acting is generally good throughout with Morgan Freeman outstanding in a role which fits his style perfectly. Its most memorable qualities though, are its genuinely surprising plot twists and its straight-forward ability to entertain so successfully.

There are many top quality thrillers over the years but I'm afraid to say this film Is not one of them. The premise of the film sees a retired detective drawn back into his work when a congressman's daughter is kidnapped. Morgan freeman is easily the best part of this film which isn't really a surprise. He was great in the lead role and he really delivered in this private detective role that suited him very well. The villain was pretty good in this film even though you don't really know too much about him or about his motivations. However, I didn't really like the partner that freeman gets. It's just she didn't really have anything special about her character for the majority of the film. The story is very generic with similarities to allot of other films but it has a bit of suspense to it. That is until the 3/4 mark where there are a few twists that really spoil the overall plot of the film. The script doesn't provide the suspense or drama that you want, it also moves really quickly so you sometimes miss key dialogue. The style had some decent action scenes and a bit of good suspense. But once again there isn't anything that stands out and makes this film feel truly unique. Overall, this is a below average film that you can avoid.

Directed by unknown to most Lee Tamahori, this action thriller will have you sitting at the edge of your seat from start to finish!The plot starts out in a very straight-forward manner: a man with an ambition to become criminal legend kidnaps the daughter of a congressman right out from under the nose of the FBI. He then sends a note and a sneaker of the girl to Detective Alex Cross, hence forcing him out of his self-inflicted isolation, the reasons of which are explained in the opening scene. Along with the FBI agent who was in charge of security at the scene of the crime, he follows the clues laid out by the kidnapper in order to find the girl. And so the story goes. The kidnapper is portrayed by the always formidable Michael Wincott, the best serial villain on that side of the Atlantic. He should have the Best Supporting Role awards piled up in his attic. Alex Cross, whom we remember from "Kiss the Girls", and portrayed by Morgan Freeman, is just the kind of cop you like best: sincere, sympathetic, intelligent, thorough and committed. Monica Potter features as the FBI agent determined to redeem herself after she let the kidnapper escape. This may not be a blockbuster, but this solid and underrated thriller delivers what so few of them have to offer these days: a final plot twist that genuinely surprises. It shall not be revealed here.