"Alex Cross" reviews: What the critics are saying

Tyler Perry stars in "Alex Cross" / Summit Entertainment

You can't get much worse than a nine percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That's the current tally on the film review aggregator site for "Alex Cross," the new mystery/suspense thriller starring Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox and Ed Burns.

Critics have given director Rob Cohen's ("The Fast and the Furious") latest work pretty brutal reviews. Take this one from William Bibbiani of Crave Online, for example: "Could very well be the funniest film of the year. It's so, so bad, that I totally recommend you see it."

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Ed Burns on "Alex Cross"

Although funnyman Perry stars in the flick, based on a series of popular mysteries, it's not intended to be a comedy. Perry steps out of his comic comfort-zone and steps in to the role of Alex Cross, a homicide detective and psychologist; Burns plays his detective-partner, Tommy Kane. Trouble brews when they encounter Picasso (Fox), a serial killer specializing in torture and pain. Apparently, many movie critics thought "Alex Cross" was a painful endeavor to watch. Here's what some of them had to say:

Rafer Guzman of Newsday: "It feels almost cruel to laugh at such a blindly stumbling, dunderheaded action-thriller, but you won't be able to help it."

Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle: "'Alex Cross' is a good example of what a seriously talented director can do with a heaping pile of garbage."

Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe: "If I hadn't had to stay awake, I would have slept though the whole thing. At home."

Glenn Kenny of MSN Movies: "Somebody got it wrong. A lot of people got it wrong. And the result is one of the most ridiculous, laughable and dim-bulbed serial killer thrillers in recent memory or ever. Seriously, people, this movie is to 'Silence of the Lambs' as 'I Am Number Four' is to 'E.T.'"

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times: "The direction by Rob Cohen is so careless that the film's climax is set up by a car crash that, if I am not mistaken, is completely coincidental."

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Fall films 2012

Claudia Puig of USA Today: "Tyler Perry should not give up his day job. At least not until he chooses better dramatic vehicles for branching out."

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times: "A grim, dispiritingly stupid waste of time, energy, money and talent, directed by Rob Cohen, this is the first installment in what one of its producers warned Entertainment Weekly would be 'the new Tyler Perry franchise, a worldwide one.'"

[MovieFan33]

I read the reviews on Alan Cross and i barely recognized they were talking about the same movie i saw. I didn't know Tyler Perry before this flick, but i can see, he is not that bad actor, as these critics make him to be. I actually didn't find anything "funny* except for some humor in certain scenes, which i enjoyed it. I m not a critic but i love movies and i know a bad movie when i see it, and IMO this is far from being bad. These reviews reminded me of those about The Bourne Legacy, comparing Renner to Damon which is unfair and totally wrong!I think some critics do not look at movies with an open mind, but they go to cinemas with expections and they are left disappointed. When i watch a movie i aim to have good time, without making comparison, except for the genre and if the movie for itself acting, camera motion, dialog, etc is awful, then i can say it is bad; also the script is very important to consider, when writing reviews, but some of the critics are too busy blabbering their "personal" opinions for the public to take it as gospel! Well i don't. And i disagree with all of them about Alex Cross, i m glad i watched it.

[YouCannotBeSeriousMan]

As soon as I saw the trailer I thought I was back in the '80's! This should never have been made in this day and age. The whole concept should have been blown right out the window-At least it would have been more convincing than seeing Matthew Fox being blown across the screen.
I'm surprised it somehow managed to scrape all it's worthlessness, (I'm not just talking of the plot but also of Tyler Perry's atrocious acting-If you can call it that), and work it's way onto the big screen rather than straight onto disc or preferably, the cutting room floor.
Got to love how a trailer can kill off a trip to the cinema by showing the entire movie in condensed form even though it is absolute tripe. Well done on this one, got to thank you for not wasting 101 minutes of my life that I won't get back, although I have lost 2:28 mins watching the damned trailer!

[zcberry]

The critics are so blind to good talent, I saw the movie for myself and I must say it was a great movie!!! I do not understand why they are lying, I feel that the critics are being pay to say these nasty things. Please do not let these critics determined your judgement go see it for yourself, I know for a fact that critics can be wrong!!!

[okcalderon]

I agree The movie was not bad. the critics did not take into consideration that first this is a younger version of the character he is playing they are comparing it to the older more experienced alex cross that is wrong. second, I think the critics are expecting tyler perry to play morgan freeman as a young alex cross. If that's the case they aree wrong. it had a good storyline and tyler perry did well outside of the madea role. give the man his due if the critics have a problem it's with rob cohen not tyler perry

[greg285]

After I saw the trailer, that was all I needed to see regarding this movie! I'll wait until it's shown on BET!!!!

[QueenofPurple2012]

This is another example where the movie critics got it wrong. This was a good movie. Sure, some of it was predictable but that tends to be the case when you're a fan of this genre.

[coleman007]

The critics got it wrong again. I enjoyed seeing Tyler in another role as Alex Cross. Can't wait for the next release!

[NicosMom0604]

I think these reviews have got it wrong! I loved Tyler Perry in this serious roll what a nice change. I have to say Matthew Fox had all the right stuff!! Creepy, sexy, dirty dangerous bad guy! I have to say I love Matthew Fox and this roll really made me look at him differently! I have watched him since party of 5 and this is a BIG Wow! I LOVED IT!

[Justme28215]

I love Tyler Perry, but this was the absolute worst movie I think I've ever seen. It was BAD on every level. I knew it was going to be bad 15 minutes into the movie, but I prayed it would get better. An hour and twenty-nine minutes later, I knew it just wasn't going to happen. The best part of the movie was the last minute when I knew I could go home. I am a huge Tyler Perry fan, but he really missed it here.

[mjoyner57]

I totally agree. The audience stood up chapping and I just did't get it. Love Tyler Perry but that was the worst film I've seen in a long time.

[readynow1212]

I have seen the trailer and believe me that was enough to tell me just how bad this movie is going to be, Perry is not believable at all, the acting looked so bad just as much as his dialogue did.

[ritasmom]

I'm with you, ReadyNow. Watching the trailer told me all I needed to know. A trailer is supposed to be the "hook" to get you into theaters. This movie's trailer indicated a movie so bad I'd probably pay $12.50 to NOT see it. And whose bright idea was it to cast Tyler Perry in this role?! Other comments and critics' reviews confirm my belief that Tyler Perry as "Alex Cross" is a blatant miscasting.

[chelcie3]

Nice product plug troll.