It's good to see some people still go to the trouble to put lots of effort and quality into a Christmas movie production. It's so easy to turn things sappy and fill it with messages but it's much harder- and at the same time far more involving when a Christmas movie features true warmth and realistic persons and situations in it.

That's the key as to why this movie works out; it's a realistic feeling movie, in which the drama never gets exaggerated or tries to forcefully bring you to tears.

Now, it's still not a great movie and not everything about its story works out as something interesting or involving but it least never becomes a bad or boring movie to watch. It's true that the movie perhaps has 2 or 3 too many characters in it and it's not always clear what the movie is trying to do or say with certain plot-points but the movie at all times remains a good watch.

It's simply all because lots of professionalism and passion got put in this movie. It's carefully and skilfully directed and written by Edward Burns and all of the acting is just fine! The acting brings all of the dialog and characters in a very convincing way to the screen.

Perhaps another reason as to why the movie works out well is because it doesn't desperately tries to be a Christmas movie. It's just a family drama, that happens to take place around Christmas time. It's part of the reason why this movie doesn't feel as forced as lots of other Christmas orientated movies out there. And I say family drama but that doesn't mean this is a too heavy or serious watch. It's mostly lighthearted actually, which helps to make this a pleasant watch as well.

It's a much better movie than you probably would expect!

6/10

Watch trailer

To be honest, this wasn't a completely bad movie. It's a very typical and standard, run of the mill, crime thriller, involving a homicide detective that is hunting down a professional serial killer.

Perhaps this movie suffered from too high expectations or hopes but it really isn't one that does an awful lot wrong. But then again, it also isn't exactly one that's doing anything too amazing, surprising or original. It still remains perfectly watchable all, especially for those who are fond of these type of crime thrillers.

Thing that makes this movie a very bland and easy to forget one though is that it isn't a very involving movie. You don't ever really get into any of the characters or emotions of the movie and you most likely won't feel grabbed by the movie its story neither. It's not just because it's being something very standard all but also because of its somewhat lacking execution.

The movie was having some serious pacing issues at times and the movie seemed to be lacking a good buildup to certain moments. You could say that the movie is being too slow and meaningless at certain times and too fast at others. It glosses over a lot of things with its story, making this a mostly ineffective movie to watch.

Another thing I don't really like about the movie is the way it handles its villain. He is supposed to be a very experienced and calculated killer but yet all of this plans seem to be hanging together by coincidences and it just doesn't ever make any sense why he is after Alex Cross in the first place, right until the very end, which is a pretty standard and formulaic 'twist' for the movie though.

And really, it's not like Tyler Perry is a horrible pick for the movie its lead but it's definitely true that his acting makes him more suitable for playing secondary characters, or sidekicks if you will. And that's how his role feels like; it feels like you're watching a second rate actor playing a first rate role. It doesn't feel right and it lets the main character come across as a very uninteresting and lifeless one. But while he is not right for the role, he is not the main reason why the movie and its main character doesn't ever work out quite as well as intended. Blame the formulaic writing and standard directing approach for that instead!

It really is far from the worst thing you'll ever see but it's nothing to get very excited about neither.

6/10

Watch trailer

After Washington DC detective Alex Cross is told that a family member has been murdered, he vows to track down the killer. He soon discovers that she was not his first victim and that things are not what they seem. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Rob Cohen

Starring: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Rachel Nichols and others

Current release date: October 19, 2012

(Review originally written at 1 August 2006)

Yeah sure, the movie its visuals already did looked horrible and not very promising but the premise and the cast looked good, so I still sort of expected to be entertained by this movie. This however unfortunately wasn't the case. The premise is good but the story is filled with improbabilities and is logically flawed.

This movie is potential flushed down the toilet. The main plot is interesting and somewhat original. It's good enough to make a good adventurous movie out of would you think. This movie however fails to entertain and I think that that is this movie biggest flaw. Perhaps it takes itself too serious and a little bit more humor certainly wouldn't had done the movie any harm. Instead it now is nothing more than a lame and cheap looking movie, filled with the one unlikely event after the other, that also steals a bit too much from other, more successful movies. Mainely "Jurassic Park" obviously.

The characters also don't help to make the movie any more compelling or at least interesting to watch. I still think that Edward Burns did a fairly decent job as the 'heroic' main lead. The rest of the characters however really get muddled in into the movie and they get very little interesting to do. The movie rather relies on its visual, which are extremely poor. Catherine McCormack also plays a very irritating character. Basically all her character does is complain and talk about how right she was and the rest oh so wrong. Her character just isn't a likable one. And the rest of the characters...well I already have forgotten their names, I think that that is saying enough about them. It certainly is true though that Ben Kingsley's performance alone makes this movie worth watching. He is really excellent in his sort of villainous businessman role but from the moment when he disappears out of the movie the movie really goes downhill rapidly.

Visually the movie is extremely poor. It has some dreadful looking CGI effects and they couldn't even get the more simple 'blue-screen' effects look convincing in the movie. The sets are also awful and cheap looking, like they can fall over and break down every moment.

The movie never gets tense, exciting or adventurous since the story is brought in the least interesting and engaging way possible. It's a very distant movie with distant characters that fails to impress. There are plenty of action sequences but all of them are so ridicules looking and far from believable that they never get tense or good enough.

So basically this movie is lacking in everything that is needed to make a genre movie like this one a good and successful one. It's sad to see how low director Peter Hyams has sunk to the last couple of years, after making some good movies in the '70's and '80's.

4/10

Watch trailer