What went wrong here? A strong source novel by James Patterson. A plot full of twists. A director on his way up. And Patterson wrote the screenplay, which makes the end film even more surprising. All but the most blatant plot twists have been cut out so what we're left with is your average thriller. Soneji starts out as a refreshingly believable killer - in fact, he's pretty normal - but then degenerates into a cliche'd raving loony. The murder on the boat is commited as if Soneji were just killing a bird, which gives a stark realism to the film. But it's not all bad. The studio re-shot the ending (and boy does it show) but when the film is good, it's great: Morgan Freeman can do no wrong and the cinematography is slick and Monica Potter is a real find. If only the studio had had the guts to trust the audience's intelligence, this could have been the thriller to end all thrillers. Read the book.
Review of Along Came a Spider
