Alex Cross

Detroit detective Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) is Sherlock Holmes with a psychology degree and Edward Burns is his trusty Watson. They become involved in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with "The Butcher" (Mathew Fox), a cruel and viscous psychopath diabolically dealing in pain. When things get personal, the good guys go rogue, "Dirty Harry" style. The movie thrills with intense drama, a terrific villain, a unique battle backdrop, and a twist. Casting Perry for the title role (previously played by Morgan Freeman in two previous movies) is a surprising choice, but he does a convincing job. Fox is scary good and isn't readily recognizable playing this lean mean killing machine, the most fascinating part of the film.

Alien gives it 3 ½ "criminal mastermind" stars out of 4.