How many Alex Cross movies are there?

By Alex Wiggan

In 1997, forensic psychologist and police detective, Alex Cross, was transported from the printed page and taken to the cinema for the psychological thriller, Kiss the Girls. The movie – based on a novel by author James Patterson – starred Morgan Freeman as Cross, and followed the detective as he investigated a series of mysterious disappearances involving young women.

In the film, Cross travels to North Carolina when his niece Naomi is reported missing. Naomi is one of a number of women who have disappeared recently, having been taken by a masked man calling himself Casanova.

Released to mixed reviews, Kiss the Girls was not a critical success when it arrived in cinemas, however, audiences supported the movie and it proved popular on home video. As such, further Alex Cross films soon followed.

But if you’re not familiar with Kiss the Girls or Detective Cross, you may be wondering how many Alex Cross movies there are? For all those details and more, keep reading.

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The Alex Cross movies

Kiss the Girls (1997)

As noted above, the first entry in the Alex Cross movie series was 1997’s Kiss the Girls. The film followed Detective Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) as he investigated a series of kidnappings perpetrated by a masked man named Casanova.

In the film, one of Casanova’s victims is Dr. Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd). After Kate manages to escape Casanova’s clutches, she teams up with Alex to track down her captor. (117 mins)

Along Came a Spider (2001)

Four years after the release of Kiss the Girls, a second Alex Cross movie arrived in cinemas. Adapted from the book of the same name, Along Came a Spider picked up Cross’ story, with the detective brought out of retirement to tackle another case.

In the film, Alex teams up with Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter), after the daughter of a US senator is kidnapped. The young girl is taken by a computer science teacher, named Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott), in what appears to be an extortion racket.

But Alex soon comes to realise there is more going on with this kidnapping than there first appears. If Alex is to crack the case, he will need to look at the bigger picture, while learning to watch his back. (103 mins)

Alex Cross (2012)

Although Along Came a Spider was a financial hit in 2001, the critical response remained mixed and the Alex Cross movie series went on hiatus. When it was revived eleven years later, it was taken in a new direction, with Morgan Freeman being replaced by Tyler Perry in the lead role.

Conceived as a reboot of the franchise, this third film – simply titled Alex Cross – saw the eponymous detective drawn into a game of cat and mouse with serial killer, Picasso (Matthew Fox). During the course of the film, Cross finds himself becoming a target. (101 mins)

The Alex Cross movies in production order

To date there are three Alex Cross movies. Should you wish to watch all of the Alex Cross movies in production order, then please follow this list:

Kiss the Girls (1997)
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Alex Cross (2012)

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Are all of the Alex Cross movies part of the same series?

The Alex Cross movie series is broken down into two categories: The Morgan Freeman movies and the Tyler Perry reboot.

The Morgan Freeman movies

Kiss the Girls (1997)
Along Came a Spider (2001)

The Tyler Perry Reboot

Alex Cross (2012)

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Who are the cast of the Alex Cross movies and are the movies the work of the same director?

The lead actors in the Alex Cross movie series are Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry. Freeman played Cross in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, while Perry played a younger version of the character in 2012’s Alex Cross.

Other notable actors in the Alex Cross movie series include Ashley Judd, Cary Elwes, Bill Nunn, Brian Cox, Jeremy Piven, Tatyana Ali, Mena Suvari, Jay O. Sanders, Anna Maria Horsford, Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Dylan Baker, Anton Yelchin, Billy Burke, Penelope Ann Miller, Michael Moriarty, Edward Burns, Matthew Fox, Jean Reno, Carmen Ejogo, Rachel Nichols, Giancarlo Esposito, and John C. McGinley.

In terms of directors, the Alex Cross movies are the work of the following:

Gary Fleder directed Kiss the Girls
Lee Tamahori directed Along Came a Spider
Rob Cohen directed Alex Cross

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And finally, what is the best Alex Cross movie?

According to IMDb the Alex Cross movies are rated as follows:

Kiss the Girls (1997) – 6.6/10
Along Came a Spider (2001) – 6.4/10
Alex Cross (2012) – 5.2/10

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Editor/writer/fellow Alex

Alex Wiggan

Alex is the writer and editor of It’s A Stampede! – a blog which specialises in movies, TV, comics, retro toys, and general geekery. He is a championing voice in nerd content, an expert in pop culture, and a trusted movie critic who publishes new reviews on a weekly basis. After graduating with a degree in film & television studies from the University of Derby in the UK, Alex went on to study journalism in Sheffield, before acquiring NCTJ accreditation. Prior to creating It’s A Stampede!, Alex was a magazine editor, a senior copywriter, a features writer, and a freelancer.

I hope this information about the Alex Cross movie series has proved useful. Should you wish to know more about other long-running movie series on It’s A Stampede!, please check out one of the recommended reads below.