Wasn’t this called KISS THE GIRLS originally? And didn’t Morgan Freeman play this exact same part a few years ago? Well if you thought you’d seen all of this before too, guess what, you have. ALONG CAME A SPIDER is in fact an indirect sequel (prequel in the books) to KISS THE GIRLS, with Freeman and Jay O. Sanders reprising their roles. Of course, if you’ve read my review of KISS, you’ll know how this already spells trouble. SPIDER is a superior film, but not by much. Freeman is good, as always, and so is Monica Potter, who could be Julia Roberts’ younger sister. (I’m amazed they’ve never played siblings in a movie yet.) But a great thriller is a believable thriller and this one has too many holes to be credible. Maybe author James Patterson makes it more complex in his novels, but the movies they’re based on are rather juvenile and easily discernable now. Once you’ve seen one, I’ll bet you’ve seen them all. The villain is always a main character pretending to be good, and that’s about it.

      Finally, I’ve had a beef with previews for some time, in that they give away too much, but ALONG CAME A SPIDER takes the cake. It stands alone for having the only previews that were not only misleading, they downright lied. The trailers clearly show that the initial kidnapping was just a means to a bigger one. And it’s highly suggested that the next victim will be the daughter or son of the president. Well in one of the few surprises actually, there was no such plot development. Huh??? Talk about false advertising.