From the moment Aldis Hodge walks into the interrogation room in the 1st episode of Cross, Hodge owns the room and the screen as Alex Cross.
Cross Overview and Star Rating
Amazon’s adaptation of John Grisham‘s Alex Cross series is a massive improvement over the Tyler Perry-starring film. The biggest improvement area is casting the title role, with Hodges shining as the Washington, D.C., detective and forensic psychologist. Hodge radiates charisma throughout but also shows us a Cross struggling with his own personal tragedies.
The adaptation approach is different from Amazon’s Reacher. That marries a book to each season. Cross uncorks a couple of original mysteries for him to solve. One involves a killer who is dressing up victims as serial killers. The other is a stalking case that hits closer to home.
The best stories in Cross aren’t the murder mystery or the stalker. They’re the psychological demons Alex is battling and the morality of being a black man and a cop.
The opening moments show the murder of Alex’s wife and the mother of their two children. The killer wasn’t found. Fast forward a year, and Alex is trying to take a leave of absence. It’s not clear why he’s requesting at first. Eventually, the series reveals he assaulted an innocent black kid who he had reason to believe was running.
His partner, John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa), joins Alex. Sampson constantly tries to help Alex reach out to the resources he needs. Alex isn’t really dealing with his wife’s death, and as the cases get more intense, Alex’s stress begins to impact his family, too. Mustafa is fantastic as Hodge’s partner. Alona Tal also adds some much-needed support as Kayla Craig, an FBI agent who helps Alex and John.
On the downside, most of the character turns are predictable, and some performances feel like they’re from a different show.
Overall, Cross is a great thriller featuring an incredible lead performance that lifts everything that is otherwise standard fare for the genre.
Here’s a closer look at the two cases and Alex’s struggle.
Main Cross Cases
Most of the season revolves around Alex and John trying to track a serial killer who is kidnapping people and then transforming them into famous executed serial killers. The killer sees himself as an artist and these victims as his canvas. He’s also a perfectionist, adamant about getting the details right down to making sure the stomach contents match the last meal a convicted serial killer ate.
It’s pretty clear from the outset that the main suspect is Ed Ramsey (Ryan Eggold). Ramsey is a wealthy man with a ton of power in Washington. He may not be a Senator, but he’s a shot caller who knows how to captivate a room and send a chill down a spine with the secrets he knows. Eggold’s pretty good as Ramsey, but there’s not enough suspense as the series focuses the mystery around the stalker storyline.
The stalker storyline hits closer to home for Alex. The mystery person starts by sending flowers and a scarf to Alex’s house and job. Then, steps things up by talking to Alex’s children and recordings of the 911 call Alex made after his wife was shot. Alex and John eventually tie the stalker to a case Alex worked in the past, which involved a young woman killing a man. Alex evaluated the woman and didn’t believe she could be sent back into society. The woman kills herself in prison. Someone connected to the woman is trying to get at Alex.
These cases are fine but pale in comparison to the internal battles Alex is wrestling with.
Personal Battles
Throughout the season, Alex struggles to move forward following his wife’s death. Alex has always seen himself as a protector, and being unable to save his wife broke him in a way that’s not healing.
John constantly tries to get Alex to speak to someone about the situation. Alex continually puts it off, and this ultimately begins to hurt his family. Also, Alex’s grandmother, Regina, is trying to get John to move forward.
Alex loves his children, Damon and Jannie, but the stress of these cases forces them to walk on eggshells. He yells at Damon and Jannie, not out of anger but fear due to the stalker, but Alex’s failure to get help has the most significant impact on Damon.
Alex’s son is a talented piano player but knows not to play a particular piece because it will remind Alex of his mother and make him sad. He also gets into a fight at school when a video of Alex’s assault on an innocent man goes public. Alex, on break from the Ramsey case, decides to take a trip with their son, but he just won’t open up to his son.
The family drama and focus on Alex’s struggle with moving forward are the most interesting storylines in the first season of Cross.
Cross Final Thoughts
Overall, Cross is a standard serial killer mystery thriller elevated to greatness by Hodge and Mustafa’s excellent performances. If you like Reacher, Cross has better lead performances, but the mystery isn’t as compelling as Reacher’s second season.
The Review
Cross
PROS
- Aldis Hodge is an incredible actor and this role should make his a star.
- Isaiah Mustafa is great as Cross's partner.
- Interesting look at the conundrum that is being a black cop.
- Loved the focus on Alex's personal demons.
CONS
- The serial killer and stalking cases aren't particularly compelling.
- Some of the recurring performances feel like they belong in a different show.
