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Grade: B-

Verdict: Along comes Morgan Freeman. Need we say more?

Details: Starring Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter. Rated R for language and violence and scenes of children in danger. One hour, 44 minutes.

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Review: Along Came a Spider is the second movie to star Morgan Freeman as the compassionate crime specialist, Alex Cross. The first was 1997's Kiss The Girls. Let's keep our finger crossed that Has Lost Her Sheep or The Cat and the Fiddle or something similarly nursery-rhyme-ish is already in the works. Because if there's any actor I'd want to see with a franchise, it would be Freeman.

The movie gets off to a bad start with a weak, generic opening, the sole purpose of which is to provide Alex with a partner who can be quickly killed off. That means he's now remorseful and depressed and without a partner.

But don't worry about the disappointing first few minutes. The real plot is much, much better.

Something's fishy at a posh private school that caters to the children of the rich and famous and powerful. Despite a small army of FBI agents and security guards, Sen. Rose's (Michael Moriarity) 12-year-old daughter, Megan (Mika Boorem), has been kidnapped.

We learn almost immediately that the kidnapper is one of Megan's teachers (Gary Soneji). And, since this is a movie, he's no ordinary creep. He's a psycho-creep with the usual delusions of grandeur. He likes to play I'm-smarter-than-you games with experts.

That's why he starts sending cryptic notes and leaving weird clues for Alex; he's read all of Alex's books and fancies himself a fan/rival. Asked why the nut case contacted him, Alex shrugs, "He wants to make sure he's properly appreciated."

Now, remember that killed-off partner? Well, Jezzie Flannigan (lovely Monica Potter), the agent closest to Megan, is both distraught and in the doghouse with her bosses. Wanting to do something -- anything -- she begs Alex to let her be his partner. Alex agrees, not so much because of her begging as the fact that, having been with Megan a long time, Jezzie is a walking encyclopedia of clues.

Along Came a Spider is the sort of sleek escapism that's so alluring if you're in the mood for a movie-movie. But a couple of things place it above your average well-tooled thriller. First, the script is reasonably smart and tosses in some terrific twists. Second, the interplay between Alex and the psycho-creep has a chilling thread connecting it to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, which, if you remember, didn't end so well. Third, the movie makes sure to get any suggestion of child molesting out of the way. A little girl in peril isn't pleasant -- though Megan proves to be no passive victim -- but the filmmakers realize that the threat of child molestation is a whole different ball game.

Even so, the picture's ace in the hole is, of course, Freeman. Hollywood should take notes. Along Came a Spider is nothing spectacular, nothing mind-blowing, nothing critics top 10 list. It's just good solid entertainment. Exactly the sort of movie Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to make.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Cox News Service