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Cross, review: Prime Video’s James Patterson reboot misses the mark

Previously played by Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry, Patterson’s tough forensics detective here gets bogged down by identity politics

2/5

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James Patterson’s tough-talking forensic psychologist, Alex Cross, has been portrayed on the big screen by Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry. Ben Watkins’s adaptation, Cross (Amazon Prime Video), downsizes him to television and walks an uneasy line between pulp escapism and social commentary.
Hardboiled crime is awash with world-weary cops who refuse to play by the rules while struggling to cover up the cracks in their personal lives. But Cross is that rare black sleuth with his own franchise. That fact has not gone unnoticed by Amazon, which attempts to shoehorn in a storyline about racial tensions in policing into a plot about a Hannibal Lecter-style serial killer.
The best thing about the adaptation is Aldis Hodge’s gruff yet vulnerable Cross – a forensics detective putting his life back together after the shooting of his wife (Chauntee Schuler Irving). He believes his work makes him one of the good guys – a point of view that his black friends and neighbours do not share, as we see in a tumultuous dinner scene where he is accused of participating in the oppression of his people.
Washington DC is celebrated in the series as a focal point of African-American culture and Cross is reminded that this vibrant community regards him as an outsider, as he and his detective partner John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa) investigate the death of a former drug user. The man went clean after discovering religion. Now, he has been found with his system overloaded by drugs. Cross suspects mischief is afoot.
He’s correct. A ritualistic murderer is operating with impunity, with friends in high places covering up his crimes. The villain (Ryan Eggold) is revealed to the viewer early on and with his wavy quiff and maniacal gaze, he looks like a mix of Elon Musk and American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman.
Even in a crowded TV landscape, there is always space for another over-the-top serial killer romp featuring a baddie with astonishing hair. But combining that with a rumination on the challenges facing black cops in modern America is a gamble – and showrunner Watkins can’t find a way to make it stick.
Cross is on Amazon Prime Video from Thursday 14 November
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