Alex Cross Review

Messages: The story's message is that sometimes vengeance is better than waiting for the law to provide justice.

Role models: Alex Cross starts out as a role model who relies on smarts and intuition to solve crimes, but his moral code becomes a vigilante need for justice through vengeance. His mother, though, is the movie's moral center, reminding him that despite his despair, he still has to come home and raise two children.

Violence: The killer in this movie isn't just a paid hit man, he's a psychopath who relishes inflicting pain. Some people he just shoots and kills instantly (with sniper precision), and others he tortures (viewers see him cut off a sedated and bound woman's finger and later find out he cut them all off, after hearing the sounds of it happening). He also kills his target's wife just for fun and takes a photo of a decapitated woman's head that he then texts to her friend. There are several scenes of hand-to-hand combat, a couple of shootouts, a deadly fall onto a car, explosions that cause collateral damage, and an amateur MMA competition that leaves the loser incapacitated due to the winner's desire to cause serious pain.

Sex: One sex scene turns to violence: A woman wearing nothing but lingerie asks a man she's been flirting with (and thinks she's going to sleep with) to bind her arms -- but her anticipation turns to horror when he injects her with a drug. Another brief sex scene. A married couple kisses and cuddles a few times.

Language: Language includes a couple of mumbled words that could be "f--k," plus "s--t," "son of a bitch," "ass," "hell," "ass," "damn," "goddamn," and "oh my God."

Consumerism: Car brands prominently featured include Cadillac, Ford, and OnStar. Apple computers are also visible.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: A made-up drug is a central plot point. It sedates and paralyzes people but leaves them aware of their surroundings. The killer drugs some of his victims so he can torture them. A rich businessman offers Alex Louis XIII cognac that costs thousands of dollars. He declines, but the millionaire drinks it. Adults at a restaurant have drinks.