Full of intrigue, Kiss the Girls is a smart and suspenseful crime thriller. Based on a James Patterson novel, the story follows forensic specialist Dr. Alex Cross as he investigates the disappearance of his niece and comes to discover that she’s become a victim of the serial killer known as “Casanova.” Starring Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Cary Elwes, and Brian Cox, the cast is fairly strong (though Judd is a weak link that stands out a bit). There are also some underdeveloped elements of the plot that make it seem a bit contrived at times. However, the directing is well-done and does a good job at creating an atmospheric setting. Additionally, the film is able to be disturbing and violent without becoming morbid and gratuitous. Kiss the Girls isn’t without its problems, but it still delivers a compelling mystery.

This movie is relevant for several reasons. The first one, is that it's the first movie with Morgan Freeman as the only male lead (Seven had Pitt billed as lead). You can count with one hand the number of movies with african-american leads in the 90’s. This movie also jumpstarted Ashley Judd's film career (she was fresh from 4 seasons in Sisters) and prompted her as a main female lead for about nine movies (including one more with Morgan Freeman). It's also one of the few James Patterson's screen adaptations, and probably the best of them (Along Came A Spider is not as good and Alex Cross is just awful). In retrospective, the problem with Kiss The Girls is that the part that happens in California was re-cut and re-shot by the producers, and it feels rushed and part of a whole different movie. Gary Fleder is a very talented director, but critics felt he was too young at the time (most of his credits were in TV, and this was his second feature), so the critics were very harsh about his gritty visual style, that now happens to be the norm in film and TV. Finally, the film was too dark for the 90's (even with the over-stylish and not explicit shots), both in theme and style and the American audience just wasn't ready for its visual language. In 1997 this movie was released against Titanic, JP2, The World Is Not Enough, Men In Black, Air Force One and The Fifth Element at the same time in the box office, and suffered for it, because the marketing was scarce, too focused on the American public, and Paramount barely spent any money to promote it overseas. It's an excellent dark movie, that just got lost in the glitter.

A very good and intriguing crime thriller. Excellent performance by Freeman and the rest of the cast. Well worth a watch :thumbsup_tone1:

There are some crime movies from the 90s that never get old. Maybe it's the actors (Freeman), maybe the script. Either way, it's worth it. :)

Dropped from watching, didn't find interesting or alluring. I think maybe later I might have enough patience to rewatch this. Edit - I persevered and finally finished it. Felt bored by the end. The movie hasn't aged well I suppose in terms of direction and soundtrack