 The screenplay by Marc Moss was adapted from the 1993 novel of the same title by James Patterson, but many of the key plot elements of the book were controversially eliminated.The movie received negative to mixed critical reviews, although it became a box office success.After Washington, D.C., detective forensic psychologist and author Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) loses control of a sting operation, resulting in the death of his partner, he retires from the force.