one of the biggest cliches of any serial killer film is also one of the most believable . 
you know , the one where the detective looks at a wall of pictures and other police information , and suddenly spots the clue which reveals who the killer is . 
sure , it's been used over and over , but for some reason , it is always fun to watch . 
this cliche pretty much describes the level kiss the girls works on : overused , but always fun . 
one of my personal rules about watching a film is not how original the film is , but how it goes around giving its story . 
this rule applies highly to kiss the girls . 
there is something psychologically stimulating in a well-crafted serial killer movie , and kiss the girls is certainly well made . 
however , the whole film screams of unoriginality , and so it relies on the power of its actors and the technical detail to pull it through . 
well , not only are the actors capable of pulling it through , but they add so much to the film that nearly every flaw is covered up . 
unfortunately , one of the most revealing and rather insulting choices by the filmmakers ( one that seven , a film a lot like this one , knew not to make ) was to put the name of the killer in the opening credits . 
that may give the actor credit for the role , but throughout the film , hidden in my mind , i was waiting for him to appear on screen , which spoiled the mystery . 
however , credit must be given to the director for suspending this knowledge through most of the film . 
plotwise , kiss the girls shows almost no originality . 
we are introduced to detective alex cross ( morgan freeman ) , a forensic psychologist , and immediately we are given the cliched scene establishing him as the hero . 
he gets a call about a woman who has shot her husband and is now threatening to kill herself . 
obviously cross succeeds at getting the gun , but this scene is quickly forgotten during the next scene . 
at his house , cross is told that his neice , naomi ( gina ravera ) , has been missing for four days . 
this provides the motivation for cross to find the killer , but we are never given a chance to establish the relationship between the two , and as a result , we can't sympathize with detective cross . 
however , what makes kiss the girls slightly original is the introduction of one of the abductees . . . 
before she is abducted . 
dr . kate mctiernan ( ashley judd , the actress of the judd family ) is a smart , athletic woman , and because of these traits , becomes a target for casanova--what the serial killer likes to call himself . 
because of these character-developing scenes , we care for mctiernan , making the abduction scene all that more suspenseful . 
after being abducted , mctiernan wakes up and finds herself in a cell somewhere in the woods . 
remembering that the killer gave her certain rules , she decides to break one of them by calling out . 
when casanova comes to punish her , she breaks out and escapes by jumping over a waterfall . 
after she is found , she begins to help cross find his neice . 
from this moment on , kiss the girls takes on the form of every other serial killer film , as the two leads search for the rest of the victims held captive . 
many people will compare this film to 1995's seven , another killer film starring morgan freeman , but i presume that the similarities are intentional . 
the screenplay , by david klass , is adapted from the novel written by james patterson , and yet i don't quite see how this story could have worked in novel form . 
what makes kiss the girls so good is the acting and the technical and visual impressiveness . 
the cinematography , by aaron schneider , is reminiscient of seven , and sometimes i felt that many of the shots were trying too hard to impress us . 
sometimes a simple shot is the best one . 
however , many of the shots are stunning , and unlike seven , most of them take place during the day , in sunlight . 
the scene when ashley judd is running through the forest is extremely well done , in more than one way . 
the camera work is terrific , but the editing makes this scene work so well . 
the chaotic and mtv-type cutting gives the audience a sense of confusion and unawareness , exactly what judd's character is experiencing . 
however , the best aspect of kiss the girls is its actors . 
morgan freeman is one of today's most powerful and believable actors . 
detective cross is a very good character for him , although it is just a similar one to the character in seven . 
because of freeman's powerful presence , he carries half the film by himself . 
the other half is carried by ashley judd , one of today's most promising dramatic actresses . 
in fact , her performance is better than freeman's , if that is even possible . 
her character is more original than freeman's , and she handles it wonderfully . 
we finally have a female character in a movie like this who does more than just scream . 
the supporting cast is highly underdeveloped , but the cast members do as much as they can with it . 
cary elwes portrays a cop in north carolina , and unfortunately has scraps for a character . 
tony goldwyn fairs slightly better , but we don't really get to know his character either . 
gina ravera gives a good performance , but again she isn't in many of the scenes . 
so as a result of all these small supporting parts , the weight of the film lies on the two leads , and they do a phenomenal job . 
some of the best acting of this genre , and some of the best acting of the year . 
two other essential aspects of the film are quite good . 
director gary fleder does a good job of controlling his actors , but the second half of the film loses believability , especially during the revelation of the killer . 
he also doesn't handle the suspenseful scenes as a better director would have , losing a lot of tension during many scenes . 
however , to his credit , he does manage a terrific first half . 
part of the blame falls on david klass . 
i'm sure the book developed many of the lesser characters more , but klass focuses on the two main parts . 
while this may give the two leads more screentime , many of the small characters are one-dimensional , and the killer , when revealed , is extremely implausible . 
thanks to the smart dialogue adapted from the novel , kiss the girls always seems intelligent . 
none of the conversations are laughable , and all move the plot forward without seeming forced . 
one of the biggest problems i had with the movie was the motive of the killer . 
i blame this mainly on the casting director , because the killer's motive is because of rejection from women ( or so i assume from the opening monologue ) , but the killer himself is very attractive ( one of my friends is a , shall we say , big admirer of the killer ) . 
kiss the girls is rated r for terror , violence , language , and suggested sex . 
with all the implausibilities of this film , and with the mediocre second half , kiss the girls somehow manages to thoroughly entertain . 
in fact , i had the urge to see it again just for the performances . 
the cinematography adds a lot of mood to the already creepy tone , and the script is usually smart . 
this is clearly one of those movies which rely on the acting to pull it through . 
morgan freeman is possibly today's most convincing actor , and ashley judd adds another notch on her acting belt . 
i must also say that i loved the ending . 
the showdown between good and evil was quite tense , and the resolution of the scene makes almost anyone cheer . 
perhaps it may not be possible , but most of the film isn't anyway .