Alex Cross (in theaters Friday)

A decade ago and more, Morgan Freeman portrayed pulp novelist Robert Patterson’s stalwart detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross in a pair of crime thrillers: the chilling Kiss the Girls, and the much less engaging follow-up Along Came a Spider. This Friday, The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen is relaunching the series with Alex Cross, and he has an unlikely star stepping in for the aging Freeman. Hit actor-director Tyler Perry has put aside his “Madea” wig and makeup to play Cross, facing off against a sadistic killer who takes the life of someone very close to him. While Cross reveals a new side of Perry, the real showcase could come from frequent good-guy Matthew Fox who packed on lean muscle and shed body fat to play the intensely violent ex-marine-turned-MMA-fighter who can’t get enough of causing pain in victims both inside and outside the ring. Edward Burns and Rachel Nichols co-star. Rated PG-13.

Watch the trailer below: