Cellular (B or 3/4 stars)
Welcome to the age of cell phones everybody. In 'Cellular' (a high-speed action film directed by David R. Ellis), Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger), a science teacher, sees her son off on the school bus one morning & returns home only to be kidnapped by some men who she has never seen before. Greer (Jason Statham) is the leader of the kidnappers. They take her to an abandoned house, & lock her in the attic. The phone that hangs on the wall in the attic is smashed to pieces to ensure that Jessica won't call 911, or the school where her son is, or her husband, who may also be in trouble. However, being the science whiz that she is, she's able to piece together the remnants of the phone, splice some wires & tap enough of them together to actually get a signal that make a random call out for help. The cast is good and, they do the best they can in a film where implausibility 'could', but doesn't overshadow the excitement factor.
Enter beach-bum, Ryan (Chris Evans). He receives the random call from Jessica, & her frantic cry for help. But can't be bothered with this phone call & almost hangs up if not for the bizarre feeling inside of him that this woman may not be joking. Once he realizes that she's not lying, he goes to the cops so that they can take over this burden. Officer Mooney (William H. Macy) is the down-&-out cop who hears Ryan's story about this frantic woman on his cell phone, but he is distracted by another case that appears more insisting at the time. With Ryan still on the phone (trying to find Jessica) and the pressure of knowing that her son & husband may be in grave danger, he must fight off some obstacles that threaten his keeping her on the phone with him. If they get disconnected, she will not be able to tap in to his phone line again. She would be starting at square one again, & there is no knowing if she would be able to get the phone to work again, at all.
Along the way, Ryan has to deal with dying phone batteries, poor signals, party lines, dropped calls, & heavy Los Angeles traffic. He goes to extreme measures to keep her on the phone. Holding up a cell phone store for a battery charger, and having to hijack a nasty lawyer's (Rick Hoffman) new car … twice, are some of those extreme measures. Rick Hoffman's character gives us a few moments where we, the audience, could actually settle in our seats & have a good laugh. But comic relief aside, most of Ryan's occurrences create great tension as we watch the film; this is where 'Cellular' shines!
In fact, once our bad guy finds out that Ryan is hip to their plan, Hell breaks loose. Ryan speeds through L.A. to find Jessica's husband & son before the bad guys do. Car chases, mounting frustrations, the race with time, foot chases, explosions, & one-on-one fights surface around the climax. Mooney comes into play, & finds himself in the thick of things by the end, as well. Can Jessica escape? Will harm come to her family? Why are the bad guys after Jessica and her family, at all? Can Ryan & Officer Mooney become unsuspecting heroes? Will there be a large price to pay? The climax & resolution of this film is both nail biting & unbelievable at the same time. And I mean 'unbelievable' quite literally. But, it was realistic enough that I was able to forgive a little looseness in the plot near the end.
The cast does fine at making us believe their characters, & feeling their emotions throughout. All of their concerns & convictions are completely believable. Basinger is particularly impressive; this shocks me. Not that I don't know she has accomplishments; she did win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for L.A. Confidential. I just didn't expect anything impressive in this role. W.H. Macy finds himself in one of his typical roles; not the star, but always competent in any supporting role. And Chris Evans (Not Another Teen Movie) holds his own here. Evans definitely gives Colin Farrell a run for his money based on his performance from Phone Booth (a similar film with less acclaim, I feel). Again, none of these roles are particularly challenging, but they're all well-acted.
This is a film that grew on me after I left the theater. Instant reactions are that it was your basic shoot 'em up film with some intensity, but falls short in places, & relies too much on comic relief. But when I take a step back & think about it, it IS a good, entertaining film. The action sequences go a bit overboard. But what movie doesn't go overboard nowadays? The storyline is interesting enough. And I also enjoy the many positive & negative ways that a cellular phone can be utilized. Hmm, maybe I should join the rest of the world and purchase a cellular phone myself. You never know who, when, & why a person may call you.
Enter beach-bum, Ryan (Chris Evans). He receives the random call from Jessica, & her frantic cry for help. But can't be bothered with this phone call & almost hangs up if not for the bizarre feeling inside of him that this woman may not be joking. Once he realizes that she's not lying, he goes to the cops so that they can take over this burden. Officer Mooney (William H. Macy) is the down-&-out cop who hears Ryan's story about this frantic woman on his cell phone, but he is distracted by another case that appears more insisting at the time. With Ryan still on the phone (trying to find Jessica) and the pressure of knowing that her son & husband may be in grave danger, he must fight off some obstacles that threaten his keeping her on the phone with him. If they get disconnected, she will not be able to tap in to his phone line again. She would be starting at square one again, & there is no knowing if she would be able to get the phone to work again, at all.
Along the way, Ryan has to deal with dying phone batteries, poor signals, party lines, dropped calls, & heavy Los Angeles traffic. He goes to extreme measures to keep her on the phone. Holding up a cell phone store for a battery charger, and having to hijack a nasty lawyer's (Rick Hoffman) new car … twice, are some of those extreme measures. Rick Hoffman's character gives us a few moments where we, the audience, could actually settle in our seats & have a good laugh. But comic relief aside, most of Ryan's occurrences create great tension as we watch the film; this is where 'Cellular' shines!
In fact, once our bad guy finds out that Ryan is hip to their plan, Hell breaks loose. Ryan speeds through L.A. to find Jessica's husband & son before the bad guys do. Car chases, mounting frustrations, the race with time, foot chases, explosions, & one-on-one fights surface around the climax. Mooney comes into play, & finds himself in the thick of things by the end, as well. Can Jessica escape? Will harm come to her family? Why are the bad guys after Jessica and her family, at all? Can Ryan & Officer Mooney become unsuspecting heroes? Will there be a large price to pay? The climax & resolution of this film is both nail biting & unbelievable at the same time. And I mean 'unbelievable' quite literally. But, it was realistic enough that I was able to forgive a little looseness in the plot near the end.
The cast does fine at making us believe their characters, & feeling their emotions throughout. All of their concerns & convictions are completely believable. Basinger is particularly impressive; this shocks me. Not that I don't know she has accomplishments; she did win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for L.A. Confidential. I just didn't expect anything impressive in this role. W.H. Macy finds himself in one of his typical roles; not the star, but always competent in any supporting role. And Chris Evans (Not Another Teen Movie) holds his own here. Evans definitely gives Colin Farrell a run for his money based on his performance from Phone Booth (a similar film with less acclaim, I feel). Again, none of these roles are particularly challenging, but they're all well-acted.
This is a film that grew on me after I left the theater. Instant reactions are that it was your basic shoot 'em up film with some intensity, but falls short in places, & relies too much on comic relief. But when I take a step back & think about it, it IS a good, entertaining film. The action sequences go a bit overboard. But what movie doesn't go overboard nowadays? The storyline is interesting enough. And I also enjoy the many positive & negative ways that a cellular phone can be utilized. Hmm, maybe I should join the rest of the world and purchase a cellular phone myself. You never know who, when, & why a person may call you.