Director: David R Ellis
Writer: Chris Morgan (Screenplay) Larry Cohen (Story)
Starring: Chris Evans, Kim Basinger, Jason Statham, Jessica Biel, Richard Burgi, William H Macy
Plot: A young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. The catch? The woman claims to have been kidnapped; and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Good Light Hearted Action Thriller
Story: Cellular starts by introducing science teacher and mother Jessica Martin (Basinger) going around her normal day, Jessica’s day takes a sudden turn when Ethan (Statham) and his men turn up at her house and kidnap her. Next we meet Ryan (Evans) a surfer who gets easily distracted by the beautiful woman, Ryan is caught up in the middle of a break up with Chloe (Biel) who pretty much tell us how much of a flake Ryan is.
Ryan’s day is about to change too when he gets a phone call from Jessica giving Ryan a chance to prove that he is starting to show some responsibility. Ryan agrees to hand his phone to the police to help Jessica giving us a chance to meet Sgt. Mooney (Macy) an officer who is looking to retire and start his own business. Ryan ends up not pacing the phone over and having to try and save Jessica and her child on his own.
Cellular is one of those films that knows exactly what it is and never tries to be more. We know the action is going to be simple and the idea easy to follow, we do get a few twists and turns along the way too. We are not expecting to see an over the top moment and we don’t need to see one either. The one downside I would say about this film is the concept would look slightly different now with all the added technology on cell phones and the call on a smart phone wouldn’t have lasted as long. That is just picking something out there because it showed the new wave of obsession about using cell/mobile phones the world was turning into. I would say this is a solid to good action thriller that does what it needs to, entertain. (7/10)
Actor Review
Kim Basinger: Jessica Martin is our school teacher who gets kidnapped and uses her knowledge to manage to make a phone call only to find a waster surfer who she has to talk into helping her. Kim does a solid job as the damsel in distress never really shining right through though. (6/10)
Chris Evans: Ryan is the slacker who gets a talk about needing to grow up only for a chance to present itself when Jessica calls him, Ryan has to race around town trying to save Jessica and her family. Chris does give a good performance in one of his first action roles and just look how far he has come. (7/10)
Jason Statham: Ethan is the man in charge arranging the kidnapping, he is after something but we don’t know what it is until later, he has a few surprises up his selves that help the story go in different directions. Jason as a villain is always interesting and he does a solid job here but we know he was always meant to be the good guy. (6/10)
William H Macy: Sgt. Bob Mooney is the honest cop who just wants to settle down with his wife and open a day spa, he gets caught up investigating the case even when he just wants to get on with his new life. William adds a little bit of light hearted humor to the film with this role. (7/10)
Support Cast: Cellular does have a supporting cast that makes for a complete mix of random characters that end up in the story and they all work well taking away how serious the story could have been.
Director Review: David R Ellis – David does a good job giving us what we are expecting from an action film. (7 /10)
Action: Cellular has plenty of action but nothing over the top keeping its feet on the ground when it comes to the direction of the action. (7/10)
Thriller: Cellular pulls you in early and never really lets you go until the film is over just waiting to see what will happen next. (8/10)
Settings: Cellular uses it settings well to show the characters in their normal spots and showing how the clash of characters happens with the events of the film. (8/10)
Suggestion: Cellular is one for all the action fans to watch and enjoy, don’t expect too much story but enjoy the ride. (Action Fans Watch)
Best Part: Chris Evans proving he could do action here.
Worst Part: Not too much depth in the story.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $56 Million
Budget: $25 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
Tagline: If the signal dies so does she.
Trivia: When Jason Statham threatens Kim Basinger with his belt, her fear is genuine, because she did not know in advance what would happen. Instead, she asked Statham to “surprise her.” They got the shot on the first take.
Overall: Cellular is an action film that doesn’t get the respect it should, very easy to watch with a great cast a good popcorn film.
Rating
