Cellular «««½
PG-13, 94m. 2004
Cast & Credits: Kim Basinger (Jessica Martin), Jessica Biel (Chloe), Richard Burgi (Craig Martin), Chris Evans (Ryan), William H. Macy (Sgt. Bob Mooney), Jason Statham (Ethan). Screenplay by Chris Morgan. Directed by David R. Ellis.
I hate cellular telephones so much so that it was my parents who had to get me one so I can have in case I have a problem with the car. I have always believed they should be used for emergencies and that’s it. The kind of emergency Ryan (Chris Evans) gets into one day while eyeing the bikini clad women on the beach when he gets an unexpected phone call from a complete stranger.
The call is from Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger), a mother who says she has been kidnapped by a group of armed men who threaten to kill both her and her son unless she gives them what they are looking for. Trouble is Jessica has no idea what they are looking for and keeps telling her kidnappers they got the wrong family.
Cellular is the kind of movie that doesn’t waste time on endless introductions. Martin is kidnapped from her home within the first ten minutes and from that moment on, the film literally goes into “speed” mode as Chris must not only keep talking to her on the phone (she has no idea where she is calling from). He must also race against the kidnappers trying to reach her son and husband before the villains do.
I’ve seen these kinds of obstacles before most notably in Speed (1994) where just when you think the lead character has gotten themselves out of a hairy situation, along comes something else that stands in their way. What makes Cellular work is in the way both the Ryan and Martin characters are always thinking on their toes. When he can’t get any one at the cellular phone store to give him a battery, Ryan fires off a gun at the ceiling getting their attention and then we learn later, he paid for the item before leaving.
While Basinger’s Martin, whose character not only knows how to put a smashed telephone back together, but knows what vein to slash on a person’s arm that will cause someone to bleed to death within minutes. Thanks in part to the fact she is a biology teacher.
I saw Cellular the same day after sitting through Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) which was nothing more than an endlessly shoot-em-up video game completely devoid of originality or creative imagination. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to know that yes, there are filmmakers out there who know how to direct an effectively clever screenplay filled with characters who exhibit believably flawed, sometimes humorous traits.
I would be giving away the entire story if I were to tell you exactly what it is the villains want from the Martin family. Something you don’t learn until maybe the last half-hour or so. My job as a film critic is to tell you why I liked or didn’t like a movie. Not give you a rundown of the plot.
What I will say is Cellular is the kind of mystery/suspense picture that knows how to keep the viewer on edge and always guessing until the last possible minute. It not only made me want to root for the hero and heroine but hope the almost clueless by-the-book police officer (William H. Macy) will finally realize what he may have gotten himself into.
On side note, this is that rare kind of movie that drives my point home on why I think cellular telephones should only be used for emergencies.
As Ryan tells one driver early on, if the call isn’t important, they should get off the phone and pay attention to the road.
©9/13/04
PG-13, 94m. 2004
Cast & Credits: Kim Basinger (Jessica Martin), Jessica Biel (Chloe), Richard Burgi (Craig Martin), Chris Evans (Ryan), William H. Macy (Sgt. Bob Mooney), Jason Statham (Ethan). Screenplay by Chris Morgan. Directed by David R. Ellis.
The call is from Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger), a mother who says she has been kidnapped by a group of armed men who threaten to kill both her and her son unless she gives them what they are looking for. Trouble is Jessica has no idea what they are looking for and keeps telling her kidnappers they got the wrong family.
Cellular is the kind of movie that doesn’t waste time on endless introductions. Martin is kidnapped from her home within the first ten minutes and from that moment on, the film literally goes into “speed” mode as Chris must not only keep talking to her on the phone (she has no idea where she is calling from). He must also race against the kidnappers trying to reach her son and husband before the villains do.
I’ve seen these kinds of obstacles before most notably in Speed (1994) where just when you think the lead character has gotten themselves out of a hairy situation, along comes something else that stands in their way. What makes Cellular work is in the way both the Ryan and Martin characters are always thinking on their toes. When he can’t get any one at the cellular phone store to give him a battery, Ryan fires off a gun at the ceiling getting their attention and then we learn later, he paid for the item before leaving.
While Basinger’s Martin, whose character not only knows how to put a smashed telephone back together, but knows what vein to slash on a person’s arm that will cause someone to bleed to death within minutes. Thanks in part to the fact she is a biology teacher.
I saw Cellular the same day after sitting through Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) which was nothing more than an endlessly shoot-em-up video game completely devoid of originality or creative imagination. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to know that yes, there are filmmakers out there who know how to direct an effectively clever screenplay filled with characters who exhibit believably flawed, sometimes humorous traits.
I would be giving away the entire story if I were to tell you exactly what it is the villains want from the Martin family. Something you don’t learn until maybe the last half-hour or so. My job as a film critic is to tell you why I liked or didn’t like a movie. Not give you a rundown of the plot.
What I will say is Cellular is the kind of mystery/suspense picture that knows how to keep the viewer on edge and always guessing until the last possible minute. It not only made me want to root for the hero and heroine but hope the almost clueless by-the-book police officer (William H. Macy) will finally realize what he may have gotten himself into.
On side note, this is that rare kind of movie that drives my point home on why I think cellular telephones should only be used for emergencies.
As Ryan tells one driver early on, if the call isn’t important, they should get off the phone and pay attention to the road.
©9/13/04
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