brchthethird
"Cellphones, how does this newfangled invention work?" That seemed to be the level of understanding and thought put into the script for this movie, which is riddled with more logic and plot holes than Swiss cheese. Assuming you can put your brain on hold for 90 minutes and don't care about suspension of disbelief, then CELLULAR might entertain you. If not, it's probably best to just stay away. The basic plot is about this woman (Kim Basinger) who is kidnapped for some reason (to say why would be a plot spoiler). While in captivity she is somehow able to use a wall phone that got smashed to make a random call in the hope that she might be rescued. The random person who answers is played by Chris Evans and he has to stay on the phone or else the woman will probably die. For me, this film had a very flimsy, ridiculous premise. Often, cell phones in movies have little to no signal when the plot calls for it, but CELLULAR goes too far in the other direction. Seriously, with all of the obstacles that Chris Evans' character comes across there's no way that his phone, much less one made in the early 2000's, could have withstood everything that happens in the film. Still, the film was fitfully entertaining. Most of the performances were adequate for this kind of brainless action film. Chris Evans shows off a little of the chops that he would later use as Steve Rogers, but he was saddled with the rather thankless task of carrying a film where he's on his cellphone almost the entire time. Kim Basinger was OK, but she isn't really given much to do except be the damsel in distress. Even character actor William H. Macy has a supporting role, but he's given even less to do. Most of his part consists of being the butt of jokes revolving around a day spa he wants to start after retiring from the force. He does get a little more to do in the finale, but only through sheer luck. The two best parts of this movie were actually two bit players, Lin Shaye and Rick Hoffman, who provide the funniest moments. From a technical standpoint, however, the film was better than average. The cinematography was decent, and the action was fairly well shot. It's just a shame that this was in service of such a dumb movie. To be honest, I wasn't expecting Shakespeare or anything, but I would have liked something a little more intelligent. By no means a "good" movie, there still was enough entertainment value that my time wasn't completely wasted.
SnoopyStyle
Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger) is kidnapped and locked in a house. Ethan (Jason Statham) comes in and smashes the phone but somehow it still has a dial tone. Jessica frantically work the wires and calls up unsuspecting Ryan (Chris Evans). He hands off the phone to weary Sgt. Bob Mooney (William H. Macy) but he's busy with a ruckus. The kidnappers are after her kid and Ryan is off on a rescue mission. Mooney follows up on the case but one of the kidnappers Dana Bayback is impersonating Jessica.It's a pretty good thriller although it's very manufactured. It's a fun ride if you allow it to be. It reminds me of Speed except less fun and more ridiculous. The story relies on a lot of complicated coincidences. There are some interesting actors in this one. Basinger does good one-note acting. Chris Evans keeps the story from going off the rails. It's also interesting to see Jason Statham as a quiet intense bad guy.
MattyGibbs
Action thrillers are not a genre of films I normally enjoy so I wasn't expecting too much before I watched this one. It's pretty clear from the opening scenes that this is a film that you could spend all day picking apart if you so desired. However this genre isn't about plausibility it's about sheer entertainment. On that basis this film hits the mark it intended too. It's extremely fast paced with explosive scenes and situations following one after another. Cellular doesn't take itself seriously and I always felt that the action had its tongue firmly in its cheek. The film has a strong cast who all do a decent job. For me the film succeeded due to highly likable performances from Chris Evans and William H Macy. Although it is quite obviously an amazingly far fetched movie, I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed it. If you are in the mood for some mindless entertainment you really can't do much better than this.
