Some of you may recall a movie being released back in 2004 called Cellular starring Kim Basinger. The phone-based action crime thriller is a highly entertaining movie that demonstrates how quickly things have changed over a ten year period. Firstly, the cell phones in the film are much less sophisticated compared to today’s technology. But more interestingly, the motion picture also stars a young Chris Evans – who shortly thereafter landed the role of Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four franchise and later the part of Captain America in the Marvel films. We also see a small glimpse of the relatively unknown Jessica Biel, who is now quite famous. Likewise, it was a watershed moment for Jason Statham, as it was one of his first roles in an American film. Add in appearances from William H. Macy, who is receiving rave reviews for his role in the televison show Shameless, and character actor Noah Emmerich (The Truman Show, tv show The Americans), and you have a pretty impressive cast by today’s standards.
The movie has two interweaving storylines, that of Jessica Martin (an extremely vulnerable Basinger), an ordinary lady who is kidnaped, and secondly, of the unknown man she contacts by way of a smashed up phone. The man, Ryan (Evans), hesitantly aids the woman by making contact with the police. He meets retiring Sgt. Bob Mooney (an unflappable Macey), though due to a skirmish in the police office, Ryan has to leave and track down Jessica’s son before the criminals grab him.
The boy is nabbed and Ryan has to try to chase them down by way of a security car he has stolen. He loses the trail, while one of the villains, Ethan (Statham), questions Jessica about where her husband is. Meanwhile, the Sgt. has a nagging feeling about the name Jessica Martin that was left with him at the precinct and he begins to investigate.
The plot hinges on an item the criminals want that Jessica’s husband has placed in a safety deposit box. Ryan gets to the bank in time to intercept the package and escape. He makes contact with Ethan to trade the family for the item. Meanwhile, the police get a tip that Ryan is at Santa Monica Pier (he had to rob an electronics store to get a charger for the phone), so Mooney heads to the beach to identify the young man, bringing all of the storylines together for the climax.
Cellular is a highly entertaining story that follows in the vein of classic Hitchcockian-like thrillers – trailing a man who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Evans does an admirable job as the everyman. The script plays like an extended adrenaline pumping chase scene, with Evans and the rest of the cast up to the task.
There are also many memorable scenes. Some of the most comedic feature Ryan meeting with an overly obnoxious lawyer as they get their phones crossed while driving next to each other. Rick Hoffman, who plays the lawyer, is entertainingly smarmy and you have to love how he ends up on the losing side of things. The finale houses some of the best fight sequences, with everything from shoot-em-up action to highly suspenseful takes.
Cellular is a small budget action movie done right. Though not groundbreaking, the ninety-four minute movie is well written, flows nicely and achieves its goal as an entertaining thriller. It also makes us question whether we should pick up those unknown numbers. So, catch this enjoyable crime flick; it will leave you charged!
Fun movie to watch. Especially fun to take note of how far cell phones have come over the last 10 years or so. Also, some may recognize the lawyer, Rick Hoffman, from his role in Suits.