Cellular

At first, I was quite scared about what Chris Morgan had prepared for me in his screenwriting debut, because the main abduction happens before I even get a chance to settle down, and right from the beginning it presents an unbearably (and almost unwatchable) hysterical Kim Basinger and Chris Evans trying to win back his ex-girlfriend. In the end, it turns out to be a mixture that alternates excellently built tension with logical flaws and adds a moderately high pile of clichés on top of it all. Fortunately, a likable character gradually emerges from the mess, so I had someone to cheer for, and thanks to Evans in particular, I have the impression of a better-than-average movie in Cellular. (06/06/2006)

Cellular is not a serious and suspenseful thriller by any stretch of the imagination. It’s rather just an overwrought joke of a movie with a lot of clichés and donkey bridges. And even some of the characters are copies of other characters from better and more famous films (for example, Macy’s cop is a facsimile of Duvall’s Prendergast from Falling Down). Kim Basinger is bland and Chris Evans is simply just there with his TV-series good looks. On the other hand, if you don’t take it seriously, but merely as a lively 100-minute Nokia commercial, you’ll have a good time, but definitely not a better time than producer Dean Devlin had after signing the contract with the company. (10/12/2004)

If I overlook the fact that it's a bit of an ad for Nokia, I have to say that I quite enjoyed myself for almost a hundred minutes. The big plus is that neither the director, nor the screenwriter, and often not even the actors take it too seriously. The screenplay was passable, of course, the film didn't avoid several convoluted scenes and worn-out clichés, but there was nothing unbearable. The pace was very solid and you never get bored. (07/26/2005)

Do you remember the action films from the 80s and 90s that were so fun when you took them lightly and didn’t treat them as serious works? That’s exactly the category Cellular falls into, offering 94 minutes of entertainment. It’s a film full of moments overflowing with illogicalities, some of the actors’ performances are more laughable than praiseworthy, and it’s honestly full of clichés. But if you turn your brain off, you’ve struck gold. The story is quite ordinary, though the idea of a phone call running throughout the entire film isn’t the most common concept. Kim Basinger didn’t do badly, but I might have chosen someone else. Chris Evans shined in the role of a carefree young man, and I enjoyed how he turned into a would-be action hero by the end. Since I’ve already touched on the topic of heroes, William H. Macy in the role of a cop who’s been on duty for 27 years really topped it off. To be fair, the role was tailor-made for him. Statham played the villain, and if I were a Hollywood director, I’d call him immediately to ask if he’d be interested in playing an assassin. The ending was more amusing than anything, but I eventually accepted it. I give it 74%. P.S. The Finns must have been thrilled because such advertising for Nokia surely multiplied the sales of these unforgettable phones. (07/09/2017)

In some places Cellular was unexpectedly surprising, but most of the movie is more or less one big cliché. But undemanding entertainment for a Friday evening. Evans is really very cool here while Statham is in a rather untraditional negative role. Also a small role for Jessica Biel was a nice surprise. How extraordinary that these three met a year later in the drama London. (05/18/2007)