Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

You’re driving along in your car, minding your own business. Suddenly, your cell phone rings and even though you don’t recognize the incoming caller’s phone number, you answer anyway. The woman claims her life is in danger and pleads with you not to hang up.

What would you do in this situation? Would you stay on the phone and talk to the woman to determine if she was really telling the truth or would you end the call immediately and go about your day? The situation I just described is the basis for this movie, Cellular, an action drama that finds a guy answering his phone at exactly the right/wrong time.

Movie Facts:

Rating: PG-13
Format: Color
Director: David Ellis
Screenplay/Writing Credits: Larry Cohen, Chris Morgan
Theatrical Release Date: September 10, 2004
Movie Length: 94 Minutes

Cast: Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, William Macy, Noah Emmerich, Jason Statham, Jessica Biel, Richard Burgi, Valerie Cruz, Eric Etebari, Adam Gordon, Matt McColm, Eric Olsen, Lin Shaye.

Contents of This Movie:

Ryan (played by Chris Evans) is having a little trouble with his girlfriend Chloe (played by Jessica Biel), who claims he is irresponsible and self- centered. He tries to prove that he is a changed man by offering to pick something up for her and he heads to his car. Once there, he gets a phone call from an unknown woman who identifies herself as Jessica Martin (played by Kim Basinger). This woman says she is in danger and pleads for help from Ryan. She cannot call the police because all she has at her disposal are a couple of phone wires which she has hooked together and she can only make random phone calls. Ryan thinks it’s a joke at first, but she convinces him she needs help.

Ryan heads to the police station to tell them what happened and he speaks with Mooney (played by William Macy). The police chief wants to help, but suddenly his attention is diverted by another concern and he tells Ryan to go up a few floors in the building and speak with someone else. But as Ryan quickly discovers, there is some corruption in this police department. Guys who claim to be police are out to get him, and its all because of Jessica Martin.

All the while, Ryan has to keep his cell phone running without hanging up or else Jessica will not be able to reach him again. By this time, her husband (played by Richard Burgi) and her son (played by Adam Gordon) are also abducted and taken hostage. Their only hope for survival is Ryan. He must continue to keep the phone running and he must do battle with some of the kidnappers if he has any hope to free the Martins before they are killed by the attackers.

Final Thoughts:

“Cellular” is a crime/action movie that combines together an interesting plot with some well- known Hollywood names and a few new faces to the big screen. This movie presents a plot that is typical in its bad guy/good guy premise, but unique with its storyline and the significance that a cell phone plays in the overall story.

This movie offers some good suspense and some fast moving action. From the beginning when Jessica Martin is taken hostage and she makes the phone call that happens to be answered by Ryan, the movie just keeps flying along. To add to the fun, director David Ellis adds some creative and often funny scenes. One such scene takes place in a cell phone store. Ryan’s phone is going to lose its charge and he is desperate to find a car cord so he can plug the phone into the cigarette lighter. He absolutely cannot lose this call, because Jessica Martin will not be able to phone him again. He spots a store and runs inside, but there are lots of customers and no one will listen to his pleas for quick service. Panic stricken, he pulls a gun on the crowd, demanding that he be permitted to buy a new car cord without waiting any longer. He surprises the startled customers by paying for the cord. All he wanted was some quick service, but it took a gun to get the reps to listen. The humor, of course, lies in the irony of the situation and some of the lines by Ryan and others in the store.

Besides the suspense, this movie also offers an interesting plot that keeps you guessing some of the time. Not necessarily all of the time, but some of the time which is more than can be said for other crime movies. As Ryan tries to help save Jessica Martin and her family, he encounters all sorts of trouble from people who claim to be policemen and have the badges to prove it. But if they are really policemen, then why don’t they want to help this woman and her family? You start to wonder who is really a policeman and who isn’t, or who is playing what role and who has a fake badge, etc., etc. You find yourself guessing at first and even though the pieces start to come together, there is at least a small element of surprise that keeps this from becoming another predictable film where the good guys beat the bad guys in the end.

I like several of the performances in this film. My personal favorites are Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, and William Macy. Basinger, well, you always expect a pretty convincing performance from her and she delivers yet again in her role as Jessica Martin. Evans is a newer Hollywood actor (he is only 23 years old at present) and he performs this role very well, showing that he can handle the physical scenes and keep the viewer in suspense, wondering what he will do next and how far he will go to help a total stranger who has called him on his cell phone. He seems either heroic, stubborn, or stupid (or a combination of all three) in his zealous determination to save the Martins. Once he gets started, he is a man on a mission and nothing will stop him until the Martin’s are safe and sound.

William Macy is a Hollywood veteran and when I first saw him on the screen, my comment was “who is that guy…I know I have seen him in many other films”. I recognized him instantly, but couldn’t remember his name at first. Macy is one of those guys who gets lots of roles and even though he doesn’t enjoy the superstar status of some of his colleagues, he can still be counted on for a convincing performance in any role he is cast.

“Cellular” is not a Hollywood classic by any means and it isn’t going to win any awards. But this movie is still a pretty good one, with fast- paced action, funny and sometimes unusual twists in the plot, and good performances from the leads. It makes you wonder about your own cell phone and whether or not you should consider answering the next time you get an unidentified phone call.



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older