Cellular

CinemaSerf

2023-09-04

60%

This could have been so very much better if only the story had not built the entire sense of jeopardy on three or four implausibly stupid strokes of misfortune. Chris Evans is the recipient of a strange phone call from a woman (Kim Basinger) who has been kidnapped and as she is locked in an attic, she must rely on this random young man to try stop the baddies (Jason Statham etc.) from now reaching her young son and her husband on their quest for we know not what... yet! He goes to the police station but a fracas in the lobby means he cannot discuss with a detective and so must now do it all by himself... There is plenty of action, Evans has some fun in a Porsche (borrowed from Rick Hoffmann - does he ever not play a pompous ass?!) before we are on the run from a load of don't know who to trust cops of all shapes and sizes (and loyalties). Evans is good value, and William H. Macy isn't afraid to get in tough with his inner vanity; but otherwise it is a bit of a wasted opportunity for all...

This one really put cellphone technology on the map (the kind you buy at a gas station, or print out at home). Captain America teams up with the guy from Fargo to rescue a mysterious cold-calling blonde woman, and her son/husband, from the most evil LAPD since the LAPD. Hooray! Two thumbs up with prints intact... I didn't know security officers kept little revolvers in their glovebox, and lawyers don't know how to talk their way out of impound fees, and a housewife can resurrect a telephone using no solder! The best place to view this masterpiece would be the local drive-in, because then at the end you get to see everybody forget, remember, then forget how to use the technology their lives have depended on for the last fifteen years and counting -- just like in the film!