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. (2006-06-06)

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. (2017-07-09)

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. (2005-07-26)

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. (2007-05-18)

At the beginning it was a crazy trip. In the introduction I thought that Chris Evans was making fun of me when he deliberately walked around shirtless and tried to seduce Jessica Biel with cheesy pick-up lines. She wasn’t buying it, so I felt like I was going to watch something similar to Beverly Hills 90210. Then we get to see Kim Basinger who has a problem, and at that moment the movie becomes a Nokia commercial. It was probably good at the time but today it’s pretty laughable considering where Nokia is today and what it could do in 2004 according to the movie. I had no idea about many of these functions until watching the movie but okay. Over time, the flick turns into a pretty good action movie with the best the genre has to offer. In the end I was surprisingly satisfied – which is something I didn’t really expect. (2019-03-20)