Ryan (Chris Evans, The Perfect Score) is just a
buff surfer dude trying to get back together with his girlfriend when
he gets a panicky call on his cellular phone from Jessica Martin (Kim
Basinger,
The Door in the Floor,
8 Mile). Jessica has been kidnapped and
thrown into a room with nothing but a broken phone and some exposed
wires to splice together, hoping she can reach someone who will get to
the police. This is no crank call, as Ryan first suspects, and soon
he finds that he is the only person standing between Jessica and her
family’s life and death.
CRITIQUE
Cellular
is the second film in an intended trilogy by screenwriter Larry
Cohen. The first of these films was 2004’s
Phone Booth, which was both surprising
creative and a lot more interesting than the standard action fare.
Cohen only wrote the story on this one though, and the actual
screenplay was written by Chris Morgan.
The morality-tale
or philosophical (or whatever you want to call it) part of Phone
Booth is largely what set it apart from its contemporaries.
There’s a little bit of that in Cellular, but it’s quickly
glossed over in favor of fast cars, explosions, and convenient plot
twists. How often do you answer strange numbers on your cell phone?
How long have you ever talked to someone who you thought was a crank
caller? And did that big rig really not see the car in the middle of
the intersection that he was about to plow into at about 70 miles an
hour?
Such is the state of things in Cellular,
but if it’s good-guys versus bad-guys you want, then this is your
movie. Ethan’s (Jason Statham,
The Italian Job,
The Transporter) permanent scowl and
menacing looks get right to his heartless nature, Mooney (William H.
Macy,
Spartan,
The Cooler) is a good cop and a good
husband, and Ryan is just a laid back guy who can’t help but do the
right thing. Director David Ellis (Final
Destination 2)
keeps things moving quickly and we see some cell phone humor along the
way, most notably when Ryan, holding his cell phone and talking to
Jessica, yells at another driver to pay attention to the road.
In the end there isn’t much to distinguish
Cellular as a standout from, say Speed or
Training Day. It’s very formulaic, and
when it isn’t predictable, something convenient happens to get things
going again. The only notable aspects are performances by Macy and
Basinger, which always seem to be a cut above.
THE VIDEO
Cellular
is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is
excellent, and only a very few cases of edge-enhancement halos are
noticeable.
THE AUDIO
Cellular
is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Clear dialog and a
soundtrack that doesn’t overwhelm each scene go a long way in terms of
audio quality, and Cellular does a great job on both fronts.
EXTRAS
The commentary
with director David Ellis and writers Larry Cohen and Chris Morgan
is actually done by David Ellis, assistant stunt coordinator (and
sister) Annie Ellis, and associate producer (and daughter) Tawny
Ellis. The commentary doesn’t add much to the DVD, and Tawny sounds
like she’s high while it’s going on. David periodically calls other
members of the cast and crew on his cell phone, and if you turn the
volume up more you can hear what they have to say, too.
The three
“documentaries” included on the disc aren’t bad though. Celling
Out (19:30) tracks the history of cell phones and their increased
use and misuse. Dialing Up Cellular (25:50) is a making-of
featurette with comments from the cast and crew, and a great Alfred
Hitchcock imitation by Larry Cohen. Code of Silence: Inside the
Rampart Scandal (26:57) is probably the most interesting of the
three, as it tracks a real case of police corruption in the 90s that
loosely inspired aspects of the story.
The original
Theatrical Trailer and some others are also included on the disc.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite the action
genre’s claim to excitement, its movies are often extremely
predictable in their makeup. Cellular is an exciting (if you
actually think Ryan might fail) chase movie that doesn’t have nudity
or too much swearing or violence, and aimed at just a bit of a younger
audience than the Die Hard type films. Other than that, there
isn’t much to say about it. If you like action flicks and want to see
one that involves cell phones, great. If you liked where Cohen was
going with Phone Booth and want to see more, it may not be
worth the bother.
