Cellular

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. (20/03/2019)

Only exceptionally can you find such a textbook example of product placement in the film industry as this little film. However, I must admit that I didn't get bored at all by this excessive advertisement for NOKIA. The advantage of the film is its fast pace and reasonable duration. Although I am sensitive to a derivative screenplay and inconsistencies in the plot, in this case I did not mind these types of flaws. Basinger as the main star attracts attention about as much as my grandmother in her nightgown, but even that is not a hindrance. If you don't have high expectations, the film gives a decent chance for entertainment and represents a light genre above average. Overall impression 65%. (17/05/2007)

But yeah, this movie has the right drive, it won't let you catch your breath, and that's exactly what it wanted to do. It lets you ride the wave of adrenaline. In the end, I wouldn't expect anything else from Ellis. He managed to make a properly claustrophobic and fast-paced film. Evans fits the role quite well, occasionally he even manages some humor, Kim Basinger is excellent for her part. Although she doesn't have much screen time, it seems like she gives it her all. William H. Macy is perfectly cast in terms of casting and he even gets some action scenes, which I also wouldn't expect from him. It's not the film of the year 2004, but as a popcorn entertainment, it's maybe better than drawn-out blockbusters. (15/02/2014)

The screenwriter of Phone Booth somewhat recycled his previous idea and routineer Ellis directed it. Loads of horrendous clichés, unimpressive acting performances and an unlikeable main protagonist make this picture really boring. Unfortunately not even the typically outstanding Macy or the usually cool Statham don’t have the change to rescue the picture from drowning in waters of mediocrity. An uninteresting picture that comes up with nothing new and even what we have seen a hundred times over is delivered in a form that is even worse than the competition. (14/11/2004)

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. (12/10/2004)