“”Ricky Martin”? You named your kid “Ricky Martin”? ” – Ryan
Number of Times Seen – 2 (22 Dec 2004 and 7 Aug 2017)
Brief Synopsis – After being kidnapped by mysterious men, a science teacher manages to contact someone by hot-wiring a cellphone. She must help him figure out where she is in order to rescue her before their connection is cut off.
My Take on it – This is a film with such a great premise that mostly works despite it possibly being a bit unrealistic.
Kim Bassinger and Chris Evans actually have great chemistry despite the fact that their characters solely interact verbally through most of the film.
I really liked the way that this film shows so many great ideas for cellphone communication even though this film was made in the early days of the mass use of cellphones.
Some of these ideas look quite comedic since technology has advanced so much over the last decade and a half yet many of the ideas seem even more plausible today also due to this same fact.
I’ve always been a fan of William H. Macy and he does a great job here playing a cop on his way home who still sticks to his duty while he tries to figure out what’s really going on.
Not the best film ever, but a great taut thriller that works quite well.
Bottom Line – Great premise that mostly works. Bassinger and Evans are great together despite only verbal communication between them. The fact that this was made in the early days of cellphones makes some of the ideas look funny yet we now know how realistic some of the things dealt with here really are. Macy is great here as a cop on his way home who tries to figure things out. Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – On the 5 August 2004 edition of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992), Kim Basinger said that when she was talking on a cellular phone while standing outside a movie house bathroom waiting for a friend, she became very annoyed at the small, rude crowd that had gathered around to point and laugh at her. It was only after her friend exited the bathroom and pointed out that Basinger was standing directly in front of poster for “Cellular” that depicted her talking on a cellular phone did she understand why everyone was laughing at her. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy
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MovieRob 
Great review! I actually only knew about it after I watched Connected which is the Hong Kong remake. Haha! That one is pretty good too.
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I’m a big fan of Cellular. I think I even liked it a bit more than you did Rob. Very clever idea, which I saw when it was originally released – at the movies. I didn’t own a cellphone then – still don’t. As you so aptly put it – the chemistry between Evans (pre-Captain America) and Basinger – is palpable – even by long distance. All the close calls really keep the tension ratcheted up and on a high wire. And glad you pointed out William H. Macy (pre-Shameless) – he is, as always, terrific. There are some cardboard characters to be sure (the Hollywood agent whose car is hijacked) but they all serve a purpose. The bad guys are sufficiently scary – Kim is sufficiently afraid for her life – and Chris plays a great hero constantly on the move.
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Nicely written review of a movie I’m not that familiar with.
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