Cellular

Name: Cellular
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: September 10, 2004
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 60
Cast: Chris Evans, Kim Basinger

2004

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 119 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 119 Ratings

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Cellular

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Movie Details & Credits

New Line Cinema | Release Date: September 10, 2004 | PG-13

Starring: Chris Evans, Kim Basinger

Summary: A random wrong number on his cell phone sends a young man into a high-stakes race against time to save a woman's life. [New Line Cinema]

Director: David R. Ellis

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 94 min

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert

By occupying their roles believably, by acting as we think their characters probably would, they save the movie from feeling like basic Hollywood action (even when it probably is). This is one of the year's best thrillers. Read full review

William Arnold

Very slick, very compelling and not nearly as predictable as it sounds. Read full review

Dana Stevens

It's an honest, unpretentious, well-made B picture with a clever, silly premise, a handful of sly, unassuming performances and enough car chases, decent jokes and swervy plot complications to make the price of the ticket seem like a decent bargain. Read full review

Amy Nicholson

The whole thing skims along on suspension of disbelief. Read full review

Kirk Honeycutt

Macy once again brightens an otherwise mundane character. Read full review

Megan Lehmann

Basinger appears to be literally phoning in from another movie in the highly improbable, maniacally action-packed thriller-cum-comedy Cellular. Read full review

Rick Groen

Using a kidnapping plot to call up some old-fashioned suspense, it doesn't even get a dial tone. Read full review

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User Reviews

kingshahid

Oct 24, 2011

This was a great movie. It was action packed with a good story. It exposed some of the possible twists that may exist in reality with two-timing cops. Jason Statham always delivers. I just couldn't stand the women - she's a terrible actor. She has the sound of a phone sex lady throughout theThis was a great movie. It was action packed with a good story. It exposed some of the possible twists that may exist in reality with two-timing cops. Jason Statham always delivers. I just couldn't stand the women - she's a terrible actor. She has the sound of a phone sex lady throughout the movie for some reason.… Expand

4 of 7 users found this helpful43

Amulet

Apr 20, 2021

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1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Meth-dude

Feb 21, 2016

The movie was unbelievable at times and cliché at others, it doesn't really bring anything new to the genre and, even if it's to save the life of somebody else, it doesn't give you the rights to do illegal things.Fortunately for the movie, the acting was good, the action sequences were wellThe movie was unbelievable at times and cliché at others, it doesn't really bring anything new to the genre and, even if it's to save the life of somebody else, it doesn't give you the rights to do illegal things.Fortunately for the movie, the acting was good, the action sequences were well made and it was entertaining at best.… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

DawdlingPoet

Nov 26, 2021

In this movie, its the unlikely, slacker teen who becomes saddled with rescuing the 'damsel in distress' who's trapped in her attic.
It is quite a tense action/thriller with some particularly good car chase scenes (I love a good car chase scene) and it hots up after the hour mark, with RyanIn this movie, its the unlikely, slacker teen who becomes saddled with rescuing the 'damsel in distress' who's trapped in her attic.
It is quite a tense action/thriller with some particularly good car chase scenes (I love a good car chase scene) and it hots up after the hour mark, with Ryan catching up with the bad guys. Its the whole stereotype of the helpless blonde weepy woman depending on a young man to be her hero and to save her, ugh, that did seem pretty cheesy and sexist in a way. I kept thinking surely she could find a way out of there or do something more to get out, although, story wise, I thought it was quite good with the whole idea about it all depending on him keeping the phone call going, the call being the only means of contact, that I thought was an interesting idea, that hasn't been done all that much in movies, that im aware of anyway.

This is a film im sure guys will enjoy, possibly to the annoyance of their girlfriends if such kind of stereotypes or somewhat formulaic movies irk them.
It isn't a particularly long movie, at just over an hour and a half, which is good in a way as it doesn't drag too much, especially once the first hour is over and it becomes quite action packed, it doesn't drag on for too long, like some such movies can.

Knowing that Jason Statham is in this movie should be clue enough, I suppose, as to what its like and that its quite a male oriented action film.
I wasn't sure whether to give this a 3 or 4 star rating at first, but I think as such a movie, it is quite good, its pretty thrilling at times and has some good car chase scenes and it is quite entertaining, so in that respect it is a good movie, hence my rating.

Yes I would recommend this. Its been shown on Film 4 (I taped it from that channel) and hopefully they'll repeat it again, so you may be able to see it for free and for free, its certainly worth watching. It may be a little cheesy or sexist in a way but as an action film, it is quite exciting and so I think it is worth seeing. I don't know that I'd say its worth paying a great deal for on DVD but if you can rent it or catch it on TV for free, then I would recommend it, for the car chase scenes and the fact that it does hot up towards the end. Oh and there is a little bit of comedy/humour with the cop played by William H. Macy and what happens with him visiting a health spa and then spotting on TV what has happened, that was quite amusing.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

russiangamer

Feb 6, 2017

На разок.
Нормально снято, актёры нормально играют, нормальные спец-эффекты, персонажи иногда тупят, не могут попасть, когда это проще простого, с физикой иногда не ладится.
Итог: Отличное кино чтобы после очень запарного дня придти домой, взять из холодильника пивка и что-нибудь поесть,На разок.
Нормально снято, актёры нормально играют, нормальные спец-эффекты, персонажи иногда тупят, не могут попасть, когда это проще простого, с физикой иногда не ладится.
Итог: Отличное кино чтобы после очень запарного дня придти домой, взять из холодильника пивка и что-нибудь поесть, сесть перед телевизором/монитором и смотреть не напрягая мозги.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

juliankennedy23

Jul 12, 2014

Cellular: 5 out of 10: I'm having Falling Down flashbacks again. Cellular resembles that superior 1993 thriller right down to the same locations. (If I see one more shootout on that damn pier.) Cellular however is strangely mixed with a collection of those only in Los Angeles crackpotsCellular: 5 out of 10: I'm having Falling Down flashbacks again. Cellular resembles that superior 1993 thriller right down to the same locations. (If I see one more shootout on that damn pier.) Cellular however is strangely mixed with a collection of those only in Los Angeles crackpots similar to those found in everything from Volcano to Out in Fifty.

The resulting mismatch of tones is one part thriller (Kim Basinger trapped in an attic) one part Speed (Chris Evans driving around L.A.) and one part Randy Newman video.

Credibility (usually important to a thriller) is thrown out early with great force. Kim Basinger shows her kid of to a private Los Angeles Academy (she is a science teacher but surprisingly not at work herself) walks back to her Brentwood home (I'm guessing 2.5 million) greets her live in maid and is quickly kidnapped. The kidnappers drive off with her in her own Porsche minivan. So when the first thing she says to our hero Chris Evans is "I don't know why they kidnapped me. We aren't rich. I'm just a school teacher?"

Well needless to say Sigourney Weaver's upper west side apartment in Ghostbusters had more credibility. The "it" the kidnappers are after is even sillier. Without giving too much away one wonders why the husband didn't turn "it" into the nearest TV station.

The villains themselves are right out of a rejected script for The Shield. The movie has enough action that works to be entertaining for stretches and Kim Basinger does a commendable job with a strangely written role. (Besides her I'm not rich howler she is also saddled with a monologue, right out of the talking killer handbook, where instead of running away after stabbing a man she explains at some length how as a science teacher she knew exactly which artery to cut.)

Lackluster villains, a constantly changing tone, and contrived credibility sink the film at the end however. Sadly if my High School teacher looked like Kim Basinger and the curriculum consisted of how to steal phone service and stab people (not to mention live like a millionaire on a teachers salary) I probably would have ended up at MIT rather than some party school named after a drugstore.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

All_ButTrU4

Oct 15, 2022

A fresh faced Chris Evans helms this shoddy thriller where an immature himbo gets a call from a mystery woman asking for help and partakes in a race against time to save him. It's a rapidly paced nonsensical train wreck with mediocre acting by what would be an acclaimed cast. It's tooA fresh faced Chris Evans helms this shoddy thriller where an immature himbo gets a call from a mystery woman asking for help and partakes in a race against time to save him. It's a rapidly paced nonsensical train wreck with mediocre acting by what would be an acclaimed cast. It's too inoffensive to be particularly bad but fails to prove itself worth watching at all.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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