Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama, Murder, Suspense, Deception, Kidnapping, Hostage, Detectives, School / Campus, Marriage, Law, Martial Arts
Tagline: If the signal dies so does she.
Plot: Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger) is a high school science teacher and mother whose peaceful life is turned upside down when she is kidnapped from her home by five unknown assailants and taken to a mysterious location. Fearful for her life and completely in the dark as to her abductors’ motives, Jessica manages to patch together a shattered telephone and secretly place a call to an unknown number in a last-ditch attempt to save herself. Ryan (Chris Evans), the carefree young man who answers the panicked call, suddenly finds himself Jessica’s last hope.With no knowledge of Jessica other than her hushed, fearful voice on the other end of the tenuous cell phone connection, Ryan is quickly thrown into a world of deception and murder in a frantic search to find and save her. The lives of Jessica and her family are in his hands, but what is waiting for him on the other side of the line and what will it cost him to find
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 It may not push all the right buttons, but somehow this thriller starring Kim Basinger and William H. Macy manages to get through.--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
The movie is skillfully plotted, halfway plausible and well acted; the craftsmanship is in the details, including the astonishing number of different ways in which a cell phone can be made to function -- both as a telephone, and as a plot device.  --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
Credit the film’s underlying sarcasm about our fanatical phone use, and the convincing performances by its competent cast for making Cellular’s faults more forgivable.  --David Levine (FilmCritic.com)
There are some nice little twists here and there, and it's a very high-paced flick. However, the dialogue isn't that good and it's fairly predictable in some parts. Sadly, the script, with it's high-concept premise and fast-paced action, is probably the best part of the movie, but it still isn't really that good.  --Brian Gallagher (MovieWeb)
I liked Cellular. If you don’t like it, that’s too bad. You just don’t like having fun, I guess. ... You gotta recognize dumb fun when it comes.  --B. Alan 'Happy Birthday to Me!' (MovieWeb)
In a better world, CELLULAR would have focused on Macy and that pitch perfect brand of eager anxiety that can, with a twitch of his mouth or a slouch of his shoulder, make any scene worth watching. It would have left a mere pretty face such as Evans' in the decorative background where it could do the most good. --Andrea Chase (Killer Movie Reviews)
It's implausible, every minute of it, and often outrageously stupid. (Good thing there's a dirt road leading to a cell-phone store at the VERY MINUTE he needs a charger!) But golly, it's kinda fun sometimes, and a few parts are funny on purpose. C--Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com)
At about the half-way point, it’s clear there will be no interesting character developments or sub-textual material to distract us from the increasingly goofy storyline. 63/100--Dan Jardine (Apollo Guide)
A fun, old school thriller that moves a mile a minute, offers plenty of nail-biting moments, appealing actors seemingly enjoying themselves, but not without going a little too over-the-top in certain sequences, particularly the ending, which asks one to stretch their suspension of disbelief a little more than one usually might in a film of its sort. 6/10--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
Kim Basinger appears to be literally phoning in from another movie in the highly improbable, maniacally action-packed thriller-cum-comedy "Cellular."  --Megan Lehmann (New York Post)
"Cellular" will unlikely win any major awards or rock your world, but it's a fun ride and well worth the trip to your local cineplex.--Paul Clinton (CNN Showbiz)
Using the clever premise, it packs a lot of thrills into a short space while keeping the level of tension consistently high. There's time for exposition, but never so much that it breaks the action for too long. The storyline is cleverly developed, but not overplotted. In addition, even though the cell phone is used as a multi-functional tool, it never does anything more than a real-world phone (circa 2004) can do.  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
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| Directed by |
David R. Ellis
Final Destination 2, Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco, Shakers |
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| Written by |
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 | Chris Morgan
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Sakura: Blue-Eyed Samurai |
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| The plotting remains very good throughout, leaving you with something that feels more like above average September fluff than laughably bad September fluff. B --Craig Younkin (Lee's Movie Info)
While 'Cellular' is guilty of indulging in the occasional cliche i.e. the classic cell phone/tunnel dilemma, most are implicit elements of the plot rather than simple gimmicks, and therefore not only excusable, but arguably necessary. Rather than a lazy rehashing of tired film conventions, it is tightly edited, skillfully acted and carefully blends action, tension, and humor, with several surprises thrown in for good measure, making for a thoroughly enjoyable movie-going experience. --Greg Ursic (Movie-Gurus.com)
Expect nothing more than to be entertained and you'll have the best chance to enjoy this modest little suspense/action sleeper to its fullest. It's an old school formula, but somehow it works despite everything going against it. I wouldn't be foolish enough to declare this a great film, but while it was on, I was riveted by every laughably preposterous second. --Vince Leo (Qwipster.net)
The movie crosses the line between offering mindless entertainment and insulting our intelligence.  --Rick Kisonak (MovieWeb)
A fun, old school thriller that moves a mile a minute, offers plenty of nail-biting moments, appealing actors seemingly enjoying themselves, but not without going a little too over-the-top in certain sequences, particularly the ending, which asks one to stretch their suspension of disbelief a little more than one usually might in a film of its sort. 6/10--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
Despite the occasional suspicion that you’re watching an extended phone advert, Cellular is surprisingly good fun – it’s fast-paced and inventive and even its dodgier moments are hilarious. --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
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