Cellular (film)

Cellular

Theatrical film poster
Directed by David R. Ellis
Produced by Dean Devlin
Lauren Lloyd
Screenplay by Chris Morgan
Uncredited:
J. Mackye Gruber
Story by Larry Cohen
Starring Kim Basinger
Chris Evans
Jason Statham
Eric Christian Olsen
with Noah Emmerich
and William H. Macy
Music by John Ottman
Cinematography Gary Capo
Edited by Eric Sears
Production
company
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release dates
  • September 10, 2004 (2004-09-10)
Running time
 94 minutes
Country United States
Germany
Language English
Budget $25 million[1]
Box office $56.4 million[1]

Cellular is a 2004 American action crime thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Jason Statham, Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, and William H. Macy. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan, Larry Cohen, and J. Mackye Gruber (not credited).[2]

Plot

Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger), a high school biology teacher, takes her son Ricky to his bus stop for school. After she returns home, several men break into her house, kill her housekeeper, and confine Jessica in the attic of their safe house. Ethan Greer (Jason Statham), the group leader, smashes the attic's telephone. Jessica uses the wires of the broken phone and randomly dials a number. She reaches the cell phone of Ryan Ackerman (Chris Evans), a carefree young man who has just been dumped by his girlfriend, Chloe (Jessica Biel). Jessica and Ryan don't even think about using a payphone to call 911 to trace the call.

Jessica persuades Ryan to go to the police station, where he briefly reports to Mooney, but has to leave to avoid losing connection. Ethan asks Jessica about something, which she denies knowing, and leaves to get Ricky. Overhearing them, Ryan gets to Ricky's school, only to see the boy kidnapped. He hijacks a security officer's car and gives chase. When his phone battery runs out, he takes the gun in the car, cuts in line at a shop and buys a charger.

Deciding to check on Ryan's kidnapping claim, Mooney goes to Jessica's house. At the house, he finds Dana Bayback (Valerie Cruz), the kidnappers' accomplice, posing as Jessica. Believing the claim is a false alarm, Mooney leaves. With Ricky in tow, Ethan returns and asks Jessica about a place her husband Craig mentioned, "The Left Field", and learns that it is a bar at the Los Angeles International Airport.

A cross-connection between phone lines causes Ryan to rob a nearby lawyer's cell phone and car. The lawyer refused to believe that Jessica was actually kidnapped. At the airport, Ryan plants the gun on one of the kidnappers, which trips the alarm. When security intervenes, the kidnappers flash police badges and apprehend Craig. It is possible that the kidnappers are pretending to be cops. After viewing a news report of a man holding up a store for a charger, Mooney identifies Ryan and calls Jessica's home. He notices the voice on the answering machine is different from that of the woman he met.

The kidnappers learns that Craig put his bag in a bank safe deposit box. One guards Jessica and Ricky, while the rest go to the bank. Ryan finds the box first and leaves with Craig's bag, but loses the lawyer's cellphone. When Ryan opens Craig's bag, Ryan finds Craig's video camera. Craig accidentally filmed LAPD Detective Ethan, Mad Dog, Dimitri, Bayback, Deason, and Jack Tanner (a friend of Mooney's) robbing and murdering drug dealers. The kidnappers are actually cops. They're dirty cops obviously.

Ryan steals the lawyer's car from the impound lot and retrieves his own cellphone. Mooney returns to the Martin residence, where Bayback injures him. He kills her and learns that she is also a cop. Back at the safe house, Mad Dog learns that Jessica has been trying to contact help and attacks her. Jessica cuts his brachial artery, and he bleeds to death. Before Jessica and Ricky can escape, Ethan's gang returns. Ryan contacts Ethan and makes a deal: the videotape in exchange for the Martin family at the Santa Monica Pier.

Tanner convinces Mooney to go to the pier to identify Ryan. Ryan disguises himself, but is inadvertently exposed by Chloe and identified by Mooney. Tanner sends Mooney away for medical attention, arrests Ryan and brings him to Ethan. Ethan destroys the videotape, and Tanner radios the order to kill the Martins, however, Mooney overhears the radio transmission. Ryan escapes, following a distraction by his friend Chad. Mooney overpowers Dimitri and handcuffs him then returns to the pier. Tanner and Ethan confront Ryan in a boathouse. Ryan knocks out Tanner. Unfortunately, Ryan is outmatched by Ethan. Ryan punches Ethan a couple of times in the stomach. Ethan tries to kill Ryan, but Mooney shows up. Ater a brief chase, Ryan notices Ethan has circled behind Mooney, and calls Ethan's cell phone. The phone's ring betrays Ethan's position, and Mooney promptly shoots him to death.

On the van, Jessica strangles Deason with her handcuff chain, then frees her husband and son. However, Deason was merely stunned, and aims his gun at them. Ryan intervenes and knocks Deason unconscious. While Ryan and Mooney are being treated by medics, Tanner is also exposed, because Ryan had copied the video recording onto his cell phone, and the Martin family is set free. Jessica finally meets Ryan, the man who risked his life to save her family. When she tells him she doesn't know how to thank him, Ryan replies that he does and half-heartedly tells her to not call him again because Ryan did a lot of illegal things including the robbery news.

Cast

Production

Cellular was filmed in Southern California, Santa Monica, Westwood, Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, and West Los Angeles.[3]

Soundtrack

Cellular (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by John Ottman
Released October 5, 2004
Genre Electronic, Stage & Screen
Length 56:52
Label La-La Land Records LLLCD 1025
John Ottman chronology
Gothika (2003) Cellular
(2004)		 Lonely Place
(2004)

The soundtrack for the movie was composed by John Ottman and released on October 5, 2004 via La-La Land Records label.[4][5]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Opening / Abduction"   3:09
2. "Going Shopping"   3:35
3. "Making A Connection"   2:20
4. "The Bait"   3:08
5. "Mooney's Curious"   1:22
6. "Freeing Ricky"   4:05
7. "School's Out"   4:23
8. "We're Going To Die"   2:11
9. "LAX"   4:21
10. "Epiphany / The Bank"   4:04
11. "The Pier"   4:10
12. "Lost Connection / Dirty Cops"   4:44
13. "Hot Porsche / Simply Biology"   3:37
14. "Police Station"   4:01
15. "Fake Out"   2:12
16. "Shoot Out"   5:42
17. "Sinnerman (Felix da Housecat's Heavenly House Mix)"   3:36

Reception

Box office

The film has had gross receipts of $32,003,620 in the U.S. and Canada and $24,419,067 in international markets for a total of $56,422,687 worldwide.

Critical response

Cellular received an approval rating of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. Entertainment Weekly called the film "pure chase-thriller excitement",[6] and Claudia Puig of USA Today called it a "well-paced action film in the vein of Speed". Roger Ebert called it "one of the year's best thrillers". [7]

Kim Basinger was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress but lost to Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill Vol. 2.

Home media and remakes

A novelization of the film was written by Pat Cadigan and released in October, 2004 by Black Flame. Cellular was released on DVD along with the VHS format on January 18, 2005. The film was released on Blu-ray on July 17, 2012.

In 2008, Hong Kong action film, and a remake of the Cellular titled as Connected was co-written, produced and directed by Benny Chan. The film stars Louis Koo, Barbie Hsu, Nick Cheung and Liu Ye.

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=Cellular.htm
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger (September 10, 2004). "Cellular". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  3. ↑ Cellular Filming Locations
  4. ↑ "John Ottman — Cellular (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  5. ↑ "Cellular (2004)". soundtrackinfo.com. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  6. ↑ Owen Gleiberman (September 8, 2004). "Cellular". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  7. ↑ Claudia Puig (September 9, 2004). "'Cellular' answers action call". USA Today. Retrieved June 2, 2014.

External links

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