‎Cellular (2004) directed by David R. Ellis • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Cellular

2004 Directed by David R. Ellis

If the signal dies so does she

A young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. She claims to have been kidnapped – and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.

Chris Evans Kim Basinger Jason Statham Jessica Biel William H. Macy Will Beinbrink Valerie Cruz Brenda Ballard Caroline Aaron Chase Bloch Chelsea Bloch Chantille Boudousque Robin Brenner Richard Burgi Paige Cannon Nikki Christian John Churchill Greg Collins Esther Mercado Eric Christian Olsen Chase Ellis Bloch Chelsea Ellis Bloch Marco DiMaio Eddie Driscoll Tagert Ellis Noah Emmerich John Ennis Eric Etebari Erin Foster Show All…

94 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Nazeer Vawda ★★½

I can believe all the stupid things the film throws at you, but the I don't believe that Nokia breaking. I call bullshit on that
Review by Steve G 💚 ★★★½ 3

There are two very clear and distinct ways you can approach a film like Cellular:-
1) You can sit back and count the million different ways it's completely stupid, pick it to pieces and damn humanity all to hell for creating it.
2) You can sit back and count the million different ways it's completely stupid and have the absolute best time.
It's a shame that David R. Ellis is no longer with us. The terrible Shark Night aside, he had shown plenty of signs as being a director with a real flair for tongue-in-cheek action thriller rubbish. It's still strange to me that he fucked up so badly with Shark Night because that should so easily have been another…
Review by Gazelle Garcia ★★★ 2

After enough time passed between rewatches it's still decently thrilling and usually amusing. Chris Evans does a fine job for what the script asks for. The humor is very stuck in the early 2000s, appropriately so. I still think the secondary plot line with William H Macy is clunky and I still appreciate how Kim Basinger's character gets to become more hands on later in the film. Jason Statham is pretty cut and paste but I think a film like this wanted the villain to be as dry and not distract from the heroes. It could have been a benefit for them to be scarier but the point of the story is the obstacles along the way and not really the big bads.
"It's a day spa, you fuck!"
Review by Logan Van Winkle ★★½

What Chris Evans does in this movie is more impressive than anything he does as Captain America.
Review by Joe ★★★½ 3

No true blue Larries left to see I'm proud to say, so I'm gonna have to turn to all the King's story and screenplay credits in his honor. This one is the former only, and as such it only has a little bit of the Cohen charm, largely drowned out by good-naturedly stupid details like Chris Evans doing his entire first scene shirtless and a minor character dressing up as a whale for little to no reason. It actually builds up a decent head of steam in the last 40 minutes or so though, after, surprise surprise, the whole cell phone gimmick has been mostly abandoned -- with the caveat that the best cell gag in the whole movie comes…
Review by Sam Doucet ★★★ 1

For a plot where a cell phone is so integral to the story, it’s clear that the filmmakers had never even used a phone before.

Recent reviews

Review by LucyLegend ★★★★

You named your kid Ricky Martin?
Review by Thejas ★★★★★

I haven't finished this yet but its perfect
edit: finished it, still perfect
Review by Flogic ★★★★

A surprisingly smart and tight script elevates this levels above other films in this genre. Really good.
Review by Crono ★★★★★

💯
It's a day spa, you FUCK.
This is one of my favourite movies. Chris Evans plays the part to perfection and I'm not exaggerating. It's funny seeing all this old technology that was new at the time. A few points:
I never realised Jason Statham is trying to do an American accent in this movie. It's awful.
The kid being named Ricky Martin is hilarious.
Its writer Chris Morgan also wrote a ton of the Fast and Furious movies which explains why this is so excellent.
With the Nokia 6600 you can view, record and transfer videos and your phone remembers the last 50 incoming calls!!
Review by Beautifulkiller ★★★½

I've told my Larry Cohen elsewhere on IMDb so I won't tell it again, but every time I see he's written a movie, I smile. I'm always rooting for him, and he's a real pro, as he proves again with his story for "Cellular," with a screenplay by Chris Morgan.
Yes, it's similar to "Phone Booth," but it's exciting and nearly drove me to cardiac arrest. In fact, I had it on rental and almost turned it off, it was making me so nervous.
Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger) is kidnapped from her home by five men who want something her husband has hidden, but she's convinced they've got the wrong family. Her husband sells real estate.
The attic she's thrown…
Review by Swampflix ★★★½

Even if this is the least interesting execution of a deliriously fun premise possible, it’s still got that Larry Cohen touch of a fully committed gimmick that could just about carry any dead weight you pile on top of it. That might explain why a movie this culturally insignificant somehow inspired international remakes in Bollywood, Tollywood, and Hong Kong. The “Drop the cellphone call and she’ll die!” premise is just that strong. Besides, it has the added lagniappe of seeing Jason Statham’s instantly detestable dickishness being employed for its full villainous potential.
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Review by Travis Vogt ★★★

Dumb as shit but actually has a surprising amount going for it:
—Very fast paced. They halfheartedly dink around with the setup for like 2 minutes before the action starts and it never really lets up
—Jason Statesman vs Cap’n America
—Hilarious in hindsight “How about this amazing technology in 2004” stuff; at one point Cap brags that his Nokia can store up to 50 phone numbers. Also his phone has video chat technology the likes of which we barely have today.
—Action mode Bill H Macy
Review by thomsky ★★

Just a mess. Its foundational premise is so dumb that every technical failure feels like they’re rubbing the mediocrity in your face. The acting was off, the music sucked, the plot was insanely unjustified and the moments that didn’t feel hammy or cliché were just fine.
Review by curious_tiana ★★★★½

Superb movie.
Chris Evans is awesome.