Cellular

Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Kim Basinger	Jessica
Chris Evans	Ryan
William H. Macy	Mooney
Jason Statham
Noah Emmerich	Jack Tanner
Eric Christian Olsen	Chad
Jessica Biel	Chloe
Richard Burgi	Craig
Eric Etebari	Dmitri
Adam Taylor Gordon	Ricky Martin
Matt McColm	Deason
Esther Mercado	Rosario

Director	David R. Ellis
Producer	Dean Devlin; Lauren Lloyd
Writer	Larry Cohen; Christopher Morgan; Chris Morgan
Cinematography	Gary Capo
Musician	John Ottman

Just when you think it's getting silly, Cellular serves up another tantalizing twist. In the time-honored tradition of Sorry, Wrong Number and Wait Until Dark, Kim Basinger is well-cast as a resourceful damsel-in-distress who thwarts her kidnappers by connecting with a n'er-do-well cell-phone user (Chris Evans, later seen in The Fantastic Four) who races against time to rescue her from afar. One good cop (William H. Macy) assembles clues to uncover conspiracy, while first-time writer Chris Morgan and pulp-movie master Larry Cohen (who conceived the plot, similar to his own Phone Booth screenplay) serve up a consistently satisfying string of high-tension surprises. Jason Statham continues to prove his rising-star status as the film's tenacious villain, and director David Ellis (Final Destination 2) takes advantage of his experience as a veteran stunt coordinator and second-unit director, making good use of locations in his native Santa Monica, and wringing credible suspense from a deliriously far-fetched premise. --Jeff Shannon