Cellular Details

As his horror sequel Final Destination 2 demonstrated, director David R Ellis knows how to do suspense. So it's surprising that this blackly comic action thriller is never quite as tense as it should be. The opening scenes are gripping, with science teacher and mother Kim Basinger the victim of a brutal kidnap, but her chief abductor Jason Statham is too weak a villain for us to ever believe she's in real jeopardy. Without this essential element, subsequent events are hard to swallow, as young slacker Chris Evans races to save Basinger after she randomly calls his mobile using the remains of a shattered phone. Yet, while story-writer Larry Cohen put the same “stay on the line” concept to better use in Phone Booth, here there's a plethora of car chases and shoot-outs to add to the mix. Consequently, even as the film becomes increasingly preposterous, there's enough to enjoy, not least solid turns from Basinger, Evans and the ever-reliable William H Macy.

Given that many screen victims could have been saved by handy recourse to a mobile phone, its interesting to see a... read more on Time Out