Cellular: Difference between revisions

''I just answered my phone.'' }}

 

 

Middle school biology teacher Jessica Martin (Basinger) is kidnapped by Ethan (Statham), who is after her family for unexplained reasons. He and his gang lock her in an attic where he smashes the landline phone to avoid her calling out. She manages to jury rig the phone to be able to dial out again-- but the rotary dial is destroyed, she can only tap out the numbers. Dialing blindly, she manages to connect with Ryan's (Evans) cellular phone. Ryan is an irresponsible commitment phobic trying to hook back up with an ex-girlfriend, he refuses to believe Jessica and thinks she's prank calling, but she pleads that if he hangs up she may not be able to reach anyone else at all. So he decides to [[Good Samaritan|believe her]] and take his phone to the police where they can decide if she's serious or not. Midway up the precinct's stairwell, he starts losing reception just as Ethan returns and starts hurting Jessica to find out where "it" is and where her husband is, and tells her he's going after her son. With no question of her and her son being in danger, Ryan undertakes a harrowing chase across the city to try to protect her son, discover why (and where) she's been kidnapped and avoid dying along the way.

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Action Survivor]]: Ryan and Jessica. The former for managing to run, drive and dive across L.A. and live, the latter for {{spoiler|killing a man with ''Biology!'', choking another, and saving her family in the process.}}

* [[Apologetic Attacker]]: Twice. The first time Ryan apologized for holding up a Cell Phone store with a gun to steal a phone charger... though he ''did'' pay for it. Later mixed with [[Explaining Your Power to the Enemy]]. {{spoiler|Jessica apologizes to a thug after killing him through a single cut below on his arm.}} See Chekhov's Skill below.

* [[Running Gag]]: Everyone keeps on calling Mooney's post career business a beauty salon. The final time ends in the [[Precision F-Strike]] mentioned above.

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: To ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'', also written by [[Larry Cohen]]. That film's intentionally limited setting and claustrophobia was inverted by this film's wide-ranging action and motion.

* [[This Is for Emphasis, Bitch]]: The thug that {{spoiler|Jessica kills}} manages to do nothing but choke up until his last moments when he looks up and chokes out, "... bitch".

* [[Title Drop]]: The name of the cellphone store Ryan "robs" is named Cellular.