The Chris Evans Thriller That Everyone Is Forgetting
Early in Chris Evan’s career, he starred in a 2004 action thriller called Cellular alongside Kim Basinger, Jason Statham, and William H. Macy. Though this movie couldn’t be made today due to its inaccurate portrayal of cell phone technology, it’s not without its charm, and has all of the components of a compelling thriller that will keep you invested if you’re willing to suspend some disbelief.
Cellular isn’t currently steaming anywhere as of this writing, but you can rent it on demand on platforms like Apple TV+, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video.
We didn’t know then what we know now about cell phones, and for that reason, it’s best to watch Cellular in a vacuum as if it existed in its own universe.
This Chris Evans film is very much a product of its time, and places a strong emphasis on the use of a Nokia cell phone as its main plot device. The story starts with Kim Basinger’s Jessica Kate Martin getting kidnapped by Jason Statham’s Detective Ethan Greer. She’s locked up in her attic, and her landline is destroyed, leaving her with very little options to let anybody outside of her residence know what’s going on.
Knowing that her situation is pretty much hopeless, Jessica desperately rewires the landline, and calls a random number, causing Chris Evans’ Ryan character to receive a distressed phone call. Thinking it’s a prank at first, Ryan needs some convincing before heading to the police station to verify Jessica’s claims. At this point, Ryan realizes that he’s the unlucky recipient of a phone call that’s 100 times worse than a scam about his car’s extended warranty.
Knowing that he doesn’t have a lot of time, we see a young Chris Evans race the clock as he tries to get to the bottom of the kidnapping, while making sure his phone doesn’t lose its connection with Jessica, who is trapped in her attic.
You’ll find that the the pacing, action, and suspense that this Chris Evans movie offers will allow you to enjoy it.
Operating under the suspicion that the kidnappers are going to target Jessica’s son Ricky next, Ryan heads to his school, but it’s already too late. He steals a security officer’s car, and tries to chase the kidnappers, but his phone is running out of battery life.
At this point, there’s only one logical thing to do: Chris Evans finds a gun in the stolen car, and robs a cell phone store for a charger. We mentioned suspending some disbelief, and this is one of those scenes. The store is crowded, and nobody is helping him, but he simply could have asked for the manager instead of acting in a way that could create a potential hostage situation of his own.
Now that the kidnappers are after Jessica’s husband, Craig, Ryan is caught in the middle of an epic chase between corrupt police officers, kidnappers, and is also on the run because nobody else knows what’s going on, and it just seems like he’s on a crime spree at this point.
But the use of 2004 technology gets even more ridiculous when you watch this Chris Evans film in hindsight. A crossed line causes the call to jump from Ryan’s phone to a lawyer’s phone who happens to be nearby, causing Ryan to steal his phone and hijack his car for the sake of continuity. It’s worth noting that we didn’t know then what we know now about cell phones, and for that reason, it’s best to watch Cellular in a vacuum as if it existed in its own universe.
If Chris Evans was using a Samsung Galaxy in Cellular, then we’d have to draw the line and call this movie out for being a little too fictitious for our tastes.
Cellular received mixed reviews upon its release, and currently has a 56 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Commercially speaking, this Chris Evan’s thriller earned almost $58 million at the box office against a budget of $25 million.
Some of the more scathing reviews of Cellular suggest that its use of technology not only dates it, but makes its premise unrealistic. But if you’re willing to accept the premise, you’ll find that the the pacing, action, and suspense that this Chris Evans movie offers will allow you to enjoy it. Just like so many other action movies, you need to embrace the ridiculousness, and just let it happen.
The most believable part about Cellular, however, is how indestructible Nokia cell phones were during the time this movie was produced. If Chris Evans was using a Samsung Galaxy in Cellular, then we’d have to draw the line and call this movie out for being a little too fictitious for our tastes.
Cell phone semantics aside, you’ll find yourself loving this movie because it boasts excellent chemistry between both an up-and-coming Chris Evans and Jason Statham, alongside veteran actors like William H. Macy and Kim Basinger.
