"One Of The Year's Best Thrillers": Roger Ebert Was Really Impressed With Chris Evans' 2004 Action Movie

Long before Chris Evans became an icon in the MCU, he earned praise in an underrated thriller. While he had previous success in Hollywood, Evans' role as Captain America in the MCU launched him to another level of fame. He became one of the faces of the cinematic universe before retiring the character in Avengers: Endgame. اضافة اعلان

Since then, Evans has been trying to take roles that move away from the stoic hero. His spoiled villain role in the cast of Knives Out and his recent rom-com success in The Materialists earned him strong reviews. However, there were some early roles that already gave hints of the kind of success Chris Evans' career would deliver.



Coming off his memorable comedic turn in the spoof movie Not Another Teen Movie, Cellular provided a more serious role for Chris Evans. Evans starred as Ryan, a young man who gets a call from a kidnapped woman (Kim Basinger) looking for help, turning him into her unlikely hero.
The thriller was a change of pace for the actor, and it ended up receiving mixed reviews, earning 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, earned especially high praise from legendary film critic Roger Ebert, who called it "one of the year's best thrillers." Ebert even pointed to Evans's performance as a "star-making" role (via RogerEbert.com).
Though not all reviews were as kind, the praise from Ebert goes a long way in legitimizing a thriller like this. Cellular was a decent box office success, earning $57 million on a budget of $25 million (via Box Office Mojo). The success was a career boost for Evans, being cast as Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four the following year.
In Roger Ebert's review of Cellular, he highlighted that the movie has a gimmicky setup, but it works because it is intelligent in how it's used. The film kicks off the intrigue by putting Kim Basinger's kidnapped Jessica in a situation where she can only make one call and doesn't know who it is going to, randomly connecting with Ryan.
Ryan is already established as a guy who is not one to step up at a crucial time, but he is also not willing to ignore this woman in need. Thus, this reluctant and underqualified hero is thrust into a situation in which he gradually proves himself to be capable of more than he and everyone else thought.
It is a solid setup of characters and premise that impressively manages to keep it exciting and smart throughout. Each time it seems like there would be an easy solution for Ryan, a new complication arises that throws him further into trouble. Likewise, it is fun to see him having to problem-solve with each new obstacle.
The cast supporting Evans is also solid, bringing interesting layers to the movie. Basinger is essential as the victim, but she gets moments to be a hero herself. Jason Statham gets a great villain to play, and William H. Macy has fun as a mild-mannered cop dragged into the mess. Suits actor Rick Hoffman also has a small scene-stealing role.Cellular is not a perfect movie, but it is a fast-paced thriller that delivers on its fun idea. It is also entertaining to see Chris Evans in a smaller film than fans are used to, yet still giving fans a great hero to root for.