This only fuels Clay’s desire to get to Sharon’s New Hampshire address once he realizes the pulse is a nationwide event.Įscaping into Boston’s subway system, Clay meets up with train conductor Tom (Jackson), forming an alliance that grows into a doomed yet compelling friendship. Unfortunately, Clay was speaking to his wife, Sharon ( Clark Sarullo) on her cell phone.
When people start killing each other, Clay is on a pay phone that is as reminiscently old school as this film’s pacing. “Cell” calls these people "phoners." Caught in the ensuing phoner carnage is Cusack’s Clay, whose cell phone battery goes kaput just before the pulse hits. These people aren’t zombies, as they’re not dead, but they have all the familiar cinematic characteristics of fast-moving zombies. A mysterious pulse suddenly turns every traveler using a cell phone into a raging, violent lunatic. Hell chooses Logan Airport for its coming out party. Cusack wears the weight of his character, Clay’s divorce on his shoulders in every frame his emotional, desperate attempts to reunite with his ex-wife and son drive the narrative once all hell breaks loose. Jackson is particularly effective, going the subdued route when larger-than-life Jackson would have been, in this case, completely understandable.
Jackson for their second King feature together (after the superb “1408”), and both turn in good performances. “Cell” reunites John Cusack with Samuel L. It’s cursed with some really cheap CGI, but blessed with actors who are game for, and respect, the material. With a bigger budget and a longer runtime, “Cell” could easily have been elevated above its current station as a worthy 2 AM viewing on cable-not that there’s anything wrong with that. “Cell” appears to play fast and loose with its phone-based affliction, something that might have been cleared up had “Cell” gone the mini-series route like King’s prior novels “Under the Dome” and "11-22-63." Couple this confusion with an unsatisfying, ambiguous ending, and one can see why, despite featuring A-list stars, “Cell” sat on the shelf for two years before getting a limited release. Anyone walking in blind may experience something akin to the temporary, frustrating loss of phone service when one drives through a tunnel. Those familiar with the book will be able to fill in the blanks. Far more problematic is the film’s occasional lack of storytelling clarity.
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