BriarMoone
United States
[Written/Watched April 06, 2020 on Letterboxd. Expanded 1/21/2021]
Somehow, Benny Chan's "Connected", a remake of 2004's "Cellular", manages to make the David R. Ellis directed film look like a grounded and restrained action thriller. It certainly gave me a new appreciation of Chris Morgan's screenwriting (particularly his pacing and sense of humor).
As a remake it had every opportunity to really nail a more modern (for 2008) interpretation of an early 2000s film. Instead it goes with a more outlandish interpretation of the villains (that errs on the edge of trying to emulate the aesthetics of "The Matrix"), and even whacker car action. The story just didn't seem to get what made the corrupt cops remotely threatening the 2004 film (it was their mundanity).
Somehow, Benny Chan's "Connected", a remake of 2004's "Cellular", manages to make the David R. Ellis directed film look like a grounded and restrained action thriller. It certainly gave me a new appreciation of Chris Morgan's screenwriting (particularly his pacing and sense of humor).
As a remake it had every opportunity to really nail a more modern (for 2008) interpretation of an early 2000s film. Instead it goes with a more outlandish interpretation of the villains (that errs on the edge of trying to emulate the aesthetics of "The Matrix"), and even whacker car action. The story just didn't seem to get what made the corrupt cops remotely threatening the 2004 film (it was their mundanity).
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