To say that Cellular is a terrible movie would be a lie, but to say it is a great movie isn't exactly the truth either.

It's basically your regular action film, similar to Speed or Phone Booth.

It's convenient that it's similar to Phone Booth (which was a terrible movie, no lie) since it is based on the story Phone Booth, by Larry Cohen.

Another movie about phones? Is this really necessary?

Well, maybe. I'm pretty sure it's necessary to make up for the box office bomb that was the first version.

The movie begins in Brentwood, Calif., aka Suburbia, with Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger) seeing her son go off to school.

Upon entering her house, she is kidnapped and taken to a different house where she is locked up and thrown in the attic, because her husband has an undisclosed object the kidnappers want.

The kidnappers break the phone in the attic, not knowing that it still has a dial tone.

Crafty Jessica figures out how to out maneuver the wires to dial a local call to a random cell phone.

Ryan, played by newcomer Chris Evans, is the recipient.

Ryan, a beach bum on his way to hand out fliers for his girlfriend (Jessica Biel) to show his newfound responsibility, has now found himself responsible for the rescue of the pleading (and rather unconvincing) Jessica Martin and her family.

Basinger may be an Oscar-winning actress, but she falls short of anything worth praising in this movie.

As Jessica pleads with Ryan to help her, he is sent on a wild chase through California to save the Martin family.

The first place he goes is the police station.

Here enters William H. Macy, who plays Sgt. Mooney, the heartbreakingly naïve and sensitive cop who is attempting to open a day spa with his wife.

His dynamic character and performance are hysterical and interesting enough to override Basinger's flat character.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Ryan and Sgt. Mooney, the cops are in on the kidnapping. Meanwhile, a fight breaks out at the station and Sgt.

Ryan takes matters into his own hands and is sent on a wild chase throughout the city to rescue the Martins.

Think The Fast and the Furious here.

Thus begins the problem with the cell phone in which Ryan's phone begins to die and he has to steal a phone charger, then steal a lawyer's cell phone when the wires get crossed and so on.

This is an interesting commentary on the cell phone culture that has developed in the past decade or so, but not many conclusions about the phenomenon can be drawn from an action movie such as this.

A cell phone might save my life some day. One thing I know for sure is that I can't live without mine.

But, I doubt it will save me from a bunch of bad cops, while I'm stuck in an attic playing MacGyver with phone wires.

All in all, Cellular is entertaining. Evans does a formidable job for his debut on the big screen and Macy is great as always. But, as far as a suspense action thriller, nothing is new or unpredictable about this film.