A blisteringly good advert for Nokia, not that it did them any good in the long run.

The early 2000s were a curious time for action thrillers, with studios still convinced that standalone high-concept, mid-budget action films could turn a tidy profit without the need for franchise commitments or complicated connected cinematic universes. Cellular is a prime example – leaning into its pulpy premise with just enough conviction to keep the momentum going. It’s not a film that lingers in the memory for its depth, but it does manage to take a simple, almost gimmicky idea and spin it into a surprisingly engaging ride. It’s also something of a time capsule movie because there’s a very specific window of time where this movie can take place. A little earlier or a little later and the plot falls apart.

The premise is efficiently lean: Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger), a kidnapped high school science teacher, manages to repair a shattered landline just enough to dial a random number – one that connects her to Ryan (Chris Evans), an aimless twenty-something cruising around Los Angeles. What follows is a frantic race to keep the call connected, piece together the mystery, and, ultimately, save Jessica from her captors. The entire film hinges on a single, tenuous phone connection, a concept that would be obsolete in a world of ubiquitous messaging apps, cloud backups, and GPS tracking. Back in 2004 the technology was just good enough to enable the plot but still limited enough to support the necessary peril.

Chris Evans, still more than half a decade from picking up a shield and weilding it to full movie-star status, makes for a compellingly scrappy lead. He’s not the grizzled, tactical action hero we might expect today, but rather a believable, slightly hapless everyman suddenly thrust into a life-or-death situation. Evans plays Ryan with an appealing mix of charm, frustration, and just enough bravado to make his increasingly absurd actions feel at least semi-plausible. It’s a performance that hints at the charisma that would later carry him through bigger, bolder roles, even if Cellular doesn’t quite ask him to do much beyond looking panicked and run a lot.

The supporting cast is a curious mix for a potboiler like this. Kim Basinger, still basking in the afterglow of an Oscar win for L.A. Confidential, sells the terror well enough to make her largely phone-bound role work, though she’s never given much to do beyond pleading for help. Jason Statham, meanwhile, is still paying his dues as a villainous heavy, just ahead of the Transporter 2/ Crank one-two punch that would set him on his way to action hero icon. William H Macy, on the other hand, plays a weary LAPD officer with a sideline in organic skincare, adding a dash of quirky unpredictability to proceedings. There’s even a bit part for rising star Jessica Biel.

Director David R Ellis, best known for Final Destination 2 and later Snakes on a Plane, keeps things moving at a breakneck pace, wisely never allowing the audience too much time to question the film’s internal logic. There’s a looseness to the action that feels refreshingly unpolished – car chases and foot pursuits that seem just chaotic enough to be real rather than overly choreographed ballets of destruction. It helps that Evans’ character is no seasoned professional, meaning his every attempt to play the hero is messy, improvisational, and often quite funny.

While Cellular is undeniably entertaining, it’s also very much a product of its time, both in its technology and its slightly disposable storytelling. The script, co-written by Phone Booth’s Larry Cohen, sets up an intriguing high-stakes scenario but doesn’t quite land a satisfying conclusion, wrapping up in a way that feels a little too neat for all the chaos that preceded it. Still, for a film built almost entirely around a guy trying not to lose a phone signal, it manages to be more engaging than it has any right to be.

These days, Cellular is mostly remembered as a minor stepping stone in Evans’ career, a lower rung on the ladder before he properly hit the big leagues. But in its own way, it remains a snapshot of an era when action thrillers could be this breezy, this silly, and still feel like a worthwhile night at the movies.