Connected

I do not usually watch HK movies due to it being filled with low quality commercial craps banking on famous celebrities.

However, I was interested in this movie after seeing Barbie Hsu getting a nomination as Best Actress in HK film awards and knowing that it is based on Hollywood version "Cellular". I knew, I have to watch it.

To my expectation, this movie did not disappoint. The directing and acting is pretty solid and Barbie Hsu does deserve the nomination. This one have more action than Cellular and to those who can relate to the HK culture of this movie will find this better than Cellular. There are movie subplots in this one than in Cellular which adds up a little more plot holes (or rather cheesy parts) but for the better.

I also like the fact that the director decided to go with multilingual where some of the actors are allowed to speak their native tongue of Mandarin as to doing voice-over of Cantonese. It made the whole movie much more believable and watchable. The only part I really dislike is the voice-over for Louis Koo which was badly done and clearly is not his voice.

Overall, this is one of the better movie I have watched from HongKong for a long long time. I cannot remember watching any action movie as good as this that does not sacrifice good acting and storyline.

When it comes to the idea of remaking foreign movies, most people on these shores tend to think of Hollywood studios remaking non-American movies. But in actual fact, sometimes it's foreign studios that remake Hollywood movies, and the Hong Kong movie "Connected" is a remake of the Hollywood movie "Cellular". I have seen the original "Cellular", and I remember it being okay. This foreign remake gets the same grade from me. Its strengths include there being a lot of exciting action and suspenseful moments, and also that there certainly aren't any boring sections. And the makers did not follow the original Hollywood movie down to the letter, giving this remake some fresh elements. However, the script does have some flaws, among them being that some twists are pretty predictable, and also the fact that the characters could have ended the conflict much earlier had they just used a little more intelligence. There are also some goofy comic relief touches that while may play well to an Asian audience, may seem strange and off-putting to western audiences. Also, while the movie never looks seriously cheap, it's obvious the budget was more limited than the Hollywood original, leading to some obvious corners being cut. So the movie is not a masterpiece... but it's also not bad. If you liked the original movie enough that the idea of seeing a foreign perspective of the same story sounds interesting, give this remake a look.

The movie often strains credulity even for a formula action film, especially during the early protracted, wacky car chase. And the continuity editor often dropped the ball. Still, the actors are well cast and work hard; the plot is often gripping, and the ending is satisfying. It's a good Sunday afternoon popcorn ride from the sofa.

More suspenseful Better Casting in terms of the victim & the underdog savior Like many Korean films I've noticed a tendency to drag out a bit For a suspenseful action film I normally give a good one an 8 I'd give cellular a 6.

Benny did a good job. The 'hero' did his role as a regular working guy who got THAT phone call. The guns should have ran out of ammo at the airport shoot-out many times but no one reloaded. The Interpol leader was not good though, overacting his meanness to silliness to ridiculous. In CELLULAR, I like Jason S. better as the lead bad guy and, of course, Macy stood out in his role.