Connected

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.

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.

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.

I have seen both the original and remake. It is based on Cellular. Cellular is intense and has lots of suspense. After a few years, it is remade by Chinese action director Benny Chan. His recent work, Invisible Target is quite good. Benny Chan cannot fail with fast-paced action mixed with martial arts. Connected is almost like the original, it is intense and has lots of suspense with some twists. Though, the remake is almost like the original, it is not boring. Its suspense is different from the original. I treat the original and remake differently. Both of them are of the same score.

Te story: A debt collector receives a call from a woman who is kidnapped by an unknown gang. He thinks it is a joke but soon, he realises that it is not a prank. He hands the phone over to a cop. By then, no one answers and the cop asks him to go to a police station nearby. He rushes off and try to save her and her daughter. The question is whether he can break his promise to his son and save the woman he does not know. From there, there are chaos and intense action exploding into your way. It is another of Benny Chan's good work.

Overall: If you are a fan of Benny Chan, this should not be missed. It also should not be missed for action and suspense fans. We can expect there will be more Asian remakes of Hollywood version.

DVD: I would like to get hold of the 2-disc special edition (Hong Kong version). Singapore only gets the 1 disc edition. There are English and Chinese subtitles.

A Hong Kong film. A guy is driving to the airport to meet his son, when he receives a phone call from a woman claiming she has been kidnapped and not to hang up. The guy finds himself knotted into a live crime and becoming more and more entwined speeding around Hong Kong trying to save the woman in his tie. Great action and keeps trying to get over the top like a Jackie Chan movie. Crazy action my kind of fun. Forcing this office man to break the law to get stuff done. Hilarious.