The Call

The Call kept my interest and had everyone wanting to scream at the screen and tell the characters what to do and urge them along. The characters would alternate between overcoming their emotions and rising to the challenge and falling prey to them at just the wrong moment. There was a constant sense of tension during the 911 call and the walk through of getting the girl to safety. Be prepared to feel that adrenaline and tension for longer than your body is normally used to. You may feel just as drained after a call as a 911 operator does...

I really enjoyed the level of detail the film makers put into showing us the world of a 911 operator and what they go through on a day to day basis. It's pretty fascinating. I know I could never do that kind of job. That kind of stress day in and day out has to wear on a person and probably often hardens them.

The ending involves a twist I wasn't expecting, and gains my respect for that, but it was still somewhat disappointing because I wanted it to go further. Those who have seen the movie will know what I mean.

If you found yourself at all interested in the trailer go see this movie! You'll like it!

The movie started off strong with a great premise, great characters, and a great story. It was all extremely tense and clever. The character was also extremly sympathetic and well developed. It was actually one of the best thrillers I've ever seen and with such a high concept idea. But the third act- it was awful. I have no idea what the writers were thinking. It went from a perfectly good thriller to a cliche gore fest. The third act completely made no sense, erased all previous characters and their development, and dragged on for way too long. The longer it went on the more I hated the entire story arc. Seriously, it gets more ridiculous and ridiculous by the second- as id it was written by two different people. The final line in the movie is so cringey and awful as well. I would have preferred just "the Hive" setting for the entire film. What a disappointment.

"The Call" is a tidy little thriller, modeled, in large part, on the movie "Speed." Halle Berry plays the Southern California 911 dispatcher who's in a race against the clock to rescue a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) locked in the trunk of a serial killer (Michael Eklund).

Director Brad Anderson keeps the action going at a breakneck pace, providing pulse-pounding, edge-of-the-seat suspense that helps us to overlook the stray inconsistency and implausibility that wander into the narrative, particularly towards the end (the movie doesn't entirely escape the Third Act curse common to the genre). There's also an unfortunate tendency towards the sadistic that spoils some of the fun.

The really distinctive feature is that writer Richard D'Ovidio has made Jordan, the dispatcher, a compelling, easily identifiable figure by emphasizing not only her strength and craftiness but her insecurity and self-doubt as she does her best to assist people in making it through sometimes unimaginable crises.

The movie is a bit overwrought at times (again, looking at you, last half hour) and it ultimately succumbs to too many serial-killer clichés, but "The Call" is a whole lot better than many of the more highly publicized, big-budget thrillers of recent times.

The Call is good solid entertainment for the first 2 acts. Until the girl is taken out of the car and into the basement, it all goes to hell. The ending makes no sense for the characters and makes me wish that I had left as soon as the hour mark hit, so I could make up my own ending. That way I wouldn't have to sit through ridiculous plot twists and generic meltdowns. Halle Berry was good but her performance in Cloud Atlas was so much better, and that is probably do to the writing and direction. Brad Anderson isn't talentless and perhaps his next film will be an improvement. But the final act just screws this movie up so much. Overall I like the film to the lowest rating I can go and still go positive but the film doesn't deserve anything higher than a 5.5/10

The first half of the film I'd genuinely give a 10/10, the second half would be more a 6/10.

The first forty five minutes had me utterly gripped and on the edge of my seat, it was exactly what you want from a thriller. The second half becomes a more bog standard thriller, dare I say it, it becomes somewhat silly, the ending is too much.

Berry is terrific, I am such a fan of hers, sadly her character transforms into something a little silly. The villain is rather good, I only wish we got to learn a little of his motivation, sadly they didn't explore it.

It's watchable. 8/10