I wasn’t sure what to write until an hour after I saw a morning screening of The Cell, so I’ll give you what I concluded as I had a conversation with a friend while we worked out:
Friend: You saw The Cell? How was it?
Me: It was pretty messed up, but it was cool.
Friend: Messed up? With Jennifer Lopez in it?
Me: Yeah. I was surprised, she was pretty good.
Friend: Dude, she’s hot. Did they have her naked in it?
Me: No. Don’t be stupid, but they showed some of that billion-dollar butt. I think it was just to sucker you in the beginning, but I actually forgot about that pretty quickly.
Friend: Yeah, right.
Me: Serious. The film was a trip in more ways than one.
Friend: I just want to see her. Who cares if the movie is good?
I’m sure that’s what they were hoping would be the male consensus when casting the sexy Jennifer Lopez. They hoped they could rope males in by dangling her in front of your face. I’m telling you, the ploy will work, but in the end it all comes down to the big picture. And from where I was sitting, the big picture was entertaining. Lopez isn’t the greatest actress in the world, but for this script she was right.
Aside from the eye candy, there was Vince Vaughn, who I think completely rocks, going about it as dry as you’d expect from an FBI agent. Even though Vaughn has had better characters, he’s still found a decent one here as Peter Novak. I also liked the menacing Vincent D’Onofrio who plays the serial killer Carl Stargher. D’Onofrio sure looks the part of someone seriously disturbed.
I got the feeling halfway through that this was an overdone copycat of Silence Of The Lambs. Of course, New Line Cinema would want you to know that there are some differences, mostly technological. The film boils down to a glass-encased chamber used by Stargher to drown his female victims. The FBI finds the killer, but I don’t want to give too much away. Jennifer Lopez plays the part of Catherine Deane, a child therapist who is part of a neurological research study for a pharmaceutical company. Here they use breakthrough technology to enter into the mind of a catatonic young boy, hoping to bring him back to his loving parents. I think you can figure out where all of this is going, and if not, it’ll leave much more suspense, perhaps more than the movie trailers.
I have to admit that the film was either overdone or underdone. I mean, the production occasionally seems thrown together, but other times it feels obsessed over, like a bride before her wedding. It seems that Tarsem Duamdwar had his work cut out for him in directing this film. I think his pants might have been just a bit too tight since he seemed unsure about whether to make this film scary or sexy. I happen to think it isn’t safe to have both, especially with a film as dark, disturbing, and often intense as The Cell is. The visual effects were the most exciting part of the film. It’s as much Pink Floyd in its chaos as it is dark like any Marilyn Manson video. The cohesion seems intact, but a bit sticky around the edges.
As a critic, I could say a lot and rip it to pieces from the script down to the obvious misses. But there are many good films that are transparent one way or the other even though they keep us entertained. I think that has to count for something. As a film lover, I’m going to say the film was damn good. I never once gave thought to anything but the film while watching. I thought about figuring out the next step. There is still something to be said for getting your money’s worth and for taking a viewer away for almost two hours. I’d say it did the job.
+ charlie craine
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