Louise Koo stars in this HK action remake of the Hollywood movie Cellular which starred Kim Basinger and Jason Statham. Koo plays a single father whose life changes when he receives a call on his mobile phone from a woman called Grace (Barbie Hsu) who is distressed and claims she has been kidnapped.
She asks for help to save her and her daughter and after deciding it isn’t a hoax and finding out the police won’t help he sets out alone to save the lives of two people he has never met.
Anyone who has seen the very good Hollywood film Cellular will obviously follow the story easily but director Benny Chan pulls some great new twists and surprises and makes an equal if not a superior movie. Louise Koo is excellent as the ordinary guy caught between saving the life of the woman on the end of a phone and the trauma of not seeing his son for the last time whom he has agreed to meet at the airport before his departure to Australia for a new life.
The action in Connected is excellent and well done and the tension builds greatly towards the climax at the airport with him not knowing who to trust. A good and satisfying thriller.
The DVD by Cine Asia is a 2 disc SE with a great anamorphic widescreen print with Dolby Digital 5.1 in Cantonese with English subtitles or English dubbed. Extras include a massive 24 extended and deleted scenes as well as the usual making of, behind the scenes and interview gallery. Recommended.
7.5 OUT OF 10
