Pretty Good

Excellent adaptation.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Not as useless as a lot of the reviews say. Some interesting scenes, like the sleeping zombies at the school.

I have been a Constant Reader since age 16. I love King. I love John Cusack. I love Sam Jackson. I hated this movie. I don't know how I missed this movie when it was first released, but I wish I had never watched it. Everything about it was just wrong. If you're a King fan, stay away from this one.

This movie is just awful. Not a single good thing about it. I remember being so excited when they announced a theatrical adaptation of Cell, because like it was one of his most underrated stories as well as one of the few that HADN'T been made yet. And then they threw in massive stars like Sam Jackson, John Cusack, and Stacy Keasch? But they messed it all up! This movie is absolutely nothing, NOTHING like the original story, except for the very vague plot and character names. The book was filled with mystery and thrills but nope, not this movie! I guess maybe the creators thought using the original source material was a bad idea? If that is the case then WHY EVEN MAKE A MOVIE VERSION AT ALL??? I understand changes must be made but why change everything?? This movie is not smart or scary at all, no thrills or chills, just boring. SO BORING. The actors are so bored and have the same "yeah, whatever" faces. Sam Jackson is the only character with personality, and that is because he is just playing Sam Jackson. The story is also super confusing and makes no sense. Oh and the CGI is almost as bad as Jeepers Creepers 3...yeah, that bad. It looks like it belonged in a cartoon on Nickelodeon! So yeah, bad movie. And the ending is a huge middle finger to anyone who liked the book. Just...wow...what an awful movie.

Cell (2016) was a great throwback type of horror flick. Entrenched in zombie visuals, add some King macro-universe building and mixed up enough so that typical 'virus outbreak' elements feel comfortably familiar. Picture a mix between I am Legend (or the original Omega Man), The Happening, and Dawn of the Dead. With that image in mind, you have a good representation of the film you're going into. If you have an hour and a half of time and want some good run-away-from-the-horde imagery, this should hit those buttons. As of 2017, the reviews on this movie were surprisingly negative, and I'm not entirely sure why.*MINOR SPOILER ZONE* Contains ravenous 28 days later zombies mixed with I Am Legend style bipeds. Classic Stephen King dialogue & story.PLOT- Cell, based on Stephen King's novel, and a screenplay which he contributed on, opens with a mass event wherein every cell phone owner receives a call at the same time that turns them into ferocious drones. Graphic artist, Clayton Riddell, is at an airport when the event takes place, wanting to see his son who is X-miles away.**MAJOR SPOILER FROM HERE DOWN** The action brings us to meet our core actors within the first 20-30 minutes. The dialogue feels well paced, and there's some classic hokey banter between Samuel Jackson (Tom) & John Cusack (Clay). Isabelle Fuhrman is perfect in bringing some of Alice's personality from the page.Once the film establishes its main cast, the movie can get rolling with its ties to the post-apocalypse event. There's a lot of travelling on foot between towns with barren New England-esque visuals.From here, if you haven't read the novel prior to this review or seeing the film, the plot starts gaining momentum as Clay searches for his family, Tom & Alice know they're better as a group so they tag along. Plus, everyone seems chummy so there's really no motivation the gang to split up. The on-screen chemistry is great between the main trio.They encounter other survivors, each mini-plot had a generally effective setup and pay off.The end has a little bit of a gut punch; at least it did for me. In fact, the movie did a good job of making you wonder how things were going to line up with the novel.THOUGHTS- The feeling of hopelessness, which I find important for making an effectively spooky zombie/apocalypse film, is all over this movie. The characters do the best they can with the situation, but they're still human characters. And mass murder/killing loved ones has repercussions.The script and source material shine through in all of the right ways, and the actors genuinely seem involved in the production.The ending felt like it was giving reference to a more cosmic/macabre style ending that The Mist story had. I would be interested to hear the author's thoughts on changing the climax in the way that they did.There are one or two other side characters that could have been given more depth, but I feel like they may have run low on time & budget.