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The Call Reviews

Page 1 of 60
Everett J

Super Reviewer

March 25, 2013
Here's another generic thriller that isn't really anything fresh, but it's still entertaining. Halle Berry stars as a 911 operator who gets a call from a kidnapped girl(Abigail Breslin), and she tries to save her. There's a few good scenes, but it's one of those "seen it all before" type of movies. Berry does good, and Breslin is fine even though she spends most of the movie in a trunk just freaking out. I watched this at home, but I have a feeling this would play better in the theater as a "date movie", full of people. It has a good run time of around 90 minutes, and when it starts to feel long, it wraps it up. I didn't really care for the way the movie ended. The last 15 minutes didn't make a whole lot of sense, and felt like a different movie from the rest of it. Still, it's ok, worth a watch, but not much more than that.
Liam G

Super Reviewer

March 22, 2013
Surprisingly passable...then the third act begins.
Glenn G

Super Reviewer

April 7, 2013
Sometimes a filmmaking challenge is enough to sustain my interest. How to you make a film exciting which takes place almost entirely in confined spaces? CUJO, BURIED, and PHONE BOOTH are examples of these contained thrillers. THE CALL joins this list, and most of the time, it works really well. Halle Berry is Jordan, a 911 Operator, who takes a call from a kidnapped girl (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE herself, Abigail Breslin), and tries desperately to save her while redeeming a past mistake. This is pretty cookie cutter stuff here, but director Brad Anderson knows how to keep things moving.

In lesser hands, we would have grown bored right away, because the large majority of this film shows us two people talking on a phone. Anderson, however, ratchets up the tension, aided by a lean, mean script by Richard D'Ovidio , and managed to keep me on the edge of my seat through most of it. Things do run off the rails in the last act, where Halle Berry manages to ignore ALL of her considerable training and become the person audiences are guaranteed to scream such things as, "Don't go in there!" and "Girl!!!".

Additionally, there are a few too many loose ends (seriously with the inability to track the call?) and shoddy police work (if only the cops had looked around a little bit more), and I could have done without Anderson's annoying habit of freeze frames right before something excessively violent was about to happen. The editing is crisp and there isn't one ounce of fat in the film. It hits GO and GOES! Berry is appropriately tense and Breslin proves scrappy, but poor Michael Imperioli is not going to let this topple THE SOPRANOS on his resume. A big shout out to my friend, Rakefet Abergel, who shows up briefly as a fellow operator. WTG Girl!

All in all, THE CALL plays out like an exciting series pilot. Imagine if Clarice Starling from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS could solve crimes using a headset and a good GPS, et voila! It's not terribly deep or original, but it does the job.
Bradley W

Super Reviewer

April 4, 2013
The Call is a waste of time and money and reveals the old theory that new ideas are rare in Hollywood. I really tried to enjoy this film due to its interesting concept and Halle Berry, but the concept doesn't bring anything new to the table and Berry's performance is mediocre at best. I don't see why this Oscar winning actress levels herself down to a film like this, but she would not be the first one to do this. I enjoy thrillers that change the game, try new stuff that make us leave the theater and say "wow I did not see that coming." It might be perhaps because I have very high standards for films or didn't give this film enough of a chance, but when I watched this I just didn't find this quest for redemption through a phone call all that interesting. It reaches some great moments during the opening of the film, but the film slowly goes downhill from there as it plays out as predictable and slow as possible. We know how the film will turn out and the script doesn't make any attempt to twist or surprise the audience, so you pretty much get what you expect and nothing more. This was just another movie that will be forgotten within a day and won't be remembered as anything more other than a way to kill an hour and a half. Overall, don't come into this film expecting something great, but if you enjoy mindless and predictable entertainment than please be my guest.

The story follows a LAPD 9-1-1 phone operator (Halle Berry) who seeks out vengeance for the murder of a young girl after she accidentally causes her death by calling her phone and alerting the intruder in her home. When the same intruder kidnaps another girl (Abigail Breslin) she gets into action and tries to redeem herself by saving this girl.

The plot of the film is a very long description of what to do if you are a female who is kidnapped by a crazy guy, and it doesn't work. I like the idea of somebody being shown how to escape a psychopath but it really just didn't all add up on the screen. Mainly because the characters don't matter and we never really grow to care about any of them. We are given some innocent and cliché girl near the beginning of the film (played by Breslin) who is sweet and very sympathetic to many audience members, and she also has a friend with her is a bit of a handful to say the least. Than within a few minutes of introducing this character she is kidnapped and we are instantly supposed to root for her and actually care about her, and personally for me I need a little more than some boring characteristics and 3 minutes of screen time to care about who she is. Now the 9-1-1 operator must save her and that is the overall point of the film. I do not criticize the film for this but I just wish we had been given more and I felt that it just didn't deliver. Berry's character is somewhat likable but that is mainly because Berry is such a good actress, which makes me question why she chose such an odd character with her great talents. I couldn't stand the villain of the film, who was nothing more than a prime example of how a villain should not be written in a film. He was just crazy and had no other characteristics or goals that made me care about who he was or what he's done. I will admit this script provides some tense and exciting moments, but it's an overall lazy script that felt like it should've been a short film other than a full feature.

The cast has some very good talent that I believe was the main reason this received any buzz, and they can thank Berry for providing enough talent for a lazy film. Halle Berry gives an emotional performance from an imperfect character, and although she is hidden beneath a boring script I could see that she is still giving it her all in this film. At the beginning of the film I could see some brilliant acting as she looks at the horrors of her own failure, and it really impressed me that she could do so much with so little to work with. This is nothing award worthy, but it still shows me she is a brilliant actress who should not level herself to films like this. Abigail Breslin screams and cries for about 90% of this film, so it was very difficult to rate her performance since she in the trunk of a car for a long period of time. I cannot see why they needed her in the film, I mean they could've gotten any random girl off the street but instead they said "no we need to get Abigail Breslin for this." I just felt like she provided very little to a very boring character. Morris Chestnut wasn't bad, but he really didn't do much that helped enhance the movie or make it memorable. He is establishing himself as a very forgettable actor. Michael Eklund may be a good actor hidden behind a very stupid character, I mean I just couldn't believe how cliché and sad the writers must've been to give pretty much the exact same kidnapper from "Taken." Overall a pretty dull cast with the exception of Berry who is the main reason I, and others, saw this flick.

The Call isn't a movie we can enjoy or talk about, it's just a film that will be forgotten within a few months and will fall into the long history of forgotten films. It's very difficult to review a movie like this because there really is very little to talk about because the film doesn't do anything new that we haven't seen before. Without a doubt many audience members will love the film because they have very low standards and don't care that the film is predictable, but I just have high standards that must be met with a film like this. Director Brad Anderson might know what it takes to make a good thriller, but the script confines him from making any big strides and it makes his direction feel like something I could find on an episode of NCIS. I expect to be amazed when I go to the movies, but this feels just like something we could find on NBC every week. New ideas are something I love to see, and sadly we rarely see this anymore and I am forced to sit through films like this that waste my time and only entertain me every 30 minutes. It low-budget might have been the cause of this, or maybe the lack of good writers, but whatever the problem was it just didn't work well on screen. I can assure you this is not one of the worst film I have seen this year, but I will recommend that you stay away unless you want to have your money wasted.

.
Fascade F

Super Reviewer

April 4, 2013
This movie gives us some kind of insight as to what happens when a 911 phone emergency operator gets involved with a psychotic and insane homicidal maniac. Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) gets the opportunity to handle a really disturbing call, which changes the way on how she handles calls of the future because of the fatal outcome back in the past. Couple of months later the killer returns abducting young but vigilant Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) Jordan decides to not let what already happened to the last victim happen again. With her boyfriend Officer Paul Phillips (Morris Chestnut) and his partner Jake Devans (David Ortunga) try to comb the city, looking for Casey, before it is too late, Jordan decides to do the unthinkable, in this edge of your seat thriller.
Jeff B.
Jeff B.

Super Reviewer

March 19, 2013
Having not learned her lesson from a Perfect Stranger, Halle Berry shows real Monster's Balls trying to sell moviegoers on seeing a movie so ridiculously bad that it makes Catwoman look like AFI's Top 100 Greatest Movies rolled into 1. Sure, this actress has a Call-ing, but it's not for starring in wannabe faint makers so laughably piss pour that they should've skipped right to being ridiculed for laughs on Mystery Science Theater. Not only does it pull out every cliched trick in the book (no, don't render your attacker completely unconscious when opportunity knocks, just lightly bop them on the head so they can pull you back by the hair moments later). But this is the least of The Call's infractions. The movie actually switches gears mid-race, giving up on the only hint of premise, er, promise in an otherwise painful moviegoing experience.

In this R-rated thriller, veteran 911 operator Jordan (Berry) takes a life-altering call from a kidnapped teenage girl (Breslin), only to realize that she must confront a serial killer from her past to save the victim.

Oscar-winner Berry has slummed it before (BAPs, Dark Tide). Her latest vehicle, however, starts out as a Sorry, Wrong Number-style thriller about an operator who's helplessly confined her desk listening to a murderous game. Oh, it's not entertainingly tense by any stretch, but it's more interesting than what develops-a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure bout of heroism with a ludicrous 11th Hour twist. The scariest call must've been Berry signing off on this flick to her agent after reading the script.

Bottom line: Dial M For Moron.
Christopher H

Super Reviewer

March 23, 2013
For being a thriller about a 911 operator sitting in a chair, "The Call" actually builds enough suspense to keep the audience involved. Although most of the situations feel incredulous and uninspired, the overall kitsch of the story is unique enough to keep one interested. Produced by WWE Studios, as one professional wrestler as an extremely small supporting role, the film never falls off the deep end like most of their previously produced endeavors. Halle Berry comes off a tad out of place in her starring role, still the highlight of the film but never able to carry it beyond what it actually is, which is an average thriller with little to no follow through, displaying one of the worst final acts to grace the screen yet this year. Wow, how Abigail Breslin has grown up, displaying a maturity when she's not screaming incoherently or strapped, topless, to a medical chair. However horrid I was picturing this film to be, I was pleasantly surprised to find it reach the annals of "alright".
Leina R

Super Reviewer

March 29, 2013
It's like a really good lifetime movie. Stupid but a lot of fun.
Jason C

Super Reviewer

March 20, 2013
Man, talk about a near miss. It was too Hollywooded up for my liking. A different director could have made it much better. Darker. The Call kept me interested and moved along at a great pace. The ending was good also. Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin are great. This would be a good rental.
April 7, 2013
Never thought I would be saying that I just saw the latest Halle Berry movie. It seems like she's fallen off the map ever since she won the Oscar for Monsters Ball and I have to admit when I first saw the trailer for The Call, I thought two things. One, why the hell is WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) producing movies now? And two, this movie looks like the biggest cliched piece of shit and well I guess a third thing, why Halle Berry why? But alas I saw the decent reviews so when Mom wanted to check the multiplexes out this was at the top of the barrel of all the shit being released in theaters. Yes I said it, The Call was at the top of the barrel. It's brain dead, cliched, weird and overblown. Not to mention the dialogue is and was always going to be stilted, wooden and cliched. But....I give it 3 stars. Why you ask? Because the film is dripping with tension. A midst all the crap, Director Brad Anderson gives us a full blown, edge of your seat thriller with a few surprising twists and turns along the way. Does it need to be watched more than once? No. Will it be studied in film school years later? Probably not. Am I still confused that WWE produced this movie? You bet your ass I am. Not a bad popcorn flick although because of my recent diet, I couldn't partake in the salty goodness. I stand surprised, even though it is not a good movie it was fun and kept me on the edge of my seat. For that, I give it 3 stars.

Grade: B-
March 14, 2013
I was actually surprised that I liked "The Call". It had a feel throughout the whole film of tension and dilemma that I enjoyed. Seeing Abigail Breslin in a more adult role was interesting, considering I haven't seen her in anything since "Little Miss Sunshine". I honestly didn't know she even grew up. But I digress. "The Call" has a few good scares throughout it too. The only problem I had was that the ending didn't make a whole lot of sense, but that might just be my opinion.
thepersonwhowatchesmovies
thepersonwhowatchesmovies

March 22, 2013
The Call
Director: Brad Anderson
Cast: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Michael Eklund, Morris Chestnut
Rated: R
Running Time: 94 Minutes

Sometimes, I just wish that movies didn't need to construct cohesive endings to conclude themselves, and could just fade away halfway through the third act. Too often, movies set the bar for their conclusion ridiculously high with two superb opening acts, but fall apart in the last 20 minutes. Although there're some notable exceptions to the trend (most recently being Sylvester Stallone's Bullet to the Head: An aggressively mediocre action flick almost entirely redeemed by an incredible finale), in the majority of cases it's the ending which causes the majority of dilemmas for an otherwise decent feature. Rarely is there a film which has such an outstandingly abysmal opening that it detracts from what was otherwise a positive experience, while meanwhile a terrible ending can make you re-think the otherwise thorough feature which came before it. For those looking for me to use a film to justify this argument, look no further than the 2/3s thrilling Halle Berry vehicle The Call.

While the first 60 minutes are admittedly ludicrous at times ("The Hive" where the 911 operators are based feels pulled out of an episode of CSI), they at least remain a constant tension which deflects the silliness of the details and the occasional plot holes. Halle Berry stars as a troubled former 911 operator who quit her job after a mistake resulted in the death and possible rape of a young teenaged girl by a psychotic man. However, after a second female teenager, played by Abigail Breslin, finds herself trapped in the trunk of the same man's car, Berry finds the chance to redeem herself by saving Breslin's life and bringing the man to justice. The opening two acts almost entirely take place either from within The Hive or in the dingy trunk of a car: There're no action sequences, no substantial supporting characters, and the psychotic kidnapper is merely psychotic because he has to be to drive the plot. It's a successful minimalist thriller; one that brings back fond memories of Joel Schumacher's 2002 forgotten classic Phone Booth.

It isn't until the final third where director Brad Anderson leaves the minimalist structure, and has Berry venture out into the wilderness to track down Breslin. At this point, the film strains credibility because Berry, as a 911 operator, shouldn't have any experience in the field. However, this isn't the biggest flaw of the third act. Anderson wants to explain why Breslin is being kidnapped, which isn't a terrible idea in theory but flounders in execution. Rather than keeping him as the mysterious psychopath, we delve into his fairly uninteresting backstory, which takes the compellingly violent mystery man and transforms him into the stock-and-trade troubled weirdo. Worse yet, we watch as he tortures Breslin; briefly taking the former minimalist thriller and turning it into gory midnight horror for a few moments. This is a film which thrives on tension, not shocking behavior. It's disturbing, but it lacks purpose when compared to the rest of the feature. We already know this man is violent and crazy: Why show us the torture which was already implied. The final major issue with the third act is that it does away with one of the driving forces early on in the film: That Berry wants this man brought to justice. Rather than arresting him as she originally set out to do, she essentially kills him by trapping him in his torture chamber. Berry's character can't distribute vigilante justice, because the 911 operator embodies traditional justice.

I would recommend this movie to anyone looking for a good thriller; just walk out when Berry decides to leave The Hive. 60 minutes followed by mystery and curiosity is certainly better than 60 minutes followed by 30 of soul crushing disappointment.
muveekween
muveekween

March 27, 2013
Terrific performances from Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin. Lots of action,very entertaining! Would definitely recommend to watch!
March 26, 2013
Great film, keeps you in suspence, I relly like it very much. Jally Berry it's amazing in this film. I'll bet she will be nominated for her great acting.
March 24, 2013
Although The Call may be unbelievable to movie skeptics, it is an hour of refreshing thrills that is unfortunately followed by an overly disturbing and poorly paced climactic sequence. Whatever the case, it is nice to see Abigail Breslin gain some solid footing as an adult actress.
March 23, 2013
I would have given it four stars had it not been for the weird/crappy ending. It did however have some good edge of your seat moments. Halle Berry was ok, would have liked more back story on her character but I think Abigail Breslin did awesome. The guy playing the "villain" was pretty creepy as well but I would have liked more back story on him as well.
jaredlichtenberger
jaredlichtenberger

March 23, 2013
I really enjoyed this movie. Up until the ending which managed to bring down the credibility of the entire film in 5 minutes or less. Throughout the movie I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to recommend this film as a "it will surprise you with how good it is" movie, but unfortunately I haven't recommended it to anyone.
March 19, 2013
The Machinist and Session 9 director Brad Anderson really elevates this simple story into something truly awesome. It's a great thriller that could have been a masterpiece if not for it's last 10 minutes and even worse ending. That ending is so bad betrays it's themes so much it almost ruined the entire thing. It's a redemption and survival story, not a revenge thriller so its reverse Saw ending made no sense, especially the characters shifting gears like that. But still what came before that was thrilling, edge your seat entertainment; and my god was it great to see cops act like real professionals.
March 21, 2013
"The Call is a somewhat intense, smart, but predictable edgy thriller. That actually makes you cringe a little bit. Although not unique or original in any way shape or form and its insanely forgettable. For the most part its that fun guilty pleasure." .. B
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