Too many critics and pundits were too busy making fun of Halle Berry\u2019s hair instead of noticing how tight and compelling her newest movie was. The picture has a corker of a premise, with Berry playing a 9-1-1 operator who must help a kidnapped girl stuck a murderer\u2019s car trunk. It\u2019s the kind of film where the characters are smart enough to do that thing you shouted at the screen for them to do and still find themselves in danger. It\u2019s a genuinely thrilling bit of B-movie goodness that deserved its surprise box office success.<\/p>\n
While it somewhat collapses in its final reel (like Speed or Red Eye, it loses steam once it \u201cgets off the bus\u201d), the first 75 minutes or so of this \u201c9-1-1 operator must save a kidnapped girl\u2019s life by talking her to safety\u201d thriller is one of the purest \u201cbruised-forearm\u201d films I\u2019ve seen in ages. In a time when B-movies are indeed making a comeback, this may be my favorite honest-to-goodness B-movie of the year. The Call is just the kind of thing that Saturday night date nights at the movies were invented for. See it with someone you want to be a little closer to.