Close call between plausible and absurd

Action thrillers are fun when filmmakers teeter at the edge of implausibility -- without slipping over it. If “Collateral” is an excellent example of how to go right up to the brink with finesse, “Cellular” illustrates what happens when a viable premise is spoiled by sheer preposterousness. The movie strains to divert audiences but short-changes them instead.

Written by Chris Morgan from a story by shrewd veteran Larry Cohen and directed by David R. Ellis with more attention to energy and impact than credibility, “Cellular” is cleverly set up. High school science teacher Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger) sees her small son (Adam Taylor Gordon) off to his private school on a bus, goes into her large and handsome Brentwood home to talk to her housekeeper when five armed men burst through a door, shoot the housekeeper and kidnap Jessica, locking her in the attic of an isolated hillside Craftsman cottage somewhere in Los Angeles.

Conveniently -- and improbable but not impossible -- there’s a wall phone in the attic that the brutal lead kidnapper (Jason Statham) promptly smashes. But once Jessica is left alone she notices it still has a dial tone and scrambles to connect wires. She randomly connects to a cellphone belonging to Ryan (Chris Evans), who’s a cocky guy of about 20.

Jessica has a hard time getting him to take her seriously, but when she succeeds he’s smart enough and cares enough to realize that he’s got about 10 seconds to grow up and start trying to save the life not only of Jessica but also those of her son and real estate agent husband (Richard Burgi).

Jessica has no idea of why she has been kidnapped, and it turns out the reason and the identity of her kidnappers are entirely credible.

“Cellular” is pretty ingenious in sustaining the high adventure and danger that Ryan is plunged into, but the effect is spoiled by a series of car chases that play like the obvious virtuoso displays of Hollywood stunt work they are instead of resembling anything like reality.

And when Ryan hits glitches in the course of his desperate mission he picks up the threads far too easily.

Cohen’s ability to draw characters with a few deft and sometimes humorous strokes is one of the movie’s pluses.

Basinger and Evans throw themselves into their demanding roles, and William H. Macy is a delight as a veteran police sergeant seriously underestimated by his colleagues, who regard him as something of a milquetoast.

“Cellular” boasts a raft of carefully chosen actors, most notably Noah Emmerich and especially Rick Hoffman, hilarious as the most obnoxious attorney in the entire county of Los Angeles.

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‘Cellular’

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MPAA rating: PG-13 for violence, terror situations, language and sexual references

Times guidelines: Too intense and violent for children

Kim Basinger...Jessica Martin

Chris Evans...Ryan

William H. Macy... Sgt. Mooney

Jason Statham...Ethan

Noah Emmerich...Jack Tanner

A New Line Cinema presentation of an Electric Entertainment production. Director David. R. Ellis. Producers Dean Devlin, Lauren Lloyd. Executive producers Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Keith Goldberg. Screenplay by Chris Morgan; from a story by Larry Cohen. Cinematographer Gary Capo. Editor Eric Sears. Stunt coordinator Freddie Hice. Music John Ottman. Costumes Christopher Lawrence. Production designer Jaymes Hinkle. Art director Domenic Silvestri. Set decorator Robert Gould. Set designer James Bayliss. Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes.

In general release.