Movies are always great proponents and detractors of mobile technology. In fact, smartphones are becoming as much a part of the plotline as the characters themselves.
Here’s a review of Jurassic World that definitely stood out for me.
The upshot is you have thousands of CGI dinosaurs terrorizing a theme park. Chaos abounds, and for some reason, cell reception fails at a strategic moment, despite the fact that most of the characters in the first half are never off their phones.
It’s interesting that even a reviewer talking about a film that stretches credibility on all technology fronts has something to say about bad cellphone reception. My favorite comment was this one about the director: “The neophyte handles things nicely, mixing tension and comic moments judiciously. One suspects Spielberg had his ear via Bluetooth, ironic given that in the movie the park has plot-advancingly horrible cellphone reception. (Honestly, couldn’t they have put some towers atop those giant animal pens?)”
Sometimes blockbusters go the other route. Case in point: San Andreas. Here’s a gal trapped in a car under a ton of concrete where in all likelihood every cell tower within miles has fallen off its moorings. Somehow she manages to place a call for help to her father (aka Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). That must have been some smartphone (or service provider). Or maybe they just had a bunch of Cel-Fi units still working under all that rubble.
Granted, the signal did cut out after she got her message through. Otherwise, I suspect the plot would have lost its way.
So let’s hear your thoughts. What’s your favourite “plot-advancing” movie mobile moment?
By Werner Sievers, CEO