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Phone Booth

Play trailer 2:23 Poster for Phone Booth R Released Apr 4, 2003 1h 20m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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72% Tomatometer 187 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
A phone call can change your life, but for one man it can also end it. Set entirely within and around the confines of a New York City phone booth. "Phone Booth" follows a slick media consultant (Colin Farrell) who is trapped after being told by a caller -- a serial killer with a sniper rifle -- that he'll be shot dead if he hangs up.
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Phone Booth

Phone Booth

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Critics Consensus

Quick pacing and Farrell's performance help make Phone Booth a tense nail-biter.

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Critics Reviews

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Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal Phone Booth is thrilling on many counts... Apr 4, 2018 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media This movie doesn't make sense on any level. Rated: 2/5 Dec 27, 2010 Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com And here it is, ladies and gentleman, an entire 90-minute movie primarily set inside the cramped confines of a phone booth. Rated: 3/4 Dec 13, 2005 Full Review Savina Petkova A Good Movie To Watch Phone Booth carries over this remnant of 2000s morale with a sadistic twist, but that's not what defines it. Instead, the film is a rollicking ride that appeals to both cinephiles and entertainment-seeking viewers alike. Rated: 8.5/10 Oct 29, 2023 Full Review James Croot Stuff.co.nz Phone Booth is proof that great movies needn't numb the posterior – and action films can make you think. Rated: 4.5/5 Apr 5, 2023 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault File the following under Things I Never Dreamed I’d Say: I had a fine time with this movie directed by Joel Schumacher. Rated: B+ Sep 19, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ralph R "Phone Booth" starts off a bit slow in the first act, but it quickly picks up the pace and becomes more intense as it goes along. Colin Farrell and Forest Whitaker deliver fantastic performances that really bring the intensity to life. Kiefer Sutherland, who I know and love from 24, is chilling as the voice on the phone, adding a menacing layer even without much screen time. What’s also impressive is that the whole movie was shot in just 10 days, with two extra days for some additional shots. It’s amazing they created such a suspenseful film in such a short time. Overall, I really enjoyed it! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/20/24 Full Review Daniel B Cintas con una primicia tan original cómo “Phone Booth”, me fascinan. El crear un diálogo tan solido que no vuelva tediosa o reiterativa una narrativa que se centra únicamente en un hombre que habla por teléfono en toda su duración es brillante. Es tensa, asfixiante y con un aura de peligro brutal; gracias en su mayor parte al increíble montaje de Mark Stevens, es frenético, con muy pocos planos centrados que la vuelven incómoda de ver y con una cámara temblorosa que expresa de gran forma las emociones del personaje de Colin Farrell. Un trabajo sensacional de Joel Schumacher que nos recuerda porque es el maestro del suspenso en cintas de acción. Reinventado su cinematografía para regalarnos unos visuales innovadores, llenos de energía que ahora vemos cómo nostálgicos por ser tan marcada su edición del año en que fue estrenada. Yo creo que lo que busca representar la historia está en cómo la superficialidad ha determinado nuestra personalidad, cómo esta burda apariencia de éxito nos carcome hasta que la adoptamos cómo realidad; haciendo que olvidemos cómo con el más mínimo desliz la podemos destruir, ya que la realidad o la verdad siempre terminará golpeándonos. Por eso para mi no es casualidad que se desarrolle en NY, la cuna de este estilo de vida que hemos visto referenciada múltiples veces cómo en “American Psycho” del 2000 o más recientemente “The Wolf of Wall Street” del 2013. Cintas que nos recuerdan una y otra vez cómo esta alienación de la realidad siempre termina siendo autodestructiva cuando esta ilusión de éxito se esfuma. Yo creo que algo que marcó el cine de inicios de los 2000’s fue el cómo decidieron reinventar conceptos que ya habíamos visto cientos de veces para darle una primicia innovadora, pero sin alejarse de la crítica por la que fueron hechas. Por eso valoré tanto esta película, es un recordatorio de cómo esta historia que hemos visto reflejada en el cine prácticamente desde Chaplin puede reinventarse y crear algo que se adapte a su actualidad para un público totalmente nuevo. Tal vez no tenga el guion más pulido y varias acciones de los personajes pueden ser cuestionables, pero es imposible negar la explosividad visual tan atrapante que esta expresa. Una cinta que a más de 20 años de su estreno sigue irradiando frescura y rebeldía. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/05/24 Full Review Faiz D One of coolest thrillers I've seen. Highly recommended. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Audience Member It's too bad because I like this movie. Great actors Including Kiefer Sutherland... By the way, god bless Donald Sutherland rest in peace. I know it's only a movie but problem with this movie is by the 45th minute They have the body of the strip club bouncer and it should be pretty easy to tell that he was shot by a high caliber Rifle and not some handgun. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review Mate P Phone Booth would be a mediocre movie without the emotional acting of Colin Farrell. The story is simple. Except for the first and final 10 minutes it takes place in one phone booth. It's really hard to make an entertaining movie where everything happens in one small area. I think the creators of the movie did a fair job, but what carries the film is the actor of the protagonist. This is closest to The Whale in this regard. I think they did a fantastic job in the beginning showing us who this guy is and they made him likeable, even though he is a jerk. The antagonist says very important and truthful things, but in the end he makes a wrong decision and play god, which is incredibly obnoxious and wrong. What I don't like about the movie is that there were a few situations where he could have sold the problems, because he knew the antagonist couldn't have done anything to prevent it. This happened a few times and I was a little frustrated. I give all credit to Colin Farrell for liking Phone Booth. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/05/24 Full Review Deke P Interesting, intriguing concept movie. I forget when or where I saw it, but I remember it was pretty good thriller. Whatever happened to phone booths, anyway? Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/22/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Phone Booth

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A phone call can change your life, but for one man it can also end it. Set entirely within and around the confines of a New York City phone booth. "Phone Booth" follows a slick media consultant (Colin Farrell) who is trapped after being told by a caller -- a serial killer with a sniper rifle -- that he'll be shot dead if he hangs up.
Director
Joel Schumacher
Producer
David W. Zucker, Gil Netter
Screenwriter
Larry Cohen
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Fox 2000 Pictures, Zucker Brothers Productions, MDP Worldwide
Rating
R (Some Violence|Pervasive Language)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 4, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$46.6M
Runtime
1h 20m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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