The WWE logo is a strange thing to see before any movie, but especially one that stars a former Oscar winner like Halle Berry. Originally conceived as a vehicle for featuring its stable of wrestling stars on the big screen, WWE Studios quickly became known for producing cheap, direct-to-video action films. But with the release of “The Call” (and “Dead Man Down” the week before), it appears that the studio is starting to aim a little higher with their cinematic aspirations. Unfortunately, while the pedigree of talent is better than usual, “The Call” can’t shake the stink of mediocrity that’s present in all of WWE’s films, no matter how hard it tries.
Berry stars as Jordan Turner, a 911 dispatcher who receives a distress call from a teenage girl during a home invasion. After Jordan seemingly saves her from capture by devising a clever plan, she gives her away by redialing the number after the call is disconnected. Feeling responsible for the girl’s kidnapping and subsequent death, Jordan takes a leave of absence and returns six months later as a training supervisor, unable to resume her previous duties. While taking the newest recruits through a tour of LAPD’s base of operations, a fellow operator receives a call from a teenager named Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) who finds herself trapped in the trunk of a car after being drugged and abducted from a mall parking lot. The only problem is that her cell phone was destroyed in the process, and the TracFone she happened to have in her back pocket is untraceable. When the rookie operator proves unhelpful, Jordan jumps back into the hot seat, only to discover that Casey’s captor (Michael Eklund) is the same man from before.
