Publications
Partners
What it's about:
Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), who died after falling out of a helicopter in the first Crank, is revived so that ancient crime lord, Poon Dong (David Carradine), can steal his super strong heart. This is replaced with an artificial heart with a tiny battery pack that requires hourly electrical charges to keep going. The result is another fast and ridiculous series of scenes in which Chev has to recharge himself in any way possible while he tracks down his real heart.
What we thought:
There are action movies and action movies, if you know what I mean. The first sort are those by-the-numbers movies with a few hard men, some explosions, and a couple of clever one-liners (if the script writers could be bothered). The latter kind are action movies with a capital A – the sort of thrill ride that's so relentlessly over the top, crazy, and entertaining that you don’t get a second to think. Those are my sort of action movies, and lucky for us all, Crank: High Voltage hits all the right spots.
Pretty much identical to its predecessor in every way, there is little story to speak of, and once again we get a collection of scenes ranging from revolting to hilarious as Chev chases the man who stole his heart. Instead of keeping his heart rate up like last time, he now has to shock himself to power his artificial heart.
The craziness ranges from the expected fist fights and shoot outs to an even more ludicrous public sex scene with his long suffering girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart), in order to generate electricity by friction. How this would involve changing positions every 30 seconds, I can’t say, but like last time, it is bloody funny. Ever seen a man shocking his tongue with a tazer during a high speed car chase while two almost-naked women get it off on the back seat? This is the madness I'm talking about.
As well as the reliably pissed off looking Jason Statham, there is a fine supporting cast. Amy Smart gets topless again, Efren Ramirez plays an effeminate Latino, and Dwight Yoakam reprises his role as the Hunter S. Thompson-like loon. There are also a load of star cameos, from 'Ginger Spice' Geri Halliwell to Maynard James Keenen from the band Tool.
I am loath to give such a creatively bankrupt movie three stars, but it is just so much fun. It is way better made and more entertaining than 80% of action movies, and it speaks directly to my inner twelve-year-old. If you enjoyed the first one, this is a guilty pleasure I would certainly recommend.
