Crank

If Crank were to take itself seriously, it would be the most unpleasant movie ever. Thankfully, it's so over-the-top and so stylized that any chances of taking it seriously get immediately thrown out the window.

What you're left with is an insane action movie that overloads your senses and keeps you watching for two reasons: One is because it's legitimately entertaining, and the other is out of curiosity of just what new GTA-level insanity will it do next.

Fast. Hyper. Action-packed. Drug-induced. Insane. Crank is all these things, and extremely entertaining too. No doubt a movie made just for the guys, it's filled with guns, car chases, sex, random humor, nudity, Amy Smart, Pedro from Napolean Dynamite, sex, nudity, etc. The only thing missing were some hand-to-hand fight scenes that would have made this movie complete. Instead, we do get a nice confrontation where one person is armed with a butcher's knife... but I shan't spoil that one.

But yes, this is a live-action video game on the big-screen. Google Maps zooms into the next location Chev visits and on screen text gives you its name ala a video game's "next level" sequence. Chev's girlfriend thinks he is a video game programmer. The opening titles for "CRANK" are shown in the blocky, pixellated style of a 1980's Atari game. Chev is just trying to get to the boss at the end of the game.

And a tip for those of you yet to see it- STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS. It reinforces everything I just said.

A feature film that puts Jason Statham in the front is more or less destined to be action-packed from the beginning to the end and Crank is not an exception. At first glance the duration of 1h30min might seem as pretty standard but I experienced the film to be somewhat longer due to its high pace. Trust me, 1h30min of this roller-coaster adrenaline chase is enough and I do not mean it in a negative way - I would not like to see the flick shorter nor any longer as it is perfect as it is! Anyone who has grown a predilection for Statham's acting ought to see this one. I can imagine that fans of films such as Snatch and Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels will love this one. Noteworthy is that I perceived the pace of Crank to be somewhat higher than the pace of the other films previously mentioned. Crank brings about violence, drugs, sex and even more violence, so sensitive viewers may want to take caution. Crank is not just another film depicting fast-cut scenes of violence, however, and I believe it as a lot more to offer the cinema-goers than just stimulating their thirst for violence. The film is very original indeed and it is a good piece of contemporary challenging film since it is not flirting with all the conventions of the genre, I believe.

7/10 - well worth a try!

Wow, this is surprisingly excellent. I mean, it's crap, but it's good crap, and that's worth a lot. The premise is basically Speed meets D.O.A. (the 1950 movie starring Edward O'Brien). Jason Statham (of the Transporter movies) is a hit-man who has a lethal Chinese poison coursing through his veins. If he slows down, if his adrenaline level drops, he drops dead. In his last moments, he rushes to find his killer and others responsible, snatching as many energy drinks and drugs as he can get his hands on along the way. This is some fun stuff, and hilarious, too. The editing is the MTV-style of many modern action movies, so avoid it if you can't stand that. I hope the directors, who also wrote the script, succeed even more so in the future.

If you like brainless action flicks with insane set-pieces, great one-liners and zero character development so you don't give a rat's-ass about them, then Crank is probably the film for you. It is done originally, like a computer game where the action supersedes the plot. It keeps the film moving and the viewer entertained at the same time at the ridiculous and extreme scenarios and this is all the directors want Crank to do. Everything, including generic realism, convincing plot and background characters plays second-fiddle to the stylised action and I couldn't help but be entertained, especially at the completely unsubtle contemporary culture-clash comedy references!

6/10