Review of Crank (2006) by Darren P — 29 May 2011

Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), a hit man for a West Cost Crime Syndicate, wakes up with a killer headache and a message from his rival Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo) informing him that he's been hit with the "Beijing Cocktale" a poison that will soon kill him. His buddy Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam) tells him that keeping his adrenaline levels high well slow the poison....long enough for Chev to kill Verona and portect his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) from Verona's men. Thus Chev Chelios begins a one man rampage across Los Angeles in an insane attempt to set things right...

An action classic combining insane visuals, some hilarious dialogue and Jason Stathams tough guy persona to great effect. Cantillo and Yoakam dive into their respective roles head on holding nothing back, especially Cantillo who chews scenary like it going out of style. Amy Smart oozes sex appeal and plays off Statham well in what approaches a full on parody of the ditzy blonde. Efren Ramirez as a drag queen/informant and the underrated Edi Gathegi pops up as a cabbie who mistakes Statham for a crack head. Also look for a cameo by Chester Bennigton of Linkin Park. Featuring some of the most memorable scenes of the decade (Statham tearing shit up in a hospital gown, most of the scenes with Amy Smart such as the Chinatown public sex scene and the BJ during a car chase). The films greatest strength is its lack of pretense. The writer/directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have decided to entertain you and pull out all the stops, stripping the plot and character down to the bare minimum to string togther the action set pieces never allowing things to calm down to long before the next frantic burst of action. Neveldine and Taylor have their sights set squarly on the male demographic, after viewing this movie I had a strong desire to eat a steak (rare) down a mickey of Jack Daniels, and then perform some random act of maniliness (skydive, white water raft, drag race, build a house, fight the biggest bouncer I could find). Recommended.