Review of Crank: High Voltage (2009) by Jeff B — 11 Apr 2011

If moviegoers have ever come out of a high-test action film bouncing off of the walls like a kid who has just freebased a whole bag of granulated sugar, than they are very aware of Crank 2's intentions: giving the audience a rush. If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, however, than where does paving with bad intentions get its filmmakers...New Jersey? Well, High Voltage's route is already stale from repeated traveling, having hosted audiences before. At least the original had a clever hook and a solid ending. Its sequel merely offers more of the same, capitalizing on the same cartoonish characters that were worn through before the opening credits even rolled. This is not to say that it is boring. Indeed, the one thing that this caffeinated brain cell killer has going for it is a short running time.

In this R-rated sequel to the supercharged comic actioner, Statham plays a hitman whose heart has been replaced with a mechanical ticker that requires regular jolts of energy to keep him on the run from a Mexican crime boss.

The movie knows its place...and its place is a video game relegated to the discount bin of the local electronics store. Crank 2 never stops running-dammit, at the very least, writer/directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor know better than to stop the momentum. It also winks at itself...constantly. The problem is that this tired and blue formula has winked itself into lazy eye, dishing out the same monkey business with a closer that reeks of yesteryear's leftovers.

Bottom Line: Low wattage.