Review of Crank: High Voltage (2009) by Patrick E — 17 Jun 2010

The original Crank was great fun, it never took itself seriously and had some great action scenes, this sequel didn't quite reach the heights of the original purely because the directors have taken it way too far. All of the action as absolutely ridiculous and the camera style will give you a headache within the first five minutes. What they did get right though is the humour, there is lots of it and some of it really is very funny.

What little plot there is revolves around the fact that Chev Chelios has his heart stolen and it is replaced with an artificial heart which he needs to keep charged. After the battery on the heart dies he must keep electrocuting himself to keep it ticking, all while he is on a man pursuit to find the culprits and get his own heart back. Surprisingly the action scenes are pretty poor, the shaky cam ensures you can see nothing that's going on and the slow motion shots are simply a style over substance method. The soundtrack is headache inducing as well as it's far too loud at times. Still I would be lying if I said it wasn't hugely entertaining as it pushes the boundaries more and more and never takes itself seriously. The action and the laughs never stop and Statham was born to play this kind of role.

The definition of style over substance with most of the style inducing sensory overload, Crank High Voltage still manages to be lots of fun if ultimately forgettable. Inevitable third installment will follow.