REVIEW: Crank 2: High Voltage

Written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor;

Starring: Jason Statham (Chev Chelios), Amy Smart (Eve), Clifton Collins Jr. (El Huron), Efren Ramirez (Venus), Ling Bai (Ria), Reno Wilson (Orlando), Joseph Julian Soria (Chico) and Dwight Yoakam (Doc Miles).

In the 2006 action hit Crank, hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) spent twenty-four energetic: fighting, killing, having public sex and keeping his adrenaline flowing at full-force to combat a deadly poison injected into his body. It was a fast paced and experimental film, which went away from the norm of everyday action flicks to go on to be a hit.

Picking up immediately where the first movie left off, Crank High Voltage informs us that instead of being a pancake on the streets of Los Angeles after plummeting from a 1000 mile high helicopter, Chev survives only to be kidnapped by a mysterious Chinese mobster. Three months later, Chev wakes up to discover his much sought after strong heart has been surgically removed and replaced with a temporary battery-operated ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity in order to work.

After an easy escape from his captors, Chev is on the run again, this time from the charismatic Mexican gang boss El Huron (Clifton Collins, Jr.), and the Chinese Triads, headed by the dangerous 100 year-old elder Poon Dong (David Carradine). He once again turns to Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam) for medical advice to guide him through this ordeal and to keep him alive.

Verdict:

If you are interested in going to see this film, a word of advice my friend, prepare to be very tired. Not tired as in sleepy, but tired as in physically. You’ll be tired from cringing at scenes containing gratuitous self harm scenes where Chev does anything to stay alive, you’ll have tired eyes from trying to follow the action and constant running in the film and no doubt your heart itself will be tired from getting all pumped up, as the film will make anyone get all hyped up when watching it.

Phew..... tired just thinking abot the film lol

If you saw the first one, you’ll know the score. It’s basically the same concept. Someone does something to Chev which means he needs to go on the run to find someone and do anything to stay alive long enough to find the guy.

There are differences as you may have guessed though, instead of adrenaline he needs electricity. The film goes OTT with this idea and whereas a normal every day guy would be a shivering wreak or dead after going near a high voltage-danger of death-no coming back electricity box, Chev just seems to be charged up by it... I didn’t buy it. It just seemed like a mindless action, sex, swearing and running kinda film that a mindless person would enjoy, but being one with a brain, I found some scenes too far fetched and way over the top.

For instance Chev chases down this Mexican dude with a box supposedly containing Chev’s heart. He corners him at a electricity plant thingy. After Chev opens up a extremely high voltage box and sticks his hands into it gripping the coils and charging his heart, the director found it suitable to put a Godzilla type fight into the film, not with monsters however, but with a giant Chev and a giant guy throwing each other about into pylons and buildings. If that wasn’t a result of a drug session at the directors pad, then I don’t know what is. Oh and I have to mention the scene where Chev is grinding against a pensioner.... *shudders*. Not nice to see, neither was the horses dong.... uncalled for.

The supporting actors/actresses are really annoying. There is a character called Ria who is the definition of annoying, irritating and you feel like slapping her just for being in the film. Then there’s venus who has physical tourettes, whose acting is just really cheesy and badly done. Amy Smarts character made a welcomed reappearance, but was only in the film for all of 5 minutes and then disappeared, probably unable to keep up with the fast paced action after a public sex session at a horse racing track.

Overall, the films worth a watch for adrenaline junkies who like a mindless action film containing drugs, sex and action galore. I prefer Statham’s Transporter films to these ones however and if there is a third in the series (which the film leaves open ending for)..... I probably will watch it for kicks, but my heart will be with the Transporter line of films...

3/5 - reasonably good, but too OTT.