Review: Crank

A hit man
wakes up abruptly only to learn that he has been injected with a lethal poison
that will kill him unless he keeps up his heart rate extremely high. While doing
so, mayhem, chaos and a whole lot of whoop ass incurs on the punks that did
this. It goes without saying, he takes it personally and revenge follows. 

First off,
I have no idea were Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor came from. I mean these guys
came out of nowhere. But for first time directors, they did pretty damn great!
This movie was a great ride from start to finish. It was stylish, inventive,
didn’t hold anything back and, most importantly it was 100% pure adrenaline.
It reminded me a lot like RUNNING SCARED with Paul Walker. Jason Statham’s
character wasn’t much of big stretch from most of the roles he plays, but it
doesn’t matter cause it works for him. Ladies and gentlemen meet the new face
of action! This guy does mostly all his own stunts. When you see him holding on
for friggin life out of moving helicopter, that’s really him. You really get
the sense he’s putting 110% in this movie. I dig that.

Amy
Smart…CRACK
BOOM
this chick is a cuteypatudy! She plays Statham’s flakey/bohemian girlfriend.
Wasn’t a big role, but man, that one scene in the China town street. Wow!
Bravo Amy…bravo for having the guts to pull a scene like that off! I’m sure
there are plenty of actresses who would have never considered doing a shot like
that. (You have to go see it to know what I’m talking about.) Dwight Yoakam as
an “Underground” doctor really worked and of course Efren Ramirez ”Vote for Pedro” fame (I had to write that) character was fun as a
Party Kid thug. The villains are pretty one dimensional, but funny in a cool
way. The evolution of the adrenaline rushes really worked as it was stepping it
up a notch each time which in turn meant non-stop action! The Google satellite
and the cleverly placed split screens were a nice touch, adding a rush/cool feel
to the experience. The editing style was something I would like to see more of
with action flicks. It was very Tony Scott, in the sense how the funky lighting
colors, grainy look and the quick, well paced editing create the scenes. You can
see where the directors may have gotten their influences, but at the same time
they were able to make it their own.

I’m
still on the fence about the ending. I would like to see a sequel, just see how
they can take it to the next level with all the crazy ass stunts. I don’t know
if this movie is going to be a blockbuster, not enough marketing in my opinion.
But I’m quite confident it will be one of those cult classics that will be
appreciated later on once it goes to
DVD
and word of mouth. If you do get the chance, go see it on the big screen to get
the full experience of the film. It’s a no-brainer, action-packed flick and
most importantly, Jason Statham kick ass!! I said it once before and I’ll say
it again, “Ladies and gentlemen meet the new face of action”. 

— by Tim
Goernert (who
am I?)