A Shocking Sequel! (Crank 2 - High Voltage (Blu-ray))

Member Name: thedevilinme

Product:	Crank 2 - High Voltage (Blu-ray)
Date:	14/10/09 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Silly boys fun

Disadvantages: Samey

Starring: Jason Statham
Genre: Tongue-in-cheek violent action
Rated 'R'
Run Time: 96 minutes
Imdb.com scores it 6.6 out of 10.0 (23,908 votes)
Blue-Ray: much more colourful. Cant see any point in renting that option here
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So 'Crank', a crazy, whacky and deliciously violent tongue-in-cheek offering from Jason Statham, his Cockney hit man abroad a delightfully silly experience, shooting up Los Angeles as if he was remaking Reservoir Dogs all on his tod. At the end of the original 'Crank', alas, our Jase fell out of a helicopter with a Korean mobster some 5000 ft above Santa Monica without a parachute; director Mark Devildine obviously thinking this one would disappear without a trace and so no open ending required. Statham, though, has a cult following and Crank generated a decent DVD return, so the sequel inevitable, Hollywood magic and a solid bounce allowing his rather unexpected survival.

The Crank angle was that Statham's character, the obtusely named Chez Chelios, presumably half Mexican to get the Hispanics renting this under false pretences, had been injected with a synthetic drug by gangsters that will kill him if his heart rate drops below a certain speed, meaning he has to keep the adrenaline racing by what ever means possible to stay alive and so get the antidote, a seriously manic movie and premise. The more observant of you will have spotted what will keep him alive this time around, 'Crank 2: High Voltage', a big clue...

-The Cast-

Jason Statham ... Chev Chelios
Amy Smart ... Eve Lydon
Dwight Yoakam ... Doc Miles
Efren Ramirez ... Venus
Julanne Chidi Hill ... Dark Chocolate
Reno Wilson ... Orlando
Keone Young ... Don Kim
Art Hsu ... Johnny Vang
Joseph Julian Soria ... Chico
Geri Halliwell ... Karen Chelios

-The Plot-

Surprise Surprise! Chelios survives the helicopter plunge, landing on a car roof and crushing a granny in the process, but his luck running out when he is scooped up off the tarmac into a black van, waking up on an operating table with no heart. Chinese gangsters have removed his 'pumper' to order, a battery powered artificial one keeping him alive so they can harvest the rest of his prized organs later.

Chelios is not having any of that and is soon on the run in search of the people who have his 'strawberry tart', Korean mobster Johnny Vang (Art Hsu) the number one suspect. But the external battery boost is soon running low so he has to get an electrical charge wherever he can and by whatever mans, be it from static rubbing up to the lead singer of Linkin Park or an old lady at the race track, or sticking his head in a sub station for comic effect.

When his girlfriend (Amy Smart) from the first film shows up the film races through the gears as all manner of characters cross his path, some dispatched, some only there to help, leading up to the huge shoot em up finale these B-Movie action movies demand.

-The Conclusion-

The biggest problem with this is it tried to duplicate the first film to win the same audience, never a good idea. Because Crank was quite original that way and so kept you interested you expect the same again here and do indeed get it. The shot of electricity thing works well and is very silly, some truly surreal scenes interpolated to catch you off guard, but the nondescript urban L A suburbs remind you of film one and it quickly feels samey.

The last film worked because some of the scenes are just plain wrong, some dam right perverted, Statham having anal sex with Amy Smart over a mailbox to keep his adrenaline pumping was extraordinarily unexpected. Here the director feels he has to better that and substitutes a US Mail box for a busy race track, demonstrating that depraved need to clearly feed his own perversions. Gawd knows what Statham made of that when he read the script - if there was one.

This will appeal to guys, simple as, especially ones who enjoyed the first one, although the girls that like our macho Jase ripping off his shirt and various body parts won't be disappointed. It just about gets away with it and if it had been set somewhere knew it probably would have got the fourth star for me as that's what the gag is, so not a shocking sequel, if you like. If you haven't seen Crank then watch that first and then 'Shoot Em Up' with Clive Owen, an equally manic, fast paced lunatic action classic like you will have never seen before. Then watch Crank 2. Any film that sees a shotgun pushed up mans bottom gets my vote. There are also some interesting cameos here, everyone from Geri Halliwell to Peter North, and if you know who the later is you have been spending far too much time on the internet.

Chelios: "Who's got my F*****g Strawberry Tart!"

Summary: Statham will take anything