Rated R – 1h36

Reviewed 4.20.09

If you can accept the bizarre nature of this film, it’s not bad entertainment.

Crank: High Voltage is the less stellar, yet still watchable sequel in the Chev Chelios chronicles. We pick up at the end of the last film, where Chelios (Jason Statham) falls from an airplane and dies. Or at least we think he did. Instead, Chinese mobsters scrape up his body from the streets in hopes of preserving his indestructable heart. (After surviving the last film’s ordeal, its believed that his heart has mythic powers.)

They replace his heart it with a battery operated one. The catch is, he has to continually charge it to stay alive as he searches for his real heart. Sure, the plot stretches to the realm of completely unbelievable B.S., but at least its original.

That leads to the insane flurry sequences that remind me of a first person shooter video game. Among the things Chelios must do to charge his heart include sticking his finger in a cigarette lighter, rubbing up against people to create static electricity and grabbing hold of a power transformer.

It’s certainly not a movie for everyone. There’s a lot of really offensive material, but that’s the point. Crank pushes action violence to a satirical level.

If you happened to have attention deficit disorder, are drinking a six-pack of Red Bull, and eating Extreme Doritos, you’ll be quite entertained.