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You all know the story. Chev Chelios (Jason Stathem) survives a fall from a helicopter and has his heart stolen by Chinese gangsters. In order to keep his new artificial heart pumping, he's gotta keep himself electrified. Simple.
Crank: High Voltage is a difficult movie to review as watching it is a very bizarre experience to describe. If anyone's seen the original, they might have a vague idea of what to expect. High Voltage is pretty much 100 times what the original was. There's no use describing the plot, acting or camera work at all. It's more of a matter of putting things in perspective. Crank: High Voltage is not a popcorn action movie, it's not tongue-in-cheek and it's not so-bad-it's-good. It has more in common with movies like Ichi the Killer and Pink Flamingoes than it does Transformers and Shoot 'Em Up. To put it bluntly, Crank: High Voltage is a celebration of violence, mayhem and depravity: a true exploitation film.
I wouldn't say the movie's entertaining. Certainly not to the general public though. The first one has a way better chance of getting away with that label. It's certainly not good either. In fact, a lot of people are gonna hate it; I suppose the same goes for the original. I will say this movie is fascinating. It's fascinating to watch how low it will stoop to spit in the face of the audience who still hasn't stopped watching yet. Seriously. The last shot of this movie makes its intentions all too clear.
That's not to say it doesn't have its moments. There's plenty of hilarity and "wow" moments to be found here and as much as you'd like to believe it is, none of it feels unintentional. Honestly, this movie's got it all. Nipple tape, exploding breast implants, porn stars on strike, Tourettes' syndrome, police brutality, perverted shrinks, a giant Chev Chelios "monster,"¯ a cameo by David Carradine, a cameo by Ginger Spice, a pretty goddamn amazing soundtrack by legendary avant-guarde musician Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle), ridiculous dialogue with such delightful phrases as "pissed-off beaver", "the gay condition" and "cunt-onese," lots and lots of boobs¯ and a whole slew of filthy, loathsome characters that make the Devil's Rejects look like the cast of Gone With The Wind.
Long story short, if you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one. Otherwise, I'd steer clear unless you don't mind the occasional stupid and blatantly anti-PC movie.
Jamesy Jamesy Jamesy... i like movies that are blatantly anti-PC. however i hate movies where little to no thought or effort was made into making it. Both the original and sequel were a mess- not because i didnt "get it" but because the makers were a bunch of talentless twats who deserve to be in the very depths of filmmaking hell. and yes, im satan.
these films arent amusing, theyre just plain stupid.
i think the other thing that bothers me is that many people who like crank and crank 2 defend it tooth and nail. furthermore, they claim to be unique and offbeat simply because the rest of the world doesnt "get" them or their haughty avante-guard personality. which makes me hate these films even more.
obviously this isnt you james, just the mainstream who like these movies.
Personally I really liked Crank - I'd go so far as to say it is one of my favourite movies. I thought it was probably the first mainstream surrealist movie!
The Crank 2 DVD is out here on Monday and I shall be buying it in the hope that it is as good as, if not better, than the original.
I take it that I won't be getting a birthday card next week from you then, Albinopenguin?
I didn't see the first Crank but I did see the second one. It was over the top and parts of it were really funny, other parts so unbelievable. It wasn't my first choice to see, in fact, I had seen everything at the theater in weeks prior, so we went to see this. I was entertained but I did leave the theater, like: Huh? They actually made this film and it's in the theaters and not direct to DVD. Harsh maybe, but just a thought.
I disagree on the "If you like the first one, you will like this" I'm a big fan of the first one and this one was a complete mess... garbage doesn't even begin to describe this thing.
Chev on fire at the end sums up my thoughts on this thing... poorly done.
The directors during the commentary come off as a couple of idiots who think they can do no wrong and even mentioned a third one.
I'm still baffled as to why Amy Smart wore x's on her nipples. We have seen your tits before in a better movie.
Not really harsh, because there is tons of crap greenlit.
That's true. I guess we could start a whole other thread on why that is. In every book that I've read on screenwriting, they tell you that you have to have a fantastic script to even get through the door. So are the scripts good, but the final product not? Or are the scripts bad to begin with?
In the Crank series? I've read a little of the first, and I read this one and as you can see in the script thread I thought the script was appalling. Too cartoonish. So in this case yes the scripts are bad to begin with.
Bad script=Bad Movie. Usually.
Isle 10- A series I'm currently writing with my friend Adam and it will go into production soon. Think The Office meets 10 Items or Less.