Crank (2006)
Runtime: 87 mins
Theatrical Release: Sep 1, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $27,771,239
Synopsis: Screenwriters and directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor make their feature-film debut in this fast-paced action film. Freelance hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) wakes up with a big problem; a DVD left in his apartment by smalltime gangster Ricky Vanero (Jose Pablo Cantillo) tells... Screenwriters and directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor make their feature-film debut in this fast-paced action film. Freelance hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) wakes up with a big problem; a DVD left in his apartment by smalltime gangster Ricky Vanero (Jose Pablo Cantillo) tells him that he has only one hour to live. While Chev was asleep, Vanero injected him with a deadly synthetic drug from China--known as the Beijing Cocktail--as payback for Chev's last hit. Now, Chev's only hope to stay alive is to keep his adrenalin pumping. Dead set on revenge against Vanero, Chev also has to keep his girlfriend, Eve (Amy Smart), out of the mob's hands. To complicate matters, naïve, sweet Eve has no idea that her charming British boyfriend is a hitman. Even worse, Chev's boss, Carlito (Carlos Sanz) has no intention of helping his favorite freelancer. Luckily, Chev's friend Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam) can offer some temporary lifesaving advice; his drugged pal has to keep moving. Downing cans of Red Bull and popping over-the-counter energy pills, Chev is a crazed man on a mission. He has to exact revenge on Vanero, save his girlfriend, and find an antidote, all while keeping his slowing heart pumping. Fear, sex and violence are the best way to keep adrenalin flowing, and there's no shortage of any of them in this nonstop action flick. Extreme chase scenes, shootouts, and romance abound, along with plenty of clipped dialogue and just enough dark humor. Statham plays Chev with a perfect combination of steely determination and utter insanity--a guy who is finally trying to do the right thing, even if it means killing lots of people along the way. Cantillo's Vanero is a little fish playing in a very big pond, but not quite the player he thinks he is. [More]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Jason Statham, Dwight Yoakam, Efren Ramirez, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Amy Smart
Screenwriter: Brian Taylor
Producer: Michael Davis, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg, Richard Wright
Composer: Paul Haslinger
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 9, 2007
Blu-ray Disc Features:
- Blue BD Case
- Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English
- Dolby Digital Surround Sound 2.0 - English
- Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
- Closed Captioned - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Alternate Audio Track - Deleted Expletives
- Featurettes - 1. "Crank'd Out Mode" - Experience Running Commentary, Behind-the-Scenes, Making-of Insights, Gags, and More
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Sure, Crank is totally ridiculous, unbelievable, exhausting, and pretty much just plain stupid, but that's what makes it fun.
Ranks among the most mindless action films ever made, but scores as a helluva video game.
The super-concentrated silt at the bottom of a chemistry experiment that has no possible purpose to it but to deliver whatever limited jolt of which it's capable.
Its freneticism ... futilely tries to cover up the ludicrousness of every decision made by its dim characters.
In many ways, Crank serves as a frightening harbinger of things to come. As more and more members of the ADD generation step behind the camera, expect the movie's approach to be replicated. Until then, enjoy the novelty.
Assaults the senses tirelessly with wave after wave of momentum-building intensity, with Jason Statham enjoying his best role since The Transporter.
You might just want to catch a matinee or wait for the DVD. This is definitely not worth your 10 bucks.
Some of the directing touches are fun, but the Grand Theft Auto overdrive wears thin quick.
Safety advice: remember to breathe when you're watching this movie.
There are times the film threatens to turn into a good "bad movie."
'D.O.A.' for the 'Grand Theft Auto' generation, 'Crank' is too scattershot to hone in on the cult masterpiece waiting within its brilliant exploitation premise.
It's a promising concept, but instead of expending effort on, say, a coherent script, the filmmakers lazily rely on cheap editing tricks and gleefully relentless sadism.
Leave it alone, or leave your brain and pocket change at the gate, strap yourself in and just enjoy the ride.
At times, Crank is loads of fun and threatens to enter that golden territory of so-bad-it's-good, but the violence grows far too ugly and is so unrelenting that it becomes tiresome.
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