The Observer, September 8, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 2
Statham Cranks out action movie magic
If you've seen one Jason Statham movie, you've pretty much seen them all. Not to say that The Italian Job and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels alum is not a talented actor – it's just that he has the misfortune of always playing the same character. And watching the same good-looking guy drive expensive cars and beat people up can be predictable after the first dozen times. While Statham's new vehicle, Crank, follows the same formula, it adds just enough to the mix to make it feel new again.
Chev Chelios (Statham, playing more-or-less the same character he did in The Transporter) is your average movie-star hitman. He's got mob connections, a penchant for violence, and a girlfriend (Amy Smart) who is blissfully ignorant of his career. Of course, like every other on-screen assassin, something goes wrong and he's marked for death by his own people. Luckily, this is where the similarities stop. Instead of just getting shot in his sleep, Chelios finds himself in a drug-like stupor one morning. Crawling over to his couch, he finds a DVD left by his former co-worker, Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo), that tells him (and the audience) precisely what has happened.
Chelios has been injected with a Chinese drug that inhibits the body's adrenaline production, which means that unless he can find ways to stimulate himself constantly, he'll fall into a coma. Drugs, sex, and violence ensue as Chelios tries to get revenge on his would-be killer while constantly raising his adrenaline by any means necessary. Not surprisingly, Chelios' mental state begins to deteriorate as his rampage continues, treating the audience to surprisingly creative visual effects, spectacular camera work, and buckets of blood.
Crank's stylized version of Los Angeles provides a fun, if not too disturbing, ride through the directors' (Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, in a joint effort) idea of a modern metropolis on crack. The world zooms in and out of focus as Chelios finds himself on a chemical roller coaster. One moment he is lethargic and the camera slows down as the world grays; the next the screen is shaking and vibrant while our hero does something cool.
I won't spoil all of the myriad camera tricks, but whenever one gimmick begins to feel overused a new one quickly emerges, ensuring that the action remains fresh all the way through. Despite the film's somewhat basic premise and often tenuous relationship with the laws of physics (though not nearly as bad as the laughable Transporter 2), the stylized cinematography is so fun to watch that a few of the film's weaker points can be glossed over. Crank is, at heart, the adult version of an action cartoon: largely devoid of educational value, character development, or morality, but full of heart-pounding action and cool characters.
If you've read this far, you probably understand that this movie is absolutely, under no circumstances, a date movie. Crank is an almost incessant deluge of profanity and gore, every bit as much a black comedy as it is an action flick. Chelios kills people in amusing ways, steals cars, and randomly punches people while dropping as many f-bombs as possible. The action is intense, the dialogue genuine, and the protagonist a vulgar killer who is routinely hard to root for. It does not try to be at all politically correct; the film is much more concerned with trying to shock the audience as much as possible.
If you have a weak stomach, or just possess particularly strong moral fiber, you will more than likely think Crank is absolutely disgusting and vile. If not, you should have a lot of laughs. Yes, it's often just generic Saturday-morning cartoon action (with f-bombs and breasts). Is there anything wrong with that?
