High Voltage indeed!

In spite of only earning a mere $43 million at the global box office, 2006's Crank became an instantaneous cult hit. This cult status ensured that writer-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor would be given the chance to produce a sequel, which has at long last arrived in the form of Crank: High Voltage. This is merely a celebration of action-comedy; a barely coherent collection of stunts, fights, plot absurdities, profanity-laced dialogue and sex...all set at breakneck pace. It's a grindhouse film for the MTV generation, and it's one hell of a rip-snorting rollercoaster ride in which Neveldine and Taylor push their movie to the limit and beyond (with absolutely no regard for restraint or basic standards of common decency).

For those who recall, Chev Chelios (Statham) "died" at the end of Crank - he fell from a helicopter and landed on the pavement several thousand feet below. But in this sequel, he's alive and well. Clearly, the best explanation as to how Chev survived his fall is no explanation whatsoever. The moment he hits the pavement, he's hauled away by a group of Chinese thugs and taken to a seedy laboratory. His heart is removed and replaced with an artificial heart in order to keep him alive so his other organs can be harvested. Needless to say, Chev is unwilling to be a mystery donor. After busting out of the operating room, he embarks on a hunt for his missing heart while killing assorted forms of scum along the way.

This premise sets up another 85 minute of insanity similar to the first film, with Chev engaging in a wild orgy of violence and sex. His trustworthy doctor (Yoakam) is once again on the other end of a phone line, and informs Chev that he has to keep his artificial heart powered in order to sustain his citywide rampage. The electricity becomes derived from all manner of sources - tasers, car batteries, powerlines, friction, and so on. This contrivance also leads to an over-the-top cartoonishness, and any semblance of realism is quickly drained from the material.

Realistically, the only way to follow up on the outrageousness of Crank without creating a pure re-tread is to push the envelope. The envelope isn't merely pushed; it's blown wide open. Crank: High Voltage actually makes the original Crank seem like a safe, studio-friendly venture. Lionsgate evidently didn't set any restrictions for Neveldine and Taylor to obey, so the filmmakers were free to turn the movie into a masterpiece of camera gymnastics and dark comedy. The notion that these films are cinematic video games is pushed even harder (especially by Mike Patton's score), and the movie once again rests on the shoulders of Jason Statham and Amy Smart (who are apparently game for any kind of public debauchery the writing/directing duo can cook up). The phrase "over-the-top" is perhaps an insulting understatement, much like the words "morally bankrupt". Thank God it's also endlessly entertaining, and easily one of the most hilarious movies of 2009.

In spite of my better judgement, this reviewer adores the Crank movies. Crank: High Voltage may even be superior to its predecessor simply because it's even more energetic and inventive. It's also one of the craziest, most ridiculous movies ever made - and that ain't an insult. Just when you believe things can't get any crazier, Neveldine and Taylor take another unpredictable turn. For instance, there are a few newscast segments featuring John De Lancie as an anchorman whose bitingly satirical anecdotes are a highlight. There's also a wonderfully executed parody of the old Godzilla movies (featuring exaggerated puppet versions of Chelios and his opponent) included at the most random time plainly because the kitchen sink had been tossed in and the filmmakers were struggling to find something else. But since Crank: High Voltage is in full excess mode, not everything works. For example, a superfluous dream/flashback sequence with a young Chev and his mother on a British talk show brings the movie to a grinding halt and temporarily hinders the pacing.

Neveldine and Taylor's shooting style is varied and frenzied. The movie looks remarkably good considering its low-budget origins, not to mention the fact that it was primarily shot with consumer digital cameras easily obtainable at your local electronics store. Like the first movie, the handheld shooting style allows a viewer to see the world from Chev's perspective. The editing is rapid (probably about two cuts per second on average) and a wide variety of visual tweaks are employed (freeze frames, comic book-like captions, cartoon sound effects, and even pixilation to "obscure" supposedly graphic sexual acts). But like the original movie, the plot and characters are elementary; the type of stuff found in direct-to-DVD offerings. Also, too, since this sequel adopts a lot the same cinematic techniques of its predecessor, as well as the general template, it does feel derivative from time to time.

Crank: High Voltage works as wonderfully as it does primarily because Jason Statham is so pitch-perfect; merging bona fide action star with genuinely sharp comic timing. Statham is an effective straight man doing what straight men do best - ignoring the silliness around him, and approaching everything without a wink or a smile.
There are a bunch of returning faces from the first Crank, most notable of which is Amy Smart who's terrific as Chev's public-sex-prone girlfriend Eve. Dwight Yoakam is another highlight as Chev's hedonistic, amoral friend and medical advisor. Efren Ramirez also returns, playing the brother of his character from the original film (how clever). The most surprising addition to the cast is an utterly unrecognisable and underused David Carradine, who's hidden under age make-up in a weird, hysterical and brief riff on his old Kung Fu movies. Keep an eye out for Corey Haim as well, who amps up the sleaze for his minor role.

Critic-proof movies are all the rage in this current cinematic climate. Crank: High Voltage is pretty much critic-proof. If you find yourself hating this film (a perfectly reasonable reaction), you're probably not the audience for this type of flick. While this argument could be used for countless other brain-dead summer actioners, the Crank films stand out due to one very crucial factor: they have balls. They're unapologetically R-rated action films which focus on the gore and are low on silly CGI. If you loved the first Crank, you're likely to enjoy this sequel just as much.

Be sure to stay throughout the credits for an assortment of bloopers.

7.5/10