Gimme some 'Crank' yo
Tonight I went out and watched a movie. That movie was Crank, starring Jason Statham (Snatch, The Transporter movies). From the commercials and previews I've seen of the movie I was expecting an action packed thrillride of that similar to The Transporter and its sequel. This one, however, I knew would be a little more over the top and out there in comparison. And man, it was.First off, a brief overview of the movie for those who don't know what it's about. Chev Chelios is a man who's been injected with a lethal poison and he only has one hour to live. His mission is to find the guy who did it, and to give him pay back, along with hopefully finding the antedote. This sets the pace for a non-stop action thrill ride. Knowing he's essentially already dead, Chelios shows no mercy as he pummels along trying to find where the man responsible for all this is. In the meantime, he must keep his adrenaline levels up or else his heart will succomb to the poisons within him.
Throughout the film Chelios goes through disorientation and hallucinations from his injection, along with other drugs he happens upon along the way. The camera work definitely allows you to experience what he's experiencing on his ride. At the start of the movie we get a first person viewpoint at his disorientation after waking up from his sleep. Later on in the movie while on some "Haitian shit" we experience his warped mind as he tries to find his way. The work done camera-wise was very good and something I've rarely seen in films. Only Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas went a little further in its amazing visual portrayal of a man fucked on too much drugs.
Statham's acting in the movie doesn't really vary much from any of the other characters he's portrayed in movies past. He's essentially the no bullshit kinda guy with a side of humour that doesn't always seem to humourous to him. Playing this character over and over makes it seem like not too much of an acting stretch. However, he plays this kind of guy well and they always say what ain't broke don't fix it, right?
The other characters in the film include the latino mafia guys he has to deal with. These guys are all very latino. Sometimes they're almost over the top. His girlfriend is played by Amy Smart (Butterfly Effect). She's essentially a pot head and comes across as really ditsy most of the time (in fact, none of the women in this film are portrayed in any kind of positive light). It's not annoying in the film, but it adds quite a bit of comedy, even in situations like a car chase where she's going down on him to keep his adrenaline up. Effren Ramirez (Pedro in Napolean Dynamite) gives a horrible effort at an eccentric gay guy in the movie. His character Kaylo finds out where people are and whatnot for Chelios. His role is somewhat pivotal but small. Chelios' doctor in the film is played by country singer Dwight Yoakam. He doesn't do too bad, but his role is also quite small, providing necessary medical advice for Chelios over the phone the majority of the time. For the most part though, we aren't to be concerned with the other characters as the movie moves fast enough on the mission Chelios is on to find the guy who did this. It's a constant go go go kind of film, with little rest.
This movie offers a lot of action. It can be unrealistic at times, but that also provides the comedy. It's very fast paced and makes good use of its 87 minutes of film time. I recommend it for its creativity and outlandishness if anything.
Rating: 4/5
posted by Sean @ 12:44 AM
Comments: 5
