Crank (2006)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Directors:

Mark Neveldine
Brian Taylor

Writers:

Mark Neveldine (written by) &
Brian Taylor (written by)

Release Date:

1 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Poison in his veins. Vengeance in his heart.

Plot:

Professional assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops.

Plot Keywords:

Heart | Poison | Doctor | Revenge | Skyline

Cast

Jason Statham	...	Chev Chelios
Amy Smart	...	Eve
Jose Pablo Cantillo	...	Verona
Efren Ramirez	...	Kaylo
Dwight Yoakam	...	Doc Miles
Carlos Sanz	...	Carlito
Reno Wilson	...	Orlando
Edi Gathegi	...	Haitian Cabbie
Glenn Howerton	...	Doctor
Jay Xcala	...	Alex
Keone Young	...	Don Kim
Valarie Rae Miller	...	Chocolate
Yousuf Azami	...	Arab Cabbie
Laurent Schwaar	...	Man in Garage (as Laurent Schwar)
David Brown	...	Sin City Brother

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and drug use.

Runtime:

87 min | 93 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:18 | Australia:MA | Ireland:18 | Germany:18 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | USA:R (certificate #42799) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Philippines:R-13 | Romania:I.M.-18 | New Zealand:R18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (cut) | Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Japan:R-15 | Finland:K-18 (self applied) | Brazil:16 | Hungary:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Trivia:

The guy in the hospital pharmacy that tells Chev about the nasal spray is Chester Bennington, one of the lead singers from Linkin Park.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Throughout the movie, references to "Chinese" items and characters are continually made. "Don Kim" is said to be Chinese though Kim is traditionally a Korean name. In the "Chinatown" section of the movie, when the school girls are interviewed for the news, they are speaking Korean. Also in the warehouse the workers also speak Korean. A hint that this is a purposeful "mistake" by the director/writer is made when, in the hospital, a page is heard calling for anyone who can speak Korean.

Quotes:

Eve: [bullets flying all over the place] I forgot to take my Birth-Control Pills!

Movie Connections:

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

Utopia

"Crank" a fast paced, clever, and cool-as-Hell adrenaline rush of a film!!

I walked into "Crank" with low expectations, as I do with many films. The previews made it look like it had a clever story, but I was worried that with Jason Statham playing lead, I might just get a re-hash of his "Transporter" films.

I got a pleasant surprise. From the very beginning, the film moves. And moves damn fast. Not in an obnoxious way either. In the first minutes of the film we are set up with a possible story of corruption between hit men, a botched job, and the set-up for the whole movie-- Statham's Chev Chelios being fatally poisoned with a Chinese-made serum that slows his heart rate, and will eventually literally make his heart stop, killing him. The only solution-- get the adrenaline pumping and keep his heart rate up! The whole movie is like one long action sequence, with pauses for story elements. This is the common thing now in films, but in other movies, it generally doesn't work so well. But, with the premise of "Crank" being the need for speed (Literally), the idea of all-action, little-plot actually works. And works well.

However, don't be mistaken, there is genuine plot in the film. Clever stories about the pasts and workings of crime-lords and their cronies, and how they all relate to Chelios. Some of it went over my head because of the constant action, but I was able to understand everything enough to enjoy the film.

The direction and editing is something I want to talk about briefly before I wrap this up. For a film like this, one would expect flashy camera work and crazy fast cutting, but I must say, the director/writer and the editor went beyond the call of duty. The film is shot as though the cameraman himself was the one who was poisoned, with the camera flashing and moving around nearly constantly, only settling during the slow scenes. Quite a genius use of camera-work to emulate the story. And the editing certainly adds a lot to the already excellent camera work. We get cutting when necessary and when not necessary, to further illustrate the needs of the main character.

Overall, I would say "Crank" was the coolest movie I've seen in the last several years, leaps and bounds beyond the standard Hollywood action flick. I would recommend to any action-fan or adrenaline junkie, because take it from me, this film is the ultimate rush!