Amy Smart Movie:

		List Price: $29.99		Label: Lions Gate Films Salesrank: 7695 Released: January 9, 2007
		Our Price: $13.89
		Used Price: $12.13
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
A professional hit man (Jason Statham) is poisoned and has only hours to live. He has some big tasks to accomplish before the grim reaper arrives.System Requirements:Running Time: 87 Mins.Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 031398206972 Manufacturer No: 22397

Description of Crank [Blu-ray]:
Action anti-hero Jason Statham is competing with himself to make the most relentless, non-stop action flick imaginable. In Crank, Statham stars as a hit man named Chev Chelios who's been poisoned by some Chinese toxin; the only way to stave it off is to keep his adrenalin flowing, which requires him to drive at top speeds through crowded traffic, start fights in bars, and run pell-mell down hospital corridors while wearing one of those humiliating smocks that tie in the back. In other words, Crank is high-end pop-trash, filled with many preposterous/ingenious stunts and over-the-top performances (Dwight Yoakam, Sling Blade, is downright droll as a doctor offering Chev assistance), marred by an unpleasant attitude towards women (Amy Smart, Outside Providence, will not look back on this as one of her signature roles). This is a movie for the audience who enjoyed Transporter and Transporter 2 but wanted Statham's perpetual scowl to become a kind of theatrical mask, a perpetual signifier of intensity that begs--nay, demands--that everything around it rise to a mutual level of absurdity. Fans of Luc Besson (Leon/The Professional, District 13) will find Crank to be simpatico. --Bret Fetzer

Crank [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Not much to recommend
2008-10-11 - I like several others had high hopes for this movie. Jason Statham is awesome, and Amy Smart is usually very good, so I thought this would be a winner.

The most annoying aspect to me was the way the camera jumped around, and went into this fast forward, jerky mode. That coupled with the music gave me quite a headache. I understand it was all meant to mimic the racing heart of the "hero" but it was really overdone.

The action was not on par with the Transporter movies, and the humor was not on par with Snatch.

The plot was rather confusing, why was he poisoned again? You don't really end up caring about any of the characters, which made it hard to get into the movie.

Overall this was a disappointment, any other of Jason Statham's movies would be a better pick.

90 minutes about nothing (spoilers)
2008-10-09 - I happen to like Jason Statham. He's a good action flicks actor and, by that standard, The two Transporters were quite good. But, let's discuss this specific one.

The plot: Jason's character is poisoned by some 'bad' guy and he can only stay alive for as long as his adrenaline level is up. If he calms down, he dies. To keep his excitement level up he does all kinds of crazy things such as driving his car through a shopping mall, robbing stores, cutting some bad guy's arm before killing him completely or 'mounting' his girlfriend in... China Town. Then, he dies and the movie ends.

The good, relatively speaking: Jason Statham is shown shooting people, driving cars, having sex in public, running. There are funny moments like Jason's smashing some bad guy's face into a public phone while his girlfriend is completely unaware of the dangerous situation or the public sex scene where dozens of people watch and cheer.

The bad: not exactly exciting car chases, not A LOT of shooting, only one arm is cut.

The confusing: while Jason is supposed to be 'good', it looks like he too is involved with the bad guys. It's not clear why he gets poisoned or why he is not as bad as the other bad guys.

Overall: I almost fell asleep while watching this super-charged action movie. Completely forgettable.

Great premise for an action flick
2008-10-04 - Jason Statham plays Chev Chelios, a hit man injected with a lethal Chinese poison that will kill him in one hour. The only way Chelios can slow down the poison is with adrenalin. If he ever slows down and relaxes, he dies. Since the film runs 87 minutes, Chelios obviously finds many ways to get adrenalin pumping through his body. The writers make the most of this plot premise and keep the action going non-stop.

For action film buffs, you'll want Crank in your library.


The Shopkeeper
The Shut Mouth Society

Crank Fires on All Cylinders
2008-10-02 - Statham's Crank is a fast paced, frequently violent, often hilarious action flick that even manages, once or twice, to be deadly serious.

Keeping to the successful formula of the Transporter movies, Crank follows the less-than-saintly 'good guy' Statham as he brutally crams his revenge down the throats of his enemies. The fact that his heart will explode unless he manages to keep himself 'cranked' adds a ticking-bomb kind of urgency to the mayhem, which includes multiple vehicle chases, shootouts, and fistfights all set to a head banging metal soundtrack.

Amy Smart co-stars as Statham's scantily clad girlfriend, who, aside from being cute as a button, is understandably confused by her boyfriend's odd behavior. That doesn't stop her from consenting to raucous sex in the middle of china-town, but hey, different strokes for different folks, eh?

DVD includes a 'crank'd out mode', which provides context based special footage as the movie runs, with ongoing audio commentary. Dolby Digital & Digital 5.1 audio available.



Clever Non-Stop Action
2008-09-13 - I found this movie surprisingly entertaining despite my admittedly low expectations. The plot is far-fetched and silly, but where the movie works is the non-stop action from the first scene. Crank has fairly clever dialogue and is well-acted by Jason Statham. Sometimes people worry too much about the plot and fail to let themselves be entertained. This movie is just fun to watch and I recommend it to Jason Statham fans and action film fans alike.