My Take: Moronic and noisy. It's the worst kind of action thriller if I ever saw one.
I have no problem enjoying some brainless summer fair, but CRANK is going way over the top, but it's also very violent and unpleasant, I didn't really take it for a second. CRANK is an overly noisy, unpleasant vomitorium loaded with unbelievable stunts, noisy action and a bad mouth. The movie's hasn't got a moment where that it pleasant, it's just restless and way too kinetic for its cause, I almost had a headache. Although I can't stop any action fan to see it, let me just tell you that it ain't for all taste, and for me, CRANK is way to far from mine.
Perhaps one of the things I didn't like about CRANK is the lack of a really appealing hero. Instead of a James Bond or a John McLane, CRANK has Chev Chelios, played by Jason Statham (THE TRANSPORTER), who is not even close to one of the more likable action heroes. The character wasn't practically interesting to start with, but he makes himself worse when he isn't, for once, likable or appealing. He's to reckless and vigilante to be as appealing as many other action heroes. It may take Statham a few more rounds as an action hero to have me at hello.
To be fair, the plot is quite ingenious as it is introduced. The lead character is injected with a poisonous serum that slowly kills him if his heart rate drops. To keep himself alive, he has to keep his adrenaline up a notch. Good idea! But then, it quickly devolves into unbelievable action scenes that lack the sort of glee when an action hero, specifically the likes of James Bond, do unbelievable (yet somewhat convincing) stunts. Then it gets worse when it gives room for Statham to talk foul-mouth with people he manages to pass by (these include a doctor and his patient in one of the film's most unpleasant scenes, an there are lot).
CRANK is the likes of movies I like most of the time, but I didn't really like this one. The film doesn't give me a reason to like it. I usually like unbelievable action scenes in an action movie with a break-neck fast pace. CRANK is that film (it has stunts and a fast pace), but it lacks the joy and glee. I wasn't at all in a straight face when I see Statham drive his car on an escalator or the unbelievable ending that has to be seen to believe. I usually applause with delight when I see these things, but here, I hardly cared. It's like listening to a bunch amateur rock band who only knows how to strum the electric guitar like a maniac, but they don't know how to write a song. The end credits signaled the feeling of relief I wanted after almost an hour (but it lasted almost a lifetime).
Rating: * out of 5.
I have no problem enjoying some brainless summer fair, but CRANK is going way over the top, but it's also very violent and unpleasant, I didn't really take it for a second. CRANK is an overly noisy, unpleasant vomitorium loaded with unbelievable stunts, noisy action and a bad mouth. The movie's hasn't got a moment where that it pleasant, it's just restless and way too kinetic for its cause, I almost had a headache. Although I can't stop any action fan to see it, let me just tell you that it ain't for all taste, and for me, CRANK is way to far from mine.
Perhaps one of the things I didn't like about CRANK is the lack of a really appealing hero. Instead of a James Bond or a John McLane, CRANK has Chev Chelios, played by Jason Statham (THE TRANSPORTER), who is not even close to one of the more likable action heroes. The character wasn't practically interesting to start with, but he makes himself worse when he isn't, for once, likable or appealing. He's to reckless and vigilante to be as appealing as many other action heroes. It may take Statham a few more rounds as an action hero to have me at hello.
To be fair, the plot is quite ingenious as it is introduced. The lead character is injected with a poisonous serum that slowly kills him if his heart rate drops. To keep himself alive, he has to keep his adrenaline up a notch. Good idea! But then, it quickly devolves into unbelievable action scenes that lack the sort of glee when an action hero, specifically the likes of James Bond, do unbelievable (yet somewhat convincing) stunts. Then it gets worse when it gives room for Statham to talk foul-mouth with people he manages to pass by (these include a doctor and his patient in one of the film's most unpleasant scenes, an there are lot).
CRANK is the likes of movies I like most of the time, but I didn't really like this one. The film doesn't give me a reason to like it. I usually like unbelievable action scenes in an action movie with a break-neck fast pace. CRANK is that film (it has stunts and a fast pace), but it lacks the joy and glee. I wasn't at all in a straight face when I see Statham drive his car on an escalator or the unbelievable ending that has to be seen to believe. I usually applause with delight when I see these things, but here, I hardly cared. It's like listening to a bunch amateur rock band who only knows how to strum the electric guitar like a maniac, but they don't know how to write a song. The end credits signaled the feeling of relief I wanted after almost an hour (but it lasted almost a lifetime).
Rating: * out of 5.