Crank: High Voltage (2009)

Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.

Directors:

Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writers:

Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Stars:

Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Statham	...	Chev Chelios
Amy Smart	...	Eve
Dwight Yoakam	...	Doc Miles
Efren Ramirez	...	Venus
Julanne Chidi Hill	...	Dark Chocolate
Jose Pablo Cantillo	...	Ricky Verona
Reno Wilson	...	Orlando
Keone Young	...	Don Kim
Art Hsu	...	Johnny Vang
Joseph Julian Soria	...	Chico
Bai Ling	...	Ria
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	El Huron
David Carradine	...	Poon Dong
Corey Haim	...	Randy
Geri Halliwell	...	Karen Chelios

Storyline

Chev Chelios survives a fall from the sky, sort of. He's in an unknown location, sedated, while various Chinese are harvesting his organs. His heart is gone, in an ice chest; a temporary in its place. Chev escapes, knowing only the name of the guy with the ice chest. He calls Doc Miles, an unlicensed cardiologist, who tells him there's only an hour's life in the artificial heart: keep it charged. Chev needs to find his own heart and get to Doc for a transplant. He starts his time-limited pursuit of shadowy figures, the ice chest, and his heart aided by Eve, Rei, and Venus - a stripper, a prostitute, and a pal with Tourette's - constantly needing an electric charge to keep going.

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Plot Keywords:

heart | electricity | prostitute | stripper | artificial heart | 

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Taglines:

Fully charged.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for frenetic strong bloody violence throughout, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crank 2

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Park Racetrack - 1050 S. Prairie Avenue, Inglewood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£554,565 (UK) (17 April 2009)

Gross:

$13,630,226 (USA) (8 May 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Lakeshore Entertainment, Radical Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny Lohner:  The man accompanying the owner of the shock collar that Chev Chelios steals is Danny Lohner, of Nine Inch Nails and various other industrial projects.

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Goofs

At the end of Crank 1, Chelios is running from the police and they saw him in the helicopter. However, in the beginning of Crank: High Voltage the TV presenter says that the man is unknown.

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Quotes

Johnny Vang: You can't look in that box!

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Crazy Credits

Out takes occur over the end credits

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Connections

Spoofs Kingu Kongu tai Gojira (1962)

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Soundtracks

"Keep on Loving You"
Written by Kevin Cronin
Performed by REO Speedwagon
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Crank 2 Is Off The Wall Insanity.

After surviving a fall from a helicopter, Chev Chelios is kidnapped directly from the spot he landed in and is taken to a place where they remove his heart. He is given an artificial one that requires an electrical charge to keep running, every hour or so. Now Chelios is on the run trying to find his old heart and to keep charged.

I had an appreciation for the first Crank, it was a live action Grand Theft Auto. Creating as much chaos as possible within the running time. It ended perfectly, with his death. Crank 2 comes around and ruins that. At least, for my own sanity, right from the beginning they have a telecaster look directly to the viewer and tell them how implausible all of this is. Could this be the writers and directors telling the audience that this was a studio decision?

Crank 2 doesn't hold any punches, it goes all out and doesn't stop. It somehow finds a way to be even more chaotic than the original, but it sacrifices any kind of logical straight forward story. The first, even though it was far fetched, seemed like it might possibly happen. Crank 2 doesn't seem to be based in any kind of reality. I do still like the city and world these characters live in. It's just like a video game/comic book come to life.

Statham once again shows us why he is the new face of the action genre. The Rock has moved on to Disney family films and Statham continues to be in films that he knows his fans will love. Crank 2 is violent and obscene. Just like it wants to be, Chelios is a despicable character, just like he wants to be. Statham plays the role with a bit of charm that makes him likable. Amy smart is here again, but she seems even more useless now than before. Was her purpose in this one just to re-enact the famous sex in public scene from original?

The Crank films are without a doubt a guys film. Crank 2 even more so. Sex, violence, harsh language and insane sequences like a shotgun shoved up a guy's ass or two characters transforming into Godzilla like creatures, it's something that requires a viewer to leave their brain not only at the door, but at the door of another house. The comedy is unique and in your face, it doesn't hold back with any subject matter. It's degrading to women and homosexuals and maybe even intellectuals. If you liked the first Crank, you'll like this one.

For what it is worth, I dug the craziness of the film. The style it was shot in was fast and dirty, that reflects the story and the characters in it. I can see a third film coming out, just wondering what they plan on doing with it makes my head hurt though.