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208 reviews in total

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247 out of 331 people found the following review useful:
In short, I liked it., 18 April 2009

Author: terrencepatrix from United States

Let me start off by defending my rating of this title. Really it's hard for me to rate a movie like this, it is directed right at me and my type of people. I can't help it that I like a movie like this, it's just the way it is.

Really this movie is a grind house movie in an era where grind house movies don't exist. It has everything that is unacceptable as entertainment in other movies...and yet you can't stop watching. It's for the most part, balls to the walls, insanity. It doesn't make sense. The reason I don't' mind...is that it's not trying to. It knows it's stupid and crazy. And it loves it. It's not trying to impress you. This is a movie that really took control of itself. Typically you'll have a movie with an a-b formula...this is a a-z formula with complete insanity and randomness filling in the interval. You know where the movie is going as soon as you start watching it, it's the ride that excites and keeps you watching.

In short, this movie has violence, action, nudity, homosexuality, disabilities, public indecency and racism. And I have to admit, I liked it.

The one problem I had with this movie is it started so crazy and hilarious that it kind of peaked in the middle. It was just so much that the rest didn't surprise you anymore. I still found it very enjoyable though, and would definitely add it to my collection.

Also I know this review sucks, but this movie is hard to give a serious review to. If you like movies that play out like a GTA video game mixed with a violent Japanese film...then watch it. Just have fun with it.

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189 out of 267 people found the following review useful:
Absolutely Extreme, 16 April 2009

Author: phue_fighter from United Kingdom

This movie is not for the faint of heart.

If you've watched the first Crank and enjoyed it, you will absolutely love this one. It pushes the boundaries the first one set to the absolute maximum. There are no lines this film does not cross, from outrageous public sex scenes to gore that almost rivals the Saw franchise. It will keep your heart pounding for the entire film's duration. It's one of the most hilarious, stylish and down-right insane films I have ever watched.

If you haven't watched the first Crank, I recommend watching it before you even think of watching this film. It'll give you some good background story and also prepare you for what you are about to see.

If you saw the first Crank and didn't like it... do not watch this movie. Multiply Crank by 1000 volts and you get this incredible sequel.

The Crank franchise is an acquired taste, and this stretches it even for fans.

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194 out of 312 people found the following review useful:
Absolutely INSANE!!, 18 April 2009

Author: akumous from United States

If you watch the first one then you know what expect but if you haven't then my advice to you is ignore all logic and enjoy the ride because this movie is not be taken seriously.

Crank High Voltage, is one of the best works from our beloved British actor, Jason Statham, with insane action, jokes, absurd scenes (nudity and other nonsense), and over the top craziness.

I was really impressed how well paced this movie was and how insanely funny it was as well. There is never a dull moment and it has one of the best cinematography for a low budget film of its caliber. Take tips Hollywood, this is how movies should be made without the need of overdone CGI; charm and character always triumphs. This is a great movie to kick off Spring the break..GO SEE IT!!! TELL YOUR BUDDIES AND GRAB SOME BEER AND ENJOY THE INSANE ENTERTAINMENT...

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181 out of 287 people found the following review useful:
Insane Movie, 18 April 2009

Author: bundyboy_4 from united kingdom

This is without a doubt one of the most insane films I have ever seen. I loved the first film and have been looking forward to the sequel. This one blows the mad-o-meter off the chart. I read on here somewhere Jason Statham was quoted saying something like…. "You ain't ever gonna get an Academy Award for doing Crank" Well I beg to differ; I think an award category should be created for making a film like this. It has similarities to the first film of course but that's what makes this film so enjoyable. Jason is superb as Chev Chelios again and had me laughing my ass off with his cockney slang and his superb stunts. One thing I will say, I took my wife with me to see this and all the way through the film she had that "Could this get anymore ridiculous" look on her face. Meanwhile I couldn't stop laughing at the fact that the more outrageous this film got, the more I found myself loving it. You know when they say "A roller-coaster ride of a movie". Well on this roller-coaster ride you ain't strapped into your seat, it has dozens of loops and it's faster than anything you have ridden in your life. You need to see this film. In fact scrub that, I will say this…Crank 2 falls into the "Things to do before you die" category. Go and see this now.

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120 out of 175 people found the following review useful:
Where Is My Strawberry Tart?, 17 April 2009

Author: DelBongo from Brighton, UK

Crank 2: High Voltage practically begs to be passionately loathed by absolutely everyone, with the notable exception of antisocial teenage boys. Its rank, nihilistic tone is relentless and exhausting. The misogyny is benchmark horrendous. The acts of violence are brutal, frequent and often blatantly homoerotic. Its flippant. Its homophobic. Its vulgar. And it feels as much seething contempt for its own narrative coherence as it does for its few prominent female characters.

But there is something bracingly brilliant about it. Films this fearlessly unhinged simply do not get made any more, and thirty years ago this would've played, late at night, to packed houses for years on end, perhaps aptly bundled with the likes of John Water's Pink Flamingoes.

One fact that was suggested by the first Crank is set heroically in stone barely five minutes into its sequel - that directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor appear to be completely obsessed with pornography. There is a truly jaw-dropping amount of flesh on constant display, and the film's only female speaking parts belong to a prostitute and a stripper. This lends the film an air of uncomfortable, almost lavatorial sleaziness, until a bunch of actual porn stars turn up in the middle of a scene, starring as a bunch of disgruntled porn stars striking for better pay. Although it hardly passes as satire, it does seem like a sly dig in the direction of the producers that populate the Hollywood mainstream, who'd surely relish the opportunity to make films like this if only the bastard machine would let them. Balls-out exploitation it may be, but if any film lives up to cinema's ancient adage of providing its audience with relentless sex and violence, its this one.

The second half of the film is where it really flies, and chooses to disregard not only its own plot, but any care for the patience or expectations of its audience. It goes, essentially, mad. And for something that was clearly deranged in the first place, it'd be foolish for me not to offer up the only advice that will enable you to see exactly what I mean.

Go and see it.

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110 out of 170 people found the following review useful:
"Crank: High Voltage" is one of the most over-the-top and ridiculously entertaining films of the past 10 years! It's an adult version of "Looney Toons" and a worthy sequel!, 18 April 2009

Author: MaximumMadness from United States

Chev Chelios was dead, but he got better.

Jason Statham returns as the lead in "Crank: High Voltage", and in every way this sequel breaks the rules and pushes the bar to insane new levels, sometimes even a bit too far.

Three months after his "helicopter incident", Chelios awakens to see that Chinese black-market surgeons are slicing his famed "Chelios Heart" out (made famous by the fact that it kept beating after the events of the first film), and replacing it with a surrogate artificial heart, so they can keep him alive while they farm more of his organs.

Chelios escapes and discovers he has a whole new set of problems- his heart is connected to an external battery pack. When this battery pack runs out of juice, he only has one hour before his artificial heart stops and he dies. And of course one of the first things that happens is that his battery pack is smashed! Now Chelios has to keep his artificial heart beating with regular volts of electricity to recharge it, using anything he can- car power outlets, jumper cables, power stations, stun-guns- whatever he can get his hands on.

His goal- track down psychotic criminal Johnny Vang, who is seemingly parading around Chelios's heart in a miniature cooler, and get it back, so old friend and medical expert Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam in a returning role as the man who lets the audience know exactly what's going on) can put it back in.

Chelios is also being tracked by sadistic criminals sent by "El Huron", a crime lord who has some devious connections to Chelios and his past actions.

This film has a very convoluted plot, but like the first one, it works out rather well. One particular thing I enjoyed is that we spend a little more time with subsequent and secondary characters, like Chev's girlfriend Eve (the sexy Amy Smart), Venus (Efron Ramirez portraying the brother to his slain character Laylo from the first film), and other characters that come up. It just adds to the plot, and gives it more reality, in contrast to the literal circus of Mayhem that Mr. Chev Chelios is stirring up.

Speaking of returning characters, this film certainly has a lot of cameos from characters from movie number one, which was a delight for me as a fan. Fans of the first "Crank", you'll definitely get a kick out of some of the cameos in this entry.

Now, onto the psychotic weirdness of the film. If you've seen the first film, you'll know it used strange tactics, like subtitles, graphics, and nightmarish imagery to put you inside of the heads of the characters. This film expands on that, by using and abusing subtitles, insane graphics, medical films, and more on a fairly regular basis. We even get a hilarious pseudo-flashback of sorts, and it is one of the most abrupt and brilliant segues I've ever seen to bridge two scenes.

And on that note, I should mention that this film does play for laughs a lot more than the first film. In fact, there are scenes specifically written to play for laughs more than for actions. As a fan, that may sound disheartening (sorry, had to make a heart pun), but trust me, it works. The film definitely teeters on self-satire at times (including a uproariously funny line of dialog where Eve swipes at fans who would call Chev surviving the first film "impossible"), but it keeps it's balance and lets us know that its not taking itself too seriously, so the comedy fits right in.

Writers/Directors Neveldine / Taylor also step the visuals up a notch. While not as haggard visually as the first film, this follow-up does have some pretty visuals, and is better-directed in terms of camera placement and editing in my opinion, and it fits right in with the first one. Their script is also to be commended for being so bold, with bizarre characters (I didn't even mention David Carradine going all "Charlie Chan"!), insane story lines, and one of the most over-the-top and unexpected finales I've seen in a long time. This isn't just an action movie, it's Looney Toons for grown-ups! It's the action equivalent of what "Evil Dead II" was to horror! It's brilliant in it's execution and definitely a step in the right direction for a sequel to "Crank"- not too serious.

This film literally left me in awe with its lunacy and action. If you loved the first film, then there's almost no way you won't love this entry.

I give "Crank: High Voltage" an 8 out of 10, because like the first film, it's the ultimate rush, and now it's even the ultimate source for laughs! Give this one a shot, you'll love it!

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112 out of 181 people found the following review useful:
Total and utter rubbish, 18 April 2009

Author: (madmarek) from Warrington, England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It was funny, but essential a big pile of steaming pap compared to Crank. There's spoilers in this but really, this movie can't be spoiled.

The first one managed to take an insane concept and turn it into an enjoyable, over-the-top action movie which would have had Quentin Tarrintino enjoying his QT pants! I love the first one, quirky, does not take itself seriously at all yet you got this sense of danger from Jason's character which kept the pace going nicely and had you on the edge of your seat. Yes it had fast in-your-face editing but it worked for the most part and wasn't done too much.

Now comes the sequel. You can tell at the beginning when they have Q from Star Trek reading the news like a public broadcaster who really doesn't give a hoot anymore this has gone from any semblance of fun to total and utter spoof with no respect for the original material or the audience.

I suppose they had no other way to go after dropping the main character from a helicopter and replacing his heart (which was supposed to be full of a virus and only kept alive because of the vast quantities of adrenaline he pumped into it BTW) with a bionic one.

This my friends is not a Jason Strathern action movie it's a Jason Voorhees one. He's indestructible now. Nothing so much as hurts him. He can drop out of the sky, crash a car and go through the windshield, have multiple cops beating him up, be tortured, sustain numerous massive electric shocks, catch fire. Apart from saying ouch and 'oh dear' he never gets more than cuts or bruises. Gone is the sense of danger, you never feel he's going to have trouble in any scene.

Instead we have numerous chasing and fight scenes and lots of boobies, which I must admit I liked, but unlike the first movie I really don't feel compelled to ever watch this one again because that is essentially the plot. Jason get's a bionic heart, then goes after his old one even though the entire first movie was about him having about an hour to live as his heart was full of a virus...one which was never cured BTW and he got a second dose towards the end. I know I'm a stickler for this point but personally I hate Hollywood shoving a "You are too stupid for me to even be bothered" sign in my face, The editing is done by a Mexican on acid who's ticked off MTC doesn't do music videos any more as he tries his best to do every music video ever made in the movie. It's like he can't do a single straight shot! Ever single angle and frame has to be Com{let LY!!! BonKers!! loll look at me I'm creative and special eleventy1'11! There's even a point where they turn into Godzilla monsters! And once you get over that they have a head in water which is still alive!! Yeah of course spoilers...sorry. Please black out the words which will spoil the enjoyment of this movie.

If this had been part of a trash spoof franchise like the endless Scary Movie/Epic movies etc then at least people could have hired this out at home and injected their heads with glue beforehand to prepare. I could even understand if the first one was as insane as this, if it was like Evil Dead 2 or something but unfortunately the original set a standard and as silly as the standard was the sequel washes all over it and drops a big plop on the audience expecting them to chew it all up and say, "Thank you sir, may I have another?" Total and utter rubbish. I give it two thumbs inverted in some cat's private bits.

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87 out of 159 people found the following review useful:
HOLY HELL! If you can suspend your disbelief, you'll love this film., 17 April 2009

Author: NixonCarmichael from United States

And damn, I thought that the first Crank was warped-@ss film. Crank 2 goes WaY beyond. DISCLAIMER: This film is completely implausible and is not based in reality whatsoever, but if you can get past this fact then you WILL love the hell out of this movie, if you see it in the theatre. The first thing that you need to know is that the cinematography is outstanding, no questions asked. If you liked all of the quick cuts and creative editing that you saw in The Bourne Identity, you'll love Crank 2 because it takes it to a whole different level. This movie is mayhem, insanity and exploitation at its best. Its violent and vulgar, but at the same time it doesn't completely gross you out of your skin. This is NOT a thinking, intellectual film. To be honest, I'm not exactly a huge fan of brainless movies, but this one really does everything the right way. This is NOT a rental film, its meant to be seen on the big~@ssed screen. I gave this movie a 9/10, not because its the "greatest" movie ever, but the filmmakers hit the nail on the head for this genre. Other directors will be ripping off this cinematography style for a long time. Once again, the movie isn't deep and heart-felt, but it is original and its completely insane. There are three completely stand-out performances in Crank 2, and those are by Jason Statham, Mike Weston and Clifton Collins Jr(Who has been brilliant in every film I've seen him perform.) Totally worth the 8.50$, no questions asked.

~J.

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23 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
Everything that's wrong with media today, 27 May 2009

Author: elinoreeaton from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I almost walked out. (I watched others walk out.)

Now, you gotta understand that I am not one to walk out of a movie. Ever. Although, I was extremely compelled to get out of my seat many times throughout the Crank: High Voltage and felt somewhat gross for staying, I persevered. I figure I really can't complain about a movie unless I give it a full chance and watch it from beginning to end.

I was really looking forward to a fun-filled action ride, going to this movie. I love the Tarantino films, the Guy Ritchie movies, the gratuitous special effects shows and extreme camera angles and stylings. Agreed, there are some pretty impressive visuals and high speed action. That's where the fun ends. It's what's going on within all these visuals and action that's quite disturbing.

The rant: I don't know if the theatre I was in had their volume turned up and extra notch or if this movie has it's levels higher than it should, but I was glad I had my headphones with me, so I could stick them in my ears while I watched. Otherwise, my ears would be ringing and in pain today. It makes sense that Crank would have it's levels higher because this is in keeping with the commercials on television (a little louder than everything else and definitely louder than necessary), especially since the movie seemed like one big commercial for sexism, violence, poor taste, and sensationalism.

From cutting own's own nipples off to cutting another's elbows off and calling it "sushi", from shoving rifles covered in tar up asses to obliterating someone's face with a 6-pack cooler, I've seen some hard-core films with insane violence in it, but Crank doesn't care. It jumps from one sensational image to the next, a big fricken festival and no one seems to give a second glance or asks "why". The violence really doesn't matter, it just keeps happening, almost without reason or result. You want a little overstimulation with your violence? How bout extreme close-ups, fast-paced rhythm editing, and gratuitous "which indie film camera trick have we not used, cuz I wanna make sure and use them all?"

Okay, okay, the number of close-up crotch, tits, and ass shots is quite impressive as well. I've never seen so many shots of impressively focused angles on butt flesh in all it's forms. You can see every dimple and peach fuzz hair on the hundreds of girls' featured butts (and man ass too). And it's not enough to just focus in, they somehow managed to get all of their actresses to spread their legs or bend over to get that nice "up in between the legs" shot. Not once, not twice, over and over, the whole film seemed a montage of sluts parading behind gunfire and commercialism. Even the sex scene on the horse track; it was like "I get it, I get it, funny, ha ha" and then it just kept going and going, going from bad to just stupid.

Which brings me to the real trouble with this flick, it is everything wrong with the media today, yelling and screaming at you with disregard to taste or creativity or narrative (speaking of which, it is quite clear they really don't care whether or not you know what's going on or if there is a story to all the madness) in a big shiny box with sparkles, ribbons, bows, glitter, and and... They took EVERYTHING cool in action movies and indie films and whatnot and smashed it together and got a clown in a car salesman suit to hit you over the head with it while screaming death metal songs in your ear. (I LOVE Jason Statham, I don't think of him as the clown in the least. Loved watching him, just disappointed with the packaging.) Removed the class, cut the taste. They stole the appearance of creativity and "cool" the way an ad agency steals a great photo on Flickr and sells millions of dollars worth of shampoo with it after a nice Photoshop job. It did have the pacing of a commercial or MTV video and I kinda felt like I was watching one long, loud, bad, commercial for sexism and violence and "don't give a f*ck".

Just ugly.

It makes me really disappointed with the direction of the media today. I was disappointed when I came to IMDb and saw what high ratings it got. I know people love this film and I can see why. I guess that's the sad part.

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29 out of 52 people found the following review useful:
where's the heart.... I don't mean the movie, I mean the actual heart?, 16 April 2009

Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

For those of us that saw the first movie Crank it seemed open and shut - a retooling of D.O.A. and Speed to combine a exploitation-action-comedy that had Jason Statham gunning after the dirty folks who slipped him a irreversible Chinese poison that would kill him immediately unless he kept his heart racing like a coke-driven locomotive. At the end it seemed especially the case since, well, Chev Chelios falls out of a helicopter and crashes on a car. Dead? Actually no, as case turns out to be.

Let's face it - with Crank you already had to suspend disbelief, but with Crank: High Voltage you'll need to put your disbelief in a microwave and cook until it's about ready to jump out and kick the ever-loving s*** out of you. This movie not only doesn't follow logic or laws of physics or biology, it flips the finger and goes along on its way like the best video game your friend ever got that he wont let you play.

But hell, why bother playing when watching it may be even more fun? Chev Chelios- who three months after we last saw him has been given a "fake" heart with a kind of electrical system (think of a ghetto version of that thing Tony Stark has as Iron Man) after some Chinese dudes took out his heart- goes on rampages, when properly given the quality electroshock of course, like he's the energizer bunny criss-crossed with... hmm, the most psychotic hell-bent killer one's ever seen outside of the dirtiest and most ultra-violent exploitation flicks ever? Even more to face it, at this point Chev Chelios would make Charles Bronson have second thoughts about that sock-o-quarters.

To say that this is a "better" movie than the first one would not be correct. It's simply not. The first had a clearer story, and didn't try to add "depth" like flashing back to Chev's childhood memory of being on a talk-show as an already ultra-violent hoodlum kid with a talk-back mouth (still a very funny scene, but besides the point). What Crank: High Voltage has, and this is in barrels and barrels like an outhouse at a circus, is crazy, LOTS and LOTS of craziness. This had me, and at least a good lot of others at the midnight screening I went to, howling with laughter. What else can you do as they actually TOP the in-public rampage-of-sex scene between Statham and Amy Smart as they get it on (because, apparently, skin friction creates energy doncha know?) in front of a full crowd at a race track? Or what about the incredibly stream-of-consciousness cut-aways to the F-you-Chev-Chelios texts scrolling across the screen?

Best of all, or just so bats*** mad of all that you will be hitting yourself across the head with a hammer to make sure you're not seeing things, are new casting choices. One, Clifton Collins Jr, is a nice little touch where he gets to basically go all out- and I do mean ALL out, handlebar mustache included- after playing low-key character parts for years. The other will keep genre fans talking for weeks: David Carradine, that's right, David "Bill" Carradine, is in the movie as the 100 year old gangster who is barely on life support and is given his last chance at life - thanks to Chev Chelios' Chinese-poison-resistant heart. Compared to Carradine's "how-the-hell-did-they-get-him" casting, Bai Ling is just a natural choice as a relentlessly obnoxious Ho' who keeps following Chelios as he's "her Kevin Costner." Did I mention the brother of the uh, Efren Ramirez's character from the first film, is back as a gay turret's-body sufferer?

Add on to this Jason Statham's go for broke attitude with the whole shebang, and the fact that the filmmakers behind this film (as well as the first one) will go to the most extreme lengths to make the most hardened action film and Grindhouse geeks drooling and jaws agape many times over, and you've got yourself a completely, joyously Gonzo piece of HARD-R-rated American cinema. Don't go to see it because it might give a "message". See it because it's Jason Statham rampaging- at one point he turns into Godzilla at a power plant fighting a goon- all the way to the last moment... and yes, there will be a sequel! Maybe...

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