"[Natural Born Killers + Shoot em up] = Crank 2

High Voltage is essential for those that like their junk movies tasteless and baseless. I for one is pretty versatile when it comes to films and for those who know me can vouch for it. After I'd seen Crank 1 I couldn't wait to see Crank 2. It moves at such a frantic pace that you will probably miss a few things during the first viewing so I had to see it twice.

For those of you who don't know story wise, don't sweat it. It's just as bad as the previous installment. Voltage beings where the original ended with the Stath falling a mile from a helicopter and bouncing off a parked car - dead presumably, but no because the Chinese warlord responsible for his original poisoned predicament has Staham's Chev Chelios scraped off the roadside and deposited in a makeshift surgical theatre where his heart, strong enough to survive the original film and so a desirable commodity for his wizened nemesis, is extracted and replaced with a battery powered stopgap designed to keep him alive and his organs fresh for transplantation. You'd be forgiven for losing the thread at this point but the movie is only 5 minutes old when Chelios thankfully regains consciousness and on Doctor's orders, begins a hunt for his real heart while subjecting himself to electric shocks to keep the temporary one functioning.

That, if you can believe it, is the setup, and you won't be shocked to learn that it's a fairly sober foundation for what follows. Shot on prosumer camcorders, Crank 2 is saturated in the promise of bargain basement vulgarity and doesn't disappoint. Edited with an eye for the absurd, it feverishly presses on across ninety monged out minutes in which guns are inserted into rectums, nipples sliced from torsos, fights segue into Godzilla style monsters battling against miniatures (with actors in caricatured masks of Statham and his enemy battling it out) and in the funniest sequence, Geri Halliwell appears in flashback as Mother Chelios, taking the young Chev to task on a talk show in which a few British cars and a reject from a mad max movie dressed as a British punk are dropped onto a Californian back lot for the least convincing but most enjoyable English flashback you've ever seen. Chelios may be a hard-line misogynist and causal racist, but there's something about the former Sydenham market trader that would make him likable. Jason Statham preforms brilliantly once again as Chev Chilos. But if you look closer to the film you will see cameo performance of Cory Haims(The Lost Boys) and David Carradine(Kill Bill).

Like I said if you can handle violence, blood, shootings, gratuitous nudity, foul and offensive language involving hilarious one liners from Jason Statham then give it a shot. It's a pure, mindless action taken beyond the extreme and I loved every minute of it.

Shocked in comparison

The original Crank was a movie of genius proportions with never before seen film action. High Voltage had its moments but seemed a silly run on from the original. A good way to compare the first from the second is to take a look at Amy Smart in both films. In Crank her role was smooth, sexy, alluring, and totally vivacious. While in High Voltage she played a raunchy, scummy, distasteful underworld sex object. Jason Statham is a great addition to any film and he held my interest throughout its entirety. I gave High Voltage a more than deserved 'average' rating only because I was expecting more of the first and so was disappointed. It seemed to be made up as the movie went along with the directors being stoned out of any reasonable thought processes. As the movie ended there appeared to be left an opening for a third Crank. Longing for a repeat of the first, I will take a wait and see attitude to protect myself from another massive disappointment.

Crank: High Voltage

An excellent sequel that manages to not only surpass the 1st in excessiveness,(e.g. action, violence, crude yet humorous dialogue,) but also turn out to be an excellent film simultaneously. It does more than just pick up where the first movie left off, it actually incorporates the last 5-minutes or so to make one of the more seamless transitions I have ever seen in a movie-arc. While not family friendly, for the bachelor(ette) looking to amuse oneself with a hypothetical classic, "what if Superman & the Terminator got in a fight..." realization, this film does not disappoint. And, like all of Jason Statham's movies the non-stop cinematic action overflows like a volcanic eruption. Sure the plot is shallow but the creative applications of violence, no matter how unrealistic, make for a good show that overall

Jason Statham Returns with a vengance

Jason Statham Returns with a vengeance in this sequel to Crank.

After falling nearly a mile at the end of Crank, Statham finds himself on an operating table after having his heart cut out to replace that of a dying crime boss played by David Carradine. Where the movie goes from there is pretty far fetched however it is full of action and many Crank fans will get a kick out of some of the inventive ways that Statham uses to charge himself up.

Its a good movie if your really into this type of movie.

Rated 4 of 5. Good action.

Crank 2 High Voltage (DVD, 2009)

Should be stamped Porm movie. This is not for kids, a family type movie. Not posted on the discription of the movie or I would have never got it. No real plot. Some parts more like a cartoon. A new low for Jason Statham, and new start for a possible new Porm gueen Amy Smart. My only problem is "how to get rid of of this DVD?" Trash car here I come. Save your money on this one, or donate it to a good cause. Too bad as Statham is one of action guys I use to like to see. Ebay is asleep on this movie...should be XXX