Crank 2: Excited?

YES!

It’s a great concept
Stealing someone’s heart and replacing it with one that has to be constantly recharged? Alfred Hitchcock would be proud! Actually, he’d probably be horrified, but it is a truly great plot-driving macguffin and given how the first movie turned out, we’re excited to see what it does for the new film. And who can’t love a film with the tagline, “He was dead... But he got better”?

 

The Crank team are back
Sometimes with sequels, the writers and directors who made the original so entertaining move on to other things (see: The Blair Witch Project for a prime example) and leave the new film to lesser talents who ruin the fun for everyone. We’re happy to report that that’s not the case at all with Crank, since writer/director/lunatics Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine have both returned.

 

Trailer genius
Have you checked out the promos for the film? They are pure blasts of adrenaline, perfectly summing up the film’s blend of bullets, boobs, destruction and chaos. It’s rare that a trailer actually warrants an R rating in the US, but the High Voltage footage sampling to date has shoved the envelope so far, it has set high (or maybe that should be low) standards for other films to compete with.

 

Statham!
While no one is ready to compare Jason Statham with the UK’s best thesps, he does the frustrated action hero thing very, very well. And the original Crank allowed him to go completely off the handle in a loony tunes-style action adventure that made perfect use of his particular skills. So we’re happy to see him back for more.

NO!

Statham!
Yes, Statham does the action schtick just fine. But the rest of his performance usually leaves a lot to be desired. Here’s hoping the Crank sequel just lets him punch people, shoot guns and look stressed without having to draw on any real depths.

 

When is OTT too OTT?
While we applaud the writer keeping to the spirit of the first movie, we have to wonder where they draw the line. Crank 2’s trailer makes it look so mad that it’ll just become stupid and even those with a high tolerance for wacky action will get sick of the movie’s excesses.

 

Excite-O-Meter rating: 4/5