Crank 2: High Voltage

Genre - Action
Year Released - 2009
Running Time - 96 minutes
Rated R for frenetic, strong, bloody violence, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity, and pervasive language
Directed by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor (both of whom directed the 1st Crank)
Written by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor (both of whom wrote the 1st Crank, as well as Pathology, and the upcoming Jonah Hex)


Cast Includes:
Jason Statham - returning as Chev Chelios (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, The Transporter films, etc)
Amy Smart - returning as Eve (The Butterfly Effect, Varsity Blues, Just Friends, Mirrors, etc)
Dwight Yoakham - returning as Doc Miles (Red Rock West, Sling Blade, Panic Room, Four Christmases)
Efren Ramirez - Kaylo from the 1st Crank (he also played Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite)
Reno Wilson - returning as Orlando (from the 1st Crank)
Bai Ling (The Crow and Shaolin Soccer)
Corey Haim (The Lost Boys, Silver Bullet)


Also, there are appearances by:
David Carradine [Kwai Chang Caine from Kung Fu]
John de Lancie [Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation]
Keith "Dean of Mean" Jardine [a UFC fighter]
Chester Bennington [from Linkin Park]
Maynard James Keenan [from Tool]
there may have been others as well, that I may have missed. . .


Rating: 5 Skulls

Plot Summary:
After surviving the brush (?) with death that ended the first Crank film, top assassin Chev Chelios returns in this action-packed (!) sequel to track down a ruthless Chinese mobster who has stolen his most prized possession: his heart.

As the talented hit man scours Los Angeles for his enemy, he must continually jolt the mechanical ticker that beats within his chest - otherwise, he's dead.


Review:
When I was younger, I remember how charged I would be after watching Bruce Lee, Van Damme, or Seagal's martial art flicks - I would walk out of the theatre feeling pumped, ready to take on anyone - that is how I felt after the 1st Crank, and that is how I am feeling now, after this one! :-)

Crank 2 picks up EXACTLY where Crank ended - Chelios falls from the helicopter, bounces off a car, and hits the pavement. . .

If you think that you had to suspend your disbelief during the 1st Crank, you haven't seen anything yet! This film goes so far over-the-top that it's ridiculous, but that is the fun of these two films. I LOVED the 1st one - I saw it twice in the theatre and I bought it the day it was released on DVD. I will be doing the same with this one!

What was up with the Godzilla style fight sequence?!?

There are sooooo many things that I could mention - for example, the guy who had a shotgun barrel shoved up his... I'll leave that one to your imagination, or how about the awesome gunfight that took place in the middle of a strip club, where a stripper gets shot through her breast and the silicone starts spurting out [right before this scene took place, there was also an awesome shot of a guy's elbow getting chopped off!]

Even the circumstances are subject to the extreme - for example, rather than just asking folks for a ride to his destination, instead Chelios asks them to "give him a jump" [the scene, in the trailer, where he clamps jumper cables to his nipple and tongue - way more fun than just asking for a ride!] ;-)

We also learn Doc Miles' reason for no longer being a legitimate doctor - it seems that he screwed up his wife's vaginal rejuvenation, while performing it in his basement. . .

Director's Neveldine & Taylor have topped everything from the 1st film. What about the 1st film's infamous sex scene, you ask? Oh yeah, this time around, Chelios & Eve get down and dirty [literally] in the middle of a horse track - during the race! [wait until you see the slow-motion horse jump that takes place - I was laughing out loud!] In fact, I was laughing out loud quite a bit during this movie, and it isn't even a comedy - it's just that much FUN!

Well, I could go on and on - Just go see this one for yourself! If you enjoyed the 1st one, then you will definitely enjoy this one - it bests the 1st one in pure outrageousness!

This may not be a legitimate "5 Skull" film, however I had to rate it that, just out of principal! :-)

Here's the Trailer:


I have to applaud Neveldine & Taylor for making a film that starts off from the very first second and doesn't let up [at all] until the credits are over with. [speaking of, make sure to stay until the very end of the credits as there are several outtakes, etc, including a hilarious one where one of the porn actresses [during a porn actor's strike - "no dough, no blow" etc goofs her line - very funny!]

I leave you with a question [for those who have already seen the film]

What do you think was in the cooler that Johnny Vang carried around?

Jason