Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Chev Chelios, a hit man wanting to go straight, lets his latest target slip away. Then he awakes the next morning to a phone call that informs him he has been poisoned and has only an hour to live unless he keeps adrenaline coursing through his body while he searches for an antidote.
Crank is a genuinely one-of-a-kind piece of hyperkinetic cinema — its high-concept premise (keep adrenaline pumping or die) is executed with relentless, almost experimental frenzy. Directors Neveldine/Taylor invented a distinctive gonzo aesthetic: shaky-cam on rollerskates, drug-trip color grading, fourth-wall winks, and non-stop escalation that feels like a video game come to life. That singular voice earns a high Novelty score. The plot is tissue-thin and exists purely as an excuse for set pieces, and the acting from Statham is serviceable tough-guy work rather than anything remarkable. Cinematography is scrappy and chaotic by design — functional and purposeful but not technically refined. The ending, with Chelios falling from a helicopter and giving the camera a middle finger before impact, is memorably absurd and on-brand, landing above average. Overall a deliberately dumb, wildly distinctive cult action film.