5/5 Sure, over the top...but I loved it!
  by S. Weir
If you are looking for a quality movie, don't look here. If you are looking for jaw-dropping outrageousness, this is your ticket to get there. It is not for the squeamish, that's for sure. It is VERY much like a graphic novel, and obviously on purpose. I loved it. I could not stop laughing - in between gasps of pure shock. It was good, unclean, violent, over-the-top fun. It took the first movie and pushed it WAY beyond the bonds of taste. It will offend many, but - as I said - I found it hilarious.

4/5 Mind Officially Blown
  by Brian Lueth (Chicago, IL United States)
Action cinema isn't generally known for its thought-provoking subtext or artistic merit, action cinema viewers want a few fight sequences, some car chases, death defying stunts, a gunfight or two and, if at all possible, a great looking female thrown into the mix. Done right, even the skimpiest of plots and outrageously unbelievable of stories can satisfy action fans. This is why has-been action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal can continue making actions films (mainly direct-to-DVD these days) and still pay the bills. There's always a demand for big explosions and high henchmen body counts.

Crank 2: High Voltage can be called many things, none of which would include "socially responsible," and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. This is an action film for hardcore action film junkies looking for a fix of raw violence, offensive stereotypes and A.D.D. pacing; in other words it's the lowest common denominator aimed at a crowd looking for 100% adult entertainment. This isn't a drama or thriller dressed up with action sequences, Crank 2 is a mindless meth-addict of a movie that moves at the speed of sound, only letting up long enough for viewers to watch Statham violate a man with a shotgun or silicon juggs to deflate. There's no possible way you can come away from this film with anything but equal parts awe and disgust, it's a masterpiece and a mockery.

Crank 2: High Voltage is an incredibly difficult film for me to review because on one hand it was a plotless monstrosity of senseless sex and violence that offers not one single iota of value to cinema as a whole. On the other hand, not all cinema must contribute something worthwhile in order to thoroughly entertain and at the end of the day this film really only exists to entertain. By that token, it should receive five stars for achieving exactly what it was written and directed to do. To take this serious would be a mistake as it's fairly obvious nobody is meant to; forget about dialogue, acting and character arcs and just enjoy the unhinged thrill-ride!



3/5 3 ½ Stars: Ridiculously OVER-THE-TOP...This Movie is a HOOT!
  by Woopak (Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell)
"CRANK" was quite an experience. The movie just basically channels its strength from just how outrageous and over-the-top the scenes can get, it was basically a cartoonish display of violence and mayhem. I didn't exactly figure that writers/directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor would come up with a sequel considering the way "Crank" ended. Well, buckle up, fellas, Neveldine and Taylor have unleashed "CRANK 2: High Voltage" and it is definitely bigger, louder, sillier than the original film. This type of movie makes fun of itself and is NOT to be taken seriously. The film's ludicrous plot requires a VERY, VERY, VERY HUGE suspension of disbelief and requires a certain taste. I'd be lying if I didn't say that the film is loads of fun to watch and that it serves up a climax that is so outrageously unpredictable.

The movie takes off after the events of "Crank" as we see killer-for-hire Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) splattered all over the sidewalk. He should have died right there, (the movie makes no attempts to explain why his body wasn't pulp) but his body was recovered by a Chinese triad so that they can transplant his "strawberry tart" (or heart) to their very elderly leader Poon Dong (seriously!). Chelios awakens to escape before the triad can harvest his other body parts and goes on a rampage to recover his natural life-giving pump; requiring a jolt of electricity for his artificial heart so that he can embark on his journey. Along the way, he runs into a spunky prostitute named Ria (Bai Ling), his ex-girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) who is now a sexy stripper, dead friend Kaylo's brother Venus, all the while trying to avoid his former enemies...

Complain all you want about the film's bad dialogue, abrasive hyper-kinetic cinematography, gratuitous nudity (even full frontal), racism and absurd plot devices, this film goes all out. It appears that the creators are all in to outdo the original and they succeed. Directors Neveldine and Taylor doesn't hold back and CRANK 2 does make the original appear like a Disney flick. Like the two filmmakers or not, Taylor and Neveldine does display some of the sensibilities that made Tarantino great; only instead of having a grand knowledge of cinema that references from other films of the past, the two is your kid-in-a-candy store whose passion for filmmaking stems from video games, Asian technological tricks, cartoonish caricatures that is not high art but more like a scribble on a sketch book. They don't have the Tarantino finesse or touch, but they make do with what they have and channels exactly what they want to express that is a movie built on lewd behavior, murder, violence, blood, gratuitous nudity and sex. The two "Crank" creators are nuts and their ideas are a hoot!

The film is an on-screen video game complete with an 8-bit Nintendo score. "Crank 2" channels its energy from the absurd and the ridiculous. I don't have any idea as to what the crazy subtitles were all about. The writing of the film makes mayhem and debauchery its central focus and Statham and Amy Smart seemed to be very comfortable with their roles. I cannot really dissect the senseless, outrageous gimmicks the two filmmakers have cooked up because it is the film's main strengths; quite frankly the film makes the bare minimum of sense and it makes it its main draw. I wouldn't be surprised if they wrote up the story while they were drunk or they were severely over-caffeinated. (I mean this in a good way) I'll give you a few examples to whet your appetite, Statham and Smart has sex on a horse racing track while a horse leaps overhead showing his attributes, a stripper who gets shot in her implants, there are crazy scenes that channels "Godzilla" and "They Saved Hitler`s Brain". Whatever idea you can think of, "Crank 2" may just have it. Convoluted; yet so much fun.

The film is a direct sequel and honestly, it seems like "Crank 2" is the same movie but with more guts to go to the limit. The majority of the characters in the film carry references to the first film and many of them return in the persons of Keone Young, Reno Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Glenn Howerton, and in a way, Efren Ramirez who plays Kaylo's twin brother; they are easily recognizable as the viewer can easily connect the dots. Ramirez's character is definitely inspired that he has a crazy medical condition that I shouldn't reveal. Bai Ling plays a gutsy Chinese hooker and her character is no less outrageous as Ramirez's. She appears to be a sexy, creepy natural Bai Ling without her prozac. Cehv Chelios is the type of protagonist that I had no qualms in cheering on, because of his tough-fisted approach to any problem. It also helps when he has a girlfriend as sexy as Amy Smart. The film also remembers to pitch in a `mythic' mystery as to what is inside Johnny Vang's (played by Art Hsu) cooler. (ala-"Pulp Fiction")

"Crank 2: High Voltage" isn't a great movie but it is definitely great for what it wants to be. One cannot help but give in to all the ridiculousness and silliness of the film's narrative (or close to a linear narrative as it can be). The film is all about revenge mixed in with chase elements, with the "strawberry tart" as the main objective. Like Neveldine or Taylor or not, you have to give the two guys their props and appreciate their talent for mayhem and visual manipulation. Despite the fact that they may not approach a true level of artistry and finesse, their rough, edgy and unique style has won me over. The film is a raw exercise of action, mayhem and sex that defies and denies all logic and laws of physics that can turn your brain into gooey matter. It is something that takes everything we've seen in the past and dresses it up as something very different. You will either love this film or hate it; there is just no halfway mark. If there's another sequel (there is a strong hint that there will be), I am pretty sure this time I would be all in.

Recommended! [3 ½ Stars]




2/5 Bad Movie
  by Jeffrey C. Meade (Illinois)
I though the first move was over the top, and I somewhat enjoyed it, but the sequel goes so far into unreality that it becomes a mostly horrible and laughable experience. I could barely finish the movie and its extremely rare for me to say that about any movie so I would warn you to skip this and move on to something much better. Jason Statham should find better roles and not settle for trash like this.

4/5 Sensory Overload
  by David Baldwin (Philadelphia,PA USA)
This flick gets the chutzpah award for two reasons. If there was ever a flick where a sequel was unlikely "Crank" was it. Not only did the makers do it but they've made it semi-plausible. I can't remember a flick that so carelessly challenges an audiences sensibilities with so much over-the-top violence, outrageous stereotyping, and gratuitous nudity and sex. But then I thought a person of delicate taste would not be seeing a flick like "Crank 2". This is what they would call in the old days drive-in fare. They've also accomplished in half the time what Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez tried to do with "Grindhouse". Jason Statham further cements his reputation as the man in action movies and hones his cheeky sense of humor. The images and lines come at you fast and furiously. I don't give the flick the full five star treatment because alot of it is hit or miss. I look at it this way, though. If you throw a million pieces of information and half of it sticks you are ahead of the game.