DVD Talk review of 'Crank'

[mr jelly]

I read Eric D. Snider's DVD review of Crank at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=23565 and...

I caught a lunch showing, expecting a good time. Instead what I got was literally the most creative technical tour de force committed to film since Kill Bill. Its not a fair comparison because Bill is so nuanced and creative in its writing, characterization, etc. But from a technical perspective, Tarantino loves to do unique things on screen that, well, youve never seen before. Chick fights in a living room, chick fights in a trailer, kung fu mixed with Iiado samurai swordplay, crazy choices in music layed over georgeous cinematography that make for unique visual hyperbole, long technical single shots, stunnig use of color to anchor different moods in different scenes, bizarre homages to other totally unrelated films, etc etc.

CRANK has none of this depth, but it does astound with its wit and creative humor (you will see people in circumstances you have NEVER scene before, that are just SWEET, over the top hilarious! Like a man in a hospital gown running full out through downtown LA, terrorizing people with his raging hard-on: that is some funny shit!). And its technically like no other movie you have ever seen - words appear subtitled at odd times - words appear on people - at one point Statham is talking to a guy who is speaking Japanese - the words are translated for us the viewer. The next shot has Statham looking down at the backwards translated out of focus words that we just saw! INSANE - and that wackyness, drug induced, has a purpose - its not just technical genius for the sake of doing technical genius - these creative moments are infused in the heart of the film (some seem randomly odd - we see a bird, we zoom in and see the heart of the bird go crazy because its startled and flys away - but still cool as cool gets).

The bottom line is that not only was I fully entertained in the best possible over-the-top action comedy way, but I was mesmerized along the way by the creativity and technical uniqueness (the film uses GOOGLE EARTH to show location - its not even hollywoodized - it uses it straight raw like it is if you were to go use it today - but throws it into the film and speeds it up all crazy - its fucking brilliant).

Statham continues to amaze with his Transporter cool guy character - and he is a pleasure to watch here at all times.

I loved this film, and it made me remember how much I love movies, how entertaining they can be, and that there are still a few new ideas left out there.

This guy does a much better job of summarize what is great than I do:

Quote:
"Ridiculously, incomprehensibly, undeniably cool, brilliantly, passionately and hysterically original, Crank is pure cinema heaven - nearly ninety minutes of action and comedy for its own sake with none of the silly little plot or conceivability niggles inevitably dolled out in your average Michael Bay film. If Jason Statham earned a penny for every time he was The Man in Crank, he'd have riches enough to buy the world. An insane suggestion befitting this year's most insane and criminally fun movie."


http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=20714

[fausti]

Agreed for the most part. I hated Kill Bill, but I found Crank to be highly stimulating (pun intended) and rather original in some ways. Yes, it's basically an ADD remake of the classic film, DOA, but does it in absolutely bizarre and beserk fashion. Insanely un-PC with its drug use (I'm surprised the DEA didn't arrest the entire film crew) and violent and misogynistic as hell (although one sex scene is jaw-droppingly funny and had the audience howling).

Very recommended but with a warning: this will polarize and offend men, women, children, Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and parakeets. You have been warned.

[MrX]

I think Running Scared is a better movie to comapare it to instead of Kill Bill

[sabre]

Good movie, entertaining, but not nearly that good. Shouldn't be compared to kill bill. drug induced effects are true, but too much imho of look at me i'm directing a movie shots.

[mdc3000]

I thought it was very much like Running Scared style wise. I enjoyed it for the most part, but sometimes I felt it was just style for the sake of style, which can kind of bug me. Also, I have no problem suspending disbelief for a movie, but in Crank (like RS) you have to do it to a point where you almost feel as if you're watching a live action cartoon - I say Cartoon instead of video game, because a lot of video games have more realism than Crank.

I had fun with it, but some of the quick cutting, google earthing, oversaturating etc. really bugged me. A solid 3 out of 5 and certainly a good matinee, but not the action movie saviour many have made it out to be.

MATT

and if you want cool subtitles as the OP mentioned, check out Nightwatch...shitty movie, brilliant subtitles.

[RocShemp]

I thought it was very much like Running Scared style wise. I enjoyed it for the most part, but sometimes I felt it was just style for the sake of style, which can kind of bug me. Also, I have no problem suspending disbelief for a movie, but in Crank (like RS) you have to do it to a point where you almost feel as if you're watching a live action cartoon - I say Cartoon instead of video game, because a lot of video games have more realism than Crank.

I had fun with it, but some of the quick cutting, google earthing, oversaturating etc. really bugged me. A solid 3 out of 5 and certainly a good matinee, but not the action movie saviour many have made it out to be.

You pretty much expressed my exact feeling regarding this movie. Though I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5. I had fun but am in no hurry to revisit it (and am glad I saw it as a matinee).

[rkndkn]

I enjoyed it for the most part, but sometimes I felt it was just style for the sake of style, which can kind of bug me. Also, I have no problem suspending disbelief for a movie, but in Crank (like RS) you have to do it to a point where you almost feel as if you're watching a live action cartoon - I say Cartoon instead of video game, because a lot of video games have more realism than Crank.


and if you want cool subtitles as the OP mentioned, check out Nightwatch...shitty movie, brilliant subtitles.

I agree very much with Matt's first paragraph. (However, I really liked "Nightwatch".)

I love Jason Statham and think he has everything a charismatic action star needs. Seeing him repeatedly flash his bare ass and have sex in public just wasn't funny, and I felt embarassed for him.

Here's to a better script next time to go with the style.

[Patman]

This was pretty much a live-action "hard" R-rated cartoon, and it was a fun time for its fast-paced, but short, running time. Loved the mayhem, the "devil may care" attitude on display, a total testosterone-fest on celluloid.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

[Big Quasimodo]

I had to pause my DVD viewing of "Crank" to come and find a place to post that this is, without a doubt, at the bottom 10% of all movies I have ever seen. Just horrible. Pathetic. I will refrain from spoilerizing to support my opinion, but examples in the first 20 minutes ABOUND!

Now I will go watch the rest of this mess. Go figure.

Oh, because I read the post above, I give it a D-. And I think Jason Stratham is the best action star going.

[Seantn]

I rented it last week and watched it twice, along with my friends. We all loved it and thought it was one of the most fun times we had had watching a movie in quite some time. I'll be buying this for sure. The movie has a really weird sense of humor to it, and that's also what is charming about it.

[Star Wars Guy]

I must be in the minority, as I really wanted to enjoy it, but walked away feeling unsatisfied with it. Most of the things the OP mentioned that he liked about it, I found as a distraction. I really enjoyed both Transporter movies and I'm a fan of Jason Statham. I guess I was just expecting it to be better. I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 and probably wouldn't watch it again. Different strokes for different folks...;)

[movieking]

I actually felt bad for Amy Smart who must have had the worst female role ever in this flick.

[slop101]

Actually, my favorite bit in that movie was when Amy Smart had the hiccups in the diner.

But yeah, her role wasn't exactly a triumph for women.

[dpz301]

Actually, my favorite bit in that movie was when Amy Smart had the hiccups in the diner.

But yeah, her role wasn't exactly a triumph for women.
that's an understatement :lol:

[Patman]

I was really hoping some of the Asian onlookers would have started taking photos when the public coitus was going on in front of them.

[Mopower]

I had to pause my DVD viewing of "Crank" to come and find a place to post that this is, without a doubt, at the bottom 10% of all movies I have ever seen. Just horrible. Pathetic. I will refrain from spoilerizing to support my opinion, but examples in the first 20 minutes ABOUND!

Now I will go watch the rest of this mess. Go figure.

Oh, because I read the post above, I give it a D-. And I think Jason Stratham is the best action star going.

I agree with all counts. The movie sucks. I mean SUCKS! I couldn't finish it. I love Jason Statham but Crank blows.

[Corvin]

I couldn't finish this either. It was like an amateur movie.

[bdshort]

I watched it the other night. Rented the Blu-ray from Netflix. This movie LOOKS amazing in HD, best BD I've seen. Other than that, I thought this movie was terrible. I watched it all, but had a hard time finding anything redeeming in it. The stuff that was supposed to be funny was juvenile, the situations were over the top silly (in a bad way), and I have to agree with a couple of comments above... I can't see how Amy Smart thought this would be a good role for her (or ANY actress!).

I wish Jason Statham would pick better movies, because I think he's a good actor. But I'm not a fan of either Transporter movie, or this one. At all.

[CinemaNut]

I thought it was more in style of CELLULAR, another race against time fun popcorn flick, though I enjoyed CRANK much more. I seen CRANK the same night as DISTRICT B13 and that was a kick ass night of crazy movie watching... Jason redeems himself for the craptacular Transporter 2.

[NatrlBornThrllr]

I love movies that give off that, "I'm a first time director, and I have tons of ideas for cool shots, so I'm going to squeeze them all into this feature in the event that I never get another opportunity to make another film" vibe. I'm all about originality in direction and cinematography, even if it serves little purpose in advancing the already lacking plot, and even if it is a bit excessive.

So, redeeming? Not quite.
Entertaining? A bit.
Fun to look at? You bet your ass.

This wasn't Bergman or Ford. It wasn't Scorsese or Eastwood. Greatness didn't abound in the script, and the performances weren't exactly tour-de-force. However, in the realm of mindless action films, I felt this one held it's own. I wouldn't mind checking out a toned down second effort from the directorial pair...though I doubt I'll trust their screenwriting again anytime in the near future.

So, here's hoping they take somebody else's script into production next time.

-JP

[Peep]

The best "mindless action film" of the year, IMO. Great ending! And I loved Amy Smart.

[valkyrie]

I'm casting my vote for suckage. Love Statham, but this movie was horrible. I couldn't send it back to Netflix fast enough. Uggg. No likeable characters at all. Never even felt anything for him for a second. Kinda hard to enjoy a movie you can't even relate to any character with. Guess it's me, though... ;)

[dadaluholla]

The best "mindless action film" of the year, IMO. Great ending! And I loved Amy Smart.

DITTO. I had a blast watching Crank. It was nasty and fun. Pretty creative as well. One of my favorites from last year.

[Cemetery Man]

I can't wait to check this movie out even more now, I loved the transporter movies and this guy makes a great action star.

[eXcentris]

Overall a fun flick, but my guess is that these two directors were on the same "Chinese shit" that Chev Chelios was on. This ain't MTV or the X-games, so tone down the puke inducing camera tricks please.