I love action movies, but they have to be intelligent. No "The Mummy" or "The Fast and the Furious" for me. Crank nails it in every way.
It's hard enough to pull together a film with a lot of stunts. Then top that by making it non-stop action throughout. Then top that by having an intelligent plot that keeps you thinking and characters whose motivations and decisions make sense. Then top that by adding in some humor that doesn't blow the seriousness of the movie but adds some charm and -- listen up, Jet Li -- originality to the stunts.
But then, pump it up with cinematography that (unlike The Bourne Identity, which didn't work for me) makes the whole thing even more original and adds to the drama instead of being puffery. Then add Amy Smart, yum. Despite the fast pace, there is actually real chemistry with her as the love interest.
Every action movie lover should go out and see this film immediately. It is everything that Snakes on a Plane, which is cheesy and bad, and I don't mean good-bad, is not.
Who should see this movie:
-- Action movie fans, you might not want to bring your SO, it's pretty hardcore with the gore and violence
-- Enraged assassins with 2 hours to live I'll give "Crank" a 9 out of 10, the only missing point being that there's no real depth to the drama, it's strictly "just for the action".
It's hard enough to pull together a film with a lot of stunts. Then top that by making it non-stop action throughout. Then top that by having an intelligent plot that keeps you thinking and characters whose motivations and decisions make sense. Then top that by adding in some humor that doesn't blow the seriousness of the movie but adds some charm and -- listen up, Jet Li -- originality to the stunts.
But then, pump it up with cinematography that (unlike The Bourne Identity, which didn't work for me) makes the whole thing even more original and adds to the drama instead of being puffery. Then add Amy Smart, yum. Despite the fast pace, there is actually real chemistry with her as the love interest.
Every action movie lover should go out and see this film immediately. It is everything that Snakes on a Plane, which is cheesy and bad, and I don't mean good-bad, is not.
Who should see this movie:
-- Action movie fans, you might not want to bring your SO, it's pretty hardcore with the gore and violence
-- Enraged assassins with 2 hours to live I'll give "Crank" a 9 out of 10, the only missing point being that there's no real depth to the drama, it's strictly "just for the action".