Digital Sextant

Crank

Crank

Crank seems like it was made about three years too late.  It feels a lot like Snatch or other movies of that ilk.  It uses quirky cinematography, wacky graphics, and a hyper-kinetic style that was especially en vogue in the early 2000s.  It also appears to be an also-ran to its more glorious 2007 cousin, Shoot-em-Up.  That said, Crank has a lot going for it on its own, and is a fine movie to watch if you are happy to see something along this continuum.

• I’m amused by the conceit: the hitman Chevy has been injected with a fast-acting Chinese drug that can only be staved off with adrenaline.  Thus, he must keep moving, keep injecting epinephrine, keep himself hepped up or he will die.
• There are plenty of very funny moments.  He drives through a shopping mall.  He works to maintain his facade of being a video-game designer with his sleepy, ditsy girlfriend.  In a poor attempt to elude some police officers, he changes into a hospital gown and spends much of the movie running around with his butt peeking out.
• There’s plenty of violence too, and lots of swearing.
• The movie doesn’t make you think much of mobsters — they sure are an angry lot.