Crank is its own drug

 ‘You sayin’ this is medicinal use coke, is that what you sayin’?’ -  Orlando

Experimental is the best way to describe the directorial debut of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, which injects every stylistic technique that you can imagine into this hour and a half sprint.

                                                                                                            

 Chev Chelios is injected with a Chinese synthetic drug by his rival Ricky Verona, which will slow his heart and kill him. As he searches for a cure and his adversaries, Chev must keep his adrenaline high to stay alive.

In want of an action movie, I thought anything starring Jason Statham would be safe bet. And although I thought the short synopsis Sky had given me was comical, the high and rarely used 18 age rating intrigued me.

From the start as the film bounced from Chelios’ point of view to surveillance footage the main feeling I had was confusion. This continued with the vivid look into the fast pumping heart of Chelios and at one point even a pigeon on the street, to convey his energy rush.

Although unorthodox Neveldine/Taylor’s style was at least consistent with the sound of a phone ringing always being morphed and the way in which buildings became inverted and inflated.

It was also more comical than I think the directing duo wanted it to be but when you show a man drive through a shopping centre, topple a car and walk out unscathed, it’s hard not to laugh.

Despite Statham being known for his action roles, those skills aren’t shown off with this character. The fact that he was simply knocked out by a baseball bat by Verona’s crew is enough to discredit his skill as a hitman. On top of this, his fight with Orlando’s crew isn’t even shown. When watching it I thought this was an early film in Statham’s career but comes much later than the acclaimed Snatched.

It’s difficult to truly discuss all of the outrageous elements of Crank without explicitly telling you what happened, but even then you’d find it hard to believe that this all occurred in one film. What’s more, people enjoy it. Unironically. Not only did the film replenished it’s budget but it even got a sequel, which I’m interested to see because what to know how much more they can add.

I’m learning that so many successful ideas on paper seem ridiculous but when actualised can become something fantastic. I don’t believe that Crank is one of those things, but art is vast and subjective enough that they can all co-exist.