Crank (DVD, 2007, Widescreen Edition)

Crank is a non-stop, high-octane intense action film, with a bit of witty humor thrown in. Try and imagine The Transporter mixed with something along the lines of Running Scared. Yah, weird...but that's Crank in a nutshell. Writers and directors Neveldine and Taylor put together a movie that is so extreme it actually feels as if you are playing a video game. It doesn't ever stop or give you time to even think of where it is heading.

Jason Statham plays a hit man (Chev Chelios) in Los Angeles who has been injected with a Chinese poison, giving him only one hour until imminent death. In order to stay alive for as long as possible he must keep his adrenaline up. Filled with rage and a desire for revenge Chev hits the streets of LA in search of the man who poisoned him. Calling up his doctor friend (Dwight Yoakam) he finds out that he has 3 means of staying alive: Sex, Drugs, and Violence. While trying to juggle all of this, he is also trying to find a way to tell his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) that he has been poisoned, and that he is a professional hit man. Eve is a little over the top with her character. She is supposed to be everything that Chev is not, but she comes across as lazy and ditzy. Instead of someone that completes him she makes you question why he is with her. She ends up not helping the flow of the movie as much as I was hoping.

As you can tell, the storyline is fairly simple, but the movie is definitely not hurt by its simplicity. Crank really excels in its filmmaking techniques. Neveldine and Taylor really bust out all of the stops on this one. The entire movie is filmed to make you feel that you are actually part of the movie instead of just an audience member. Something that really jumped out at me were the unique transitions. When Chev calls up his girlfriend or gets in a fight, we will see not only his story but also everyone else's story at the same time and in multiple frames on the screen.

The DVD

Video:
Quite possibly one of the best transfers that I have seen to date on Blu-ray. I know that may sound like a bold statement but the movie looks great. There is a scene where Chev jumps into a pool and you can literally see every drop of water. There are many scenes that are simply jaw dropping. What really helps Crank is that it takes place mainly outdoors during the day. Whenever you see a car pass by or someone on the street, the brilliant colors jump out at you. One neat aspect that comes into play is the use of Google Maps; there are several times when you see the how Google Maps helps progress the story and fills you in on where Chev is traveling next.

The only thing that does hurt Crank a little is post-processing. Crank is extremely high in contrast and although it looks amazing most of the time, sometimes it is a little overdone and you can see distortion in the picture.

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