''Crank'' is a 2006 American
action film written and directed by
Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (in their directorial debuts) and starring
Jason Statham,
Amy Smart
Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. A native of Los Angeles, Smart began her career modelling in Italy and subsequently enrolled in acting school.
Her first role in film was in director Martin Kunert's anthology horror ...
and
Jose Pablo Cantillo. The plot centers on a British
hitman
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...
based in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
named Chev Chelios who is poisoned by the mafia and must keep his
adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands an ...
flowing constantly in order to keep himself alive. He does so by various methods including taking drugs, publicly fornicating with his girlfriend, and getting into fights, while he tries to track down the man who poisoned him. The title of the film comes from a slang word for
methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamp ...
.
The film was followed by a sequel titled ''
Crank: High Voltage'' in 2009.
Plot
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
-based English hitman Chev Chelios works for a crime syndicate led by Don "Carlito" Carlos. Chelios is contracted by Carlito to kill mafia boss Don Kim as members of the
Triads have been encroaching on Carlito's business. Chelios goes to Don Kim and apparently murders him.
In the confusion, ambitious small-time criminal Ricky Verona uses the opportunity to conspire with Carlito against Chelios: Verona will kill Chelios so the Triads do not retaliate, and then take Chelios's place as Carlito's new hired gun. The morning after Don Kim's death, while Chelios sleeps in his apartment, Verona, his brother Alex, and several henchmen break in and inject Chelios with a Chinese synthetic drug which inhibits the flow of
adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands an ...
, slowing the heart and eventually killing the victim. Chelios wakes to find a recording left by Verona showing what he has done. Furious, Chelios smashes his TV and heads out.
Chelios phones Mafia surgeon Doc Miles, who informs Chelios that to survive he must keep his adrenaline pumping through constant excitement and danger, and he is unsure if the antidote exists. Chelios keeps his adrenaline up through risky and dangerous acts, which include picking fights with other gangsters, reckless driving and motorcycling, taking illegal drugs and synthetic epinephrine, fighting with the police, and having public sex with his girlfriend Eve.
Chelios visits Carlito at his penthouse and asks him to help find an antidote, as well as to find and kill Verona and his crew. Carlito says there is no antidote and only confirms that Carlito and Verona are working together. Carlito tells Chelios how he will use his death as a scapegoat against the Chinese. An angered Chelios leaves Carlito's penthouse to find Verona. Through Chelios' street contact, a
transvestite
Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...
named Kaylo, he finds Alex at a restaurant and unsuccessfully interrogates him about his brother's whereabouts before killing him. Chelios phones Verona through Alex's phone and tells him of his brother's death, prompting Verona to send thugs after Eve as a revenge. Chelios rushes to pick up Eve before Verona's thugs get to her. Chelios reveals his true profession to her and that he was planning to retire to spend more time with her.
Kaylo, who has been kidnapped by Carlito's men, is forced to call Chelios and tell him that Verona is at a Triad warehouse. Chelios goes there, finding Kaylo's corpse and the henchmen. They reveal that Carlito ordered them to kill Chelios. Eve, who has followed Chelios, unexpectedly arrives, but then escapes with Chelios after a shootout with Carlito's henchmen. Chelios and Eve go to Doc Miles's place, where Miles explains that he cannot cure Chelios. Knowing that he will die soon, Chelios decides to take his revenge on Verona and arranges a meeting with him at a downtown hotel.
Chelios goes to the rooftop of the hotel and meets with Verona, Carlito, and his henchmen. Carlito takes out a
syringe
A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside ...
, filled with the same poison used by Verona. As he is about to kill Chelios by injecting the second dose into him, Don Kim, revealed to be alive as Chelios spared him after all, arrives with his Triads to assist Chelios and a shootout follows. During the battle, several of Don Kim's and all of Carlito's men are killed. Carlito tries to escape with his private helicopter, but Chelios manages to catch up to him and holds him at gunpoint. Before Chelios can kill Carlito, Verona sneaks behind and injects Chelios with the syringe, after which Chelios collapses. Carlito himself is betrayed by Verona, who shoots him dead and tries to escape with his helicopter.
Chelios manages to stand up, boards the helicopter, and engages in a fight with Verona. After some struggle, Chelios manages to pull Verona out of the helicopter and while mid-air, Chelios proceeds to snap Verona's neck, killing him. While falling, Chelios calls Eve on his cell phone to apologize for not coming back. Chelios hits a car, bounces off it and lands right in front of the camera. In the last shot, it is implied that his adrenaline is indeed still flowing fast; his nostrils flare, he blinks, and two heartbeats are heard.
Cast
*
Jason Statham as Chev Chelios
*
Amy Smart
Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. A native of Los Angeles, Smart began her career modelling in Italy and subsequently enrolled in acting school.
Her first role in film was in director Martin Kunert's anthology horror ...
as Eve Lydon
*
Jose Pablo Cantillo as Ricky Verona
*
Carlos Sanz
Carlos Sanz is an American actor. He is best known for playing the main villain, Carlito, in the 2006 film '' Crank''.
Early life
Sanz grew up in Chicago and has two brothers, Steve and the actor Horatio Sanz. He and his family grew up in the Hum ...
as Carlito
*
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...
as Doc Miles
*
Efren Ramirez
Efrain Antonio Ramírez (born October 2, 1973) is an American actor and DJ, best known for playing Pedro Sánchez in the 2004 indie film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He later reprised his role in the 2012 animated series of the same name.
Early ...
as Kaylo
*
Keone Young as Don Kim
*
Reno Wilson
Roy "Reno" Wilson (born January 20, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Howard in the sitcom ''The Cosby Show'', Officer Carl McMillan in '' Mike & Molly'' and Stan Hill in '' Good Girls'', Wes in '' The Chronicle'' (200 ...
as Orlando
*
Sam Witwer
Sam Witwer (born October 20, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Crashdown in ''Battlestar Galactica'', Davis Bloome in ''Smallville'', Aidan Waite in '' Being Human'', Mr. Hyde in '' Once Upon a Time'', Ben Lockwood in '' ...
as Henchman
* Jay Xcala as Alex Verona
*
Chester Bennington
Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter who was best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead vocalist of the bands Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise, ...
as Pharmacy stoner (cameo)
*
Glenn Howerton
Glenn Franklin Howerton III (born April 13, 1976) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for the long-running dark satirical comedy ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present) on FX/FXX, a show he co-created ...
as Doctor
*
Noel Gugliemi
Noel Albert Gugliemi (also known as Noel G.) is an American actor best known for his portrayals of Southern Californian gangsters. Gugliemi has received some notoriety for having played characters named ''Hector'' in several movies and TV shows.
...
as Warehouse Rooftop Hood
Production
The film was written in 2003 with
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...
in mind for the lead role.
Rather than being shot on
35mm film like most films at the time, the filmmakers of ''Crank'' opted to shoot on digital videotape, using
Canon XL2 and
Sony CineAlta HDC-F950 cameras.
The film was shot on location in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. Co-directors
Mark Neveldine
Mark Neveldine (born May 11, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for frequently collaborating with Brian Taylor as Neveldine/Taylor.
Early life and education
Neveldine was born in Watertown, New York, to Tom Neveldine and Carolyn ...
and
Brian Taylor operated both "a" and "b" cameras, where one would get a wide shot and the other would get a close-up shot.
Jason Statham did all of his own fight and car stunts, including the fight with Verona in a helicopter 3,000 feet above Los Angeles.
Music
The soundtrack for the film was released on August 22, 2006.
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
gave the album three out of five, stating "What is here is imaginative, creative, and head-scratchingly cool. While it's a very tacky and overly obvious thing indeed to end with the Jefferson Starship tune "
Miracles
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
" (why not just give away the ending, huh?), this set is pretty much unassailable."
Marketing
Directors Neveldine and Taylor, along with actors Statham and Ramirez, appeared at the 2006
Comic-Con Convention in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. The panel showed a short clip and promoted the film, mentioning that it was shot in
HD and that no wires or
CGI were used for the stunt scenes.
The filmmakers also made extensive use of web advertisement to promote the film. Lionsgate bought a featured spot on the home page of
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and paid several of its well-known members to advertise.
Reception
Box office
''Crank'' opened on September 1, 2006 in North America in 2,515 theaters. It grossed $10,457,367 on its opening weekend and was ranked at No. 2 at the box office, behind ''
Invincible
Invincible may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism
* ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane
...
''. The film ended up grossing $27,838,408 domestically and $15,092,633 internationally for a total of $42,931,041, on a $12 million production budget.
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
the film has a rating of 61% based on reviews from 96 critics, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The website's consensus for the film reads, "''Crank'' assaultive style and gleeful depravity may turn off casual action fans, but audiences seeking a strong dose of adrenaline will be thrilled by Jason Statham's raucous race against mortality". On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 57 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade C+. Lionsgate chose not to screen the film for critics or the press at the time of its release.
Some filmmakers and actors singled out ''Crank'' (and its sequel) as their favorite films starring Jason Statham, including
Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part o ...
,
Rupert Grint
Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint (; born 24 August 1988) is an English actor. Grint rose to fame for his role as Ron Weasley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, for which he was cast at age eleven, having previously acted only in school plays a ...
,
Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
,
James McAvoy
James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...
,
Edgar Wright
Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...
, and
Gareth Evans.
Home media
The
region 2 version of the
DVD was released December 26, 2006, but initially had no special features. The
region 1 DVD was released by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
on January 9, 2007. This DVD is available in separate
widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...
and
fullscreen editions, each with
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3, is the name for what has now become a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Formerly named Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, the audio compression is loss ...
5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The bonus materials includes running cast and crew audio commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, gags, maps, making-of insights, and interviews with the cast. These features are all accessible via the "Crank'd Out Mode" - a pop-up window feature that allows access to the extras without ever leaving the film. The DVD also includes a "family friendly" audio replacement, in which the film is dubbed over as it would appear on a television broadcast. However, the violence, language subtitles, and nudity are still the same.
Video games
A
J2ME
Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME is a computing platform for development and deployment of portable code for embedded and mobile devices (micro-controllers, sensors, gateways, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, TV set-to ...
game was developed by
Silverbirch Studios.
Sequel
''Crank: High Voltage'' is the 2009 sequel to ''Crank''. It picks up seconds after the first film left off. It seems that the poison in Chelios' body has worn off, but retains the gimmick of the first installment; he now has an artificial heart which he must keep charged with electricity to stay alive.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crank (Film)
2006 films
2000s English-language films
2000s action thriller films
American action thriller films
Films about contract killing
Films about drugs
Films about organized crime in the United States
Films directed by Neveldine/Taylor
Films produced by Gary Lucchesi
Films produced by Tom Rosenberg
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
Lakeshore Entertainment films
Lionsgate films
Films scored by Paul Haslinger
2006 directorial debut films
Triad films
2000s American films
2000s Hong Kong films