The original Crank was an insanely guilty pleasure of mine. The film knew exactly what it was and it made no apologies for it. No, it certainly wasn’t for everyone, but its reckless, balls-to-the-wall, nonsensical insanity hooked me from the opening credits and it had me till Chev fell from the sky (Spoiler alert for those of you who haven’t seen the original) and landed on the pavement to his assumptive death. I loved that flick and I still watch it from time to time. And so, it was with great excitement that I heard they were doing yet another Crank movie… which opens this weekend.
Now, before I go on to write this article I’ve titled “5 Reasons To Be Pumped For Crank 2” it’s only fair and appropriate of me to point out that the directors of Crank 2 are friends of mine and so there is some full disclosure bias on my part. However, I can honestly tell you I loved Crank before I ever met the guys, and these 5 reasons I list for you now are total honest feelings.
So with all that being said, here are 5 reasons to be pumped for Crank 2:
1) THE TRAILERS
It’s true that trailers can be totally deceptive. The Phantom Menace had one of the greatest trailers in history… and looked how that turned out. Still, all things being equal it’s better for a movie to have a good trailer, and the trailers for Crank 2 have been fantastic (if you’re someone like me who is looking for more of what they gave us in the first Crank movie).
2) THE DIRECTORS
Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are not the next Ron Howards or Steven Spielbergs of Hollywood, nor are they about to bring the latest Shakespeare adaptation to the big screen. But what these guys do as well as almost anyone else is put together damn entertaining movies that uses the big screen as a virtual playground for pushing limits that other movies haven’t tried yet. For me personally, this makes for a really fun viewing experience. Again, not for everyone, but certainly for me with my big ol’ bag of popcorn.
3) THE MEDIUM
To the best of my knowledge, Crank 2 is going to be the very first wide release narrative film shot entirely on consumer level cameras. This is just another way Neveldine and Taylor like to explore and try new things. Instead of shooting on traditional 35mm film cameras, or on the $200k digital cameras, Neveldine and Taylor decided to shoot Crank 2 on the $3000 Canon XH-A1 HD pro-sumer video cameras that use standard mini-dv tape to record on. Not only is this a testament to how far digital equipment has come, but the relatively tiny cameras offered the directors unparalleled mobility and flexibility while shooting their crazy ass shots. I am dying to see how this turns out on the big screen. I don’t anticipate it will look just like film… but I don’t care… I just want to see if it WORKS.
4) JASON STATHAM
I’ve been a big fan of Statham ever since I first saw Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. I became an even bigger fan after seeing Snatch (one of my all time favs). Statham is one of those performers (notice that I didn’t say actors) who may never grace the stage of the Academy Awards, but for my money he is the last true action star (an argument could also be made for Dwayne Johnson). He’s got a great screen presence, tons of natural charisma, is in great shape, can pull off fantastic action scenes and has a very natural sense of comedic timing to boot. He’s an entertaining dude to see in the right kind of movie. No, he doesn’t always chose the right movies, but a franchise like Crank was made for him, and vice versa. Long live Chev Chelios!
5) THE TECHNIQUES
This goes back to what I was saying about Neveldine and Taylor earlier. These guys try things… ridiculous things. Some of these things revolve around how they like to get their shots. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are ways they get shots in an action scene involving a limo that would blow your mind. On top of all that, Mark Neveldine enjoys strapping a pair of roller blades onto his feet, holding on to the back of a car or a motorcycle (like in the picture below) and use his free hand to hold a camera while whipping around the streets. It all makes for some very unique shots acquired in some very unique ways.
So there you have it. If you’re a fan of movies that are a little bit different, or just flat out nuts, this is going to be the movie to catch this weekend. If you’re the type who gets bothered by too much violence, gratuitous nudity, swearing or silliness… maybe you’d be better off with something else. For me, I’ll be at this sucker Friday night.
