Part of Midnight Movies
After surviving an incredible plunge to near-certain death, Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is abducted by Chinese mobsters. Waking up three months later, Chev finds that his nearly indestructible heart has been replaced with a battery-operated device that requires regular jolts of electricity or it will fail. Chev escapes his captors, reunites with his lover Eve (Amy Smart), and sets out on a frantic chase through Los Angeles to get his real heart back. Savaged by critics on arrival for its relentlessly offensive tone and dogged flouting of good taste, Neveldine and Taylor’s maximalist, violent and often hilariously over-the-top magnum opus features some of the most memorably bonkers action set pieces of the time. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
“Imagine a gonzo collaboration between Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Bay and Tex Avery on a weekend meth binge, and you begin to get an idea of what writer-directors Mark Neveldine and Brad Taylor have up their sleeves.” —Alonso Duralde, Today
“The result, an eye-popping strobe of flesh and blood, is as visually stunning as it is absurdly offensive, sure to thrill some while leaving others in a state of outrage-induced catatonia.” —Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly
“‘Morally bankrupt’ doesn’t come close. This is a film that replaces plot with gratuitous violence, character with gratuitous sex/nudity, and theme with a stripper getting her implants punctured in a gunfight. There’s wince-inducing self-harm, and it may contain scenes of mild peril. Thank god it’s also endlessly entertaining and one of the funniest films of the year.” —Helen O’Hara, Empire
“Tasteless, trashy and totally over the top, CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE might also be one of the year's most inventive movies. Sometimes, nothing exceeds like excess.” —Jason Anderson, Toronto Star