Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Crank: High Voltage

also known as “Crank 2,” “Crank—High Voltage,” “Adrenalina 2,” “Ektos orion 2,” “Adrenaliin 2: Kõrgepinge” “Tetikçi 2—Yüksek gerilim,” See more »
MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for frenetic strong bloody violence throughout, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language.

Reviewed by: Eric Hernandez
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Crime Action Sequel
Length: 1 hr. 25 min.
Year of Release: 2009
USA Release: April 17, 2009 (wide—2,200 theaters)
DVD: September 8, 2009
Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Lionsgate

VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

NUDITY—Why are humans supposed to wear clothes? Answer

Featuring Jason Statham, Amy Smart, David Carradine, See all »
Director Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Producer Lakeshore Entertainment, Lionsgate, See all »
Distributor Distributor: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Trademark logo.Lionsgate (Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)

“He was dead… but he got better.”

Editor’s Note: This film is not recommended due to its bloody violence, extreme vulgarity and graphic sexual content. The prequel to this film was rated “Extremely Offensive.”

Prequel: “Crank” (2006)

Let it be said that this is not a typical review. I did not willingly volunteer to watch this movie. Not having ever seen the original “Crank” and knowing nothing about this, its sequel, I was convinced by some friends with very poor judgment to plop down five dollars and subject myself to this movie. What a mistake. “Crank: High Voltage” is a film so vile, so repugnant and evil that, by the time I left the theater, I felt like crying. I was filled with both anger and deep sadness after viewing it.

The plot of a film like this is really not worth discussing; the content completely overshadows any merit it may have as a movie. However, because I am obligated to cover it: Jason Statham stars as Chev Chelios, an assassin who was apparently dropped out of a helicopter at the end of the first film. He survived the fall and is scooped off the street by Chinese gangsters, who want to harvest his organs for sale on the black market. His heart is removed and for some reason replaced with a battery-powered artificial one. Chelios manages to escape the gang’s clutch and must spend the rest of the movie both running from the gang and electrically shocking himself in various ways in order to keep his heart running.

This paper-thin plot serves to harbor a mind-numbing amount of morally corrupt content; certainly the most I have ever witnessed in a movie. To try and list everything offensive in the movie would be a futile task. I suggest that if you do not plan on seeing this movie that you skip ahead to the last paragraph.

Bad language is pervasive, with every curse word imaginable spoken dozens of times. The F-word is said hundreds of times.

The sexual content is overwhelming. Explicit nudity of every kind is on display; with multiple scenes set in a strip club, there are many, many scenes with topless and fully nude women present. There are close-ups of breasts, buttocks, and genitals. The inside of a gay S&M club is glimpsed, where a man on a leash is seen being whipped. The film reaches its height of sexual perversity in an extraordinarily graphic sex scene on a public horse racetrack, with hundreds of onlookers, including children, watching.

As if that wasn’t enough, the violence in “Crank: High Voltage” seems determined to outweigh the sexual content. People are gunned down in virtually every scene, with blood and matter spraying from their wounds. A woman is shot in the breasts, and her silicone implants are seen oozing out along with blood. One man is tortured by having his nipples cut off, another by being shocked in the crotch with an electric cattle prod, and yet another by having the barrel of a shotgun stuck up his rectum. Chelios violently electrocutes himself multiple times in order to keep his heart running. The list goes on and on, but I don’t think I need to say any more.

This is sick, disturbing stuff. What left me truly rattled and shaken, though, were my fellow theatergoers’ reactions to what was happening on the screen. They were laughing. This wasn’t uncomfortable, nervous laughter either; indeed, they seemed to think the happenings on the screen was truly hilarious. There were young teenagers in the crowd, laughing along with everyone else. I’m not sure what to say about this, except I urge you to pray fervently that we as a culture do not become completely desensitized to sin. I went home feeling violated and defiled by this movie, wishing I could shower off the filth I felt it left on me. Psalm 101:3 says, “I will set no wicked thing before my eyes…” Take that advice. Don’t watch “Crank: High Voltage”.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—It was EPIC!!!… I am a huge fan of the first and was so excited to see this I took 2 friends and my dad. We were all laughing our butt off the whole movie. The horse track, the power plant, it was all awesome. The first was crazy; this was clinically insane and genius at the same time. You have to be a certain type of person to enjoy this movie; the movie threw every bit of plausibility out the window right after the opening credits and did not let up till the closing credits were done. All I can say is bring on “Crank 3,” wahoooooo.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Wayward, age 24 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—Well, I am not actually sure what to think about this movie. I am a huge fan of Jason (the main actor) and I loved the first movie despite the weird sex scene. Admittedly this series is over the top and crazy and not really meant for Christians. I am pretty open minded and handle anything really. But this film really seemed… out there this time. When I see something I usually expect it to have a point.

For instance the scene of the when gang member cutting off his nipples, up close and SHOWING it in your face none the less. What was the point? I mean, yes, there was a point, but did it really have to be shown? I know they were going for shock factor, and I was personally wasn’t shocked as much as I thinking “Wow, this served no real purpose!”. But I did think also that I knew that was gonna cross some lines for people. Believe it or not there is a line for a lot of people between violence in movies and brutal violence (usually torture). This was pretty much it. The guy was doing it for someone else’s pleasure.

Another thing that bugged me was the nudity. Now, nudity doesn’t bug me really but what was more concerning was the fact that it really had no purpose. There were more naked women then women with clothes on! And doing sexual things non the less. There was even some male nudity somewhat such as the main actor getting his genitals tortured (it was shown). Sure it was fake but its the point.

And the sex scene in this movie with the main actor was VERY long and even though it had a purpose I skipped it eventually thinking “Wow, does this end?!?”. So as if that wasn’t enough, the gay theme they really pushed heavily. Now, I don’t mind if someone’s gay. Hate the sin not the sinner. But when one of the characters is introduced it cuts to him at a gay fetish club doing a sexual dance with another guy, and the music is playing loudly saying something about performing oral sex over and over. I won’t repeat it here what it said exactly. It wasn’t needed. We got the idea of his preferences already.

Aside from this stuff it was crazy like the first movie and I did enjoy it BUT… I don’t think I want to sit through it again. What they had last time worked and pushed the envelope fine. Now, it’s beyond the envelope. I don’t want to know what the third movie will be about.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Matt S, age 27 (USA)
Negative
Negative—I had to review this movie for a group of young people. This movie is making nonsense compare to the first one. It’s very hard to watch at times, the language is really bad, very vulgar all the way, and I can’t count the times the F**** word was said.

The content is EXTREMELLY OFFENSIVE; there are few sexual scenes worst than the first movie. It was hard at times to figure out where the movie was going. The story was all over the place and not making too much sense. There was lots of action, but the format is not proper and the content disgusting. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE TO ANYONE.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Pastor David, age 34 (Canada)
Negative—Sick is a word that describes someone not feeling well…this movie leaves you feeling sick! Perverted, sick minds in hollywood today… This movie is the worst I have ever watched in my entire life and people who enjoy it… got something wrong with them… the sex, gore, the language… the overall feel of the movie makes your skin crawl. I have watched horror movies that have had less of a sickening aspect then this movie…

It was beyond filth. Hollywood should be ashamed for wasting such money on filming such garbage… and the lead actor Jason… well for him to star in something so idiotic and disgusting really changed my opinion of him… Too Bad…! Wouldn’t recommend this movie to a soul, at least a soul that wants to be saved…!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
Sherrie, age 32 (Canada)
Negative—This is the first time I’ve ever commented on a movie on this site. Now, I’m not a squeamish person and I’m not easily offended at all when it comes to movies. Sometimes I watch movies that many other Christians would not watch (Tarantino movies for example), including movies that are condemned by this site’s reviewers. But this was just too much even for me.

From a moviemaking standpoint it was pretty decently made, the action was visceral and some of the jokes were funny. That’s as much praise as the movie is going to get from me, because morally this movie is completely and utterly bankrupt. I can take a nude scene in some movies, but this movie was borderline pornographic, and it just came off to me as very degrading to women and left a bad taste in my mouth (same reason I will not watch “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” even though it’s probably a funny movie).

And the violence was glorified and sensationalized to the utmost degree, I mean I like a suspenseful action scene like the next guy, but here you were supposed to really revel in all the carnage, and the carnage was pretty extreme indeed. I did not need to see someone cut off their own nipples in detail.

Seriously, who enjoys watching stuff like that? The only reason I kept watching till the end was because I was watching it with a friend, had I been alone I would have turned it off for sure. You won’t hear me say this very often about movies (except porn and extreme horror), but I really don’t see what business any Christian would have watching a movie like this one.

No good can come of it. Skip it, and watch “Die Hard” again instead, if you need to see a good action movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Hans van de Belt, age 30 (Netherlands)
Negative—“Offensive Content: The Movie”. If “Crank: High Voltage” were more honest with its title, it would be named just that. This is, without a doubt, the most offensive film I’ve ever seen… which is why I feel a little guilty admitting that I actually enjoy it. But I’m not going to dwell too much on the reason why I enjoy it.

What’s important here is why this film is so… corrupt. For starters, I have never seen a film as obsessed with female objectification as this. Every female character is a stripper, prostitute, or adult film star (literally). Graphic nudity, both male and female (but much more of females), is on full display countless times throughout the film’s mercifully short running time.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Joseph, age 18 (USA)
Movie Critics
…Like its predecessor, “Crank: High Voltage,” the latest abomination from Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, is boorish, bigoted and borderline pornographic. …
Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
…Repulsive, poorly made garbage… With constant, graphic foul language, extreme violence, very explicit sexual content and nudity, and terrible filmmaking, this may be the worst, most abhorrent and evil action movie ever made. …
Movieguide
…The entire film is really just a series of gags strung together with a mere shadow of a storyline behind them. …the film suddenly, ridiculously, charmingly morphed into an oversized parody of Ishiro Honda’s classics “King Kong vs. Godzilla” and “War of the Gargantuas,” complete with the slow-motion destruction of a miniature power-station set and—I’m not making this up—little plastic people pointing and screaming… “Crank: High Voltage” is not nearly as much fun (or as coherent) as its culty predecessor…
Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
…the climactic shot of Statham flipping the audience the bird pretty much sums up High Voltage’s juvenile, semitransgressive intentions. …
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
Comments from non-viewers
Negative—One of the worst movies ever!!! I watched 10 minutes maybe a little more with my husband who literally had his eyes closed with all the nudity, YUCK Disturbing movie, completely foul, my heart hurt just watching what we did watch. These actors have made other great films, just pray that they will be lead to the truth.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
Natalie, age 29 (USA)