Crank 2: High Voltage - 2.5/5

I have yet to actually decide if I liked "Crank 2". I mean, if you get the idealism that is behind the "Crank" franchise, then I'm sure you will at least understand where "Crank 2" is going to be going - which is beyond anything you might actually expect. Over the top doesn't even begin to describe how ridiculous this film is.

Which is one of the reasons why I loved and hated this film. I loved the fact that this one said "fuck you" to every convention that has been established in film. Cohesive storyline. Out the window. Fluid motion from beginning to end. Not so much. Continuity. Maybe...if you consider long lost twin brothers and heads being kept mechanically alive as keeping the continuity between films steady.

I liked the fact that this film didn't want to be confined to any idea at all. In fact, there was no sense of self censorship for the sake of sanity at all. Why not have an extensive sex scene in the middle of a horse race track or a Godzilla fight scene between two of the characters as represented as other men in costumes made to look like said characters. Hell, anything goes on this one and it has a charm about.

But that charm was also its downfall as by a half hour into the film I was already so overwhelmed that I sort of mentally checked out. I needed a commercial break (and as a movie guy that is RARE). I'm sure I will like this film even more as it comes to home video as I can take it a bit more at a time, but in the theaters I was a bit overwhelmed.

Again, if you were a fan of "Crank" then I'm sure there is plenty to love in "Crank 2". Otherwise you might want to skip this one. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider