Crank: High Voltage. Hyperbole can suck a dick. | Bad Guys Win
The first time I saw crank: high voltage, I left the theater dizzy and euphoric. the second time I saw him, he was out of breath and beaten. I’m pretty sure a third movie screening would leave me an empty shell, swept up in discarded popcorn bags after the screening. crank:high voltage is a film of great fury and ingenuity that is almost impossible to write about, like describing traveling at the speed of light. that no one has ever done (that I know of). crank: high voltage contains so many “they just did that, can they do that?” moments it’s almost like a genie granting you unlimited movie wishes. besides its predecessor, Crank: High Voltage’s closest cinematic relatives are the Army of Darkness and the last ten minutes of Dead or Alive (which is the most fucking crazy thing I’ve ever seen).
of course, ‘merica has turned the crank: high voltage, because sometimes things are too incredible for people. Over a hundred million dollars was poured into the new Transformers movie, but I’m sure not a single moment will match the sheer, insane exhilaration of Jason Statham, On Fire, beating Clifton Collins Jr. to death, then screaming to heaven in triumphant fury. someday a boy will see that scene and become a man. then he will conquer the world (or show craziness: high voltage to his friends).
justin sent me a script a few months ago called balls out, a very funny riff on workplace comedy that was insane and therefore impossible to film. I mean, we have the means to do it, but not the guts. c:hv has guts and then some, which makes them balls from action movies. Chev Chelios is not a nice guy deep down, in reality he is a deeply traumatized person who handles almost all situations with extreme violence. and he has sex! in public! all time! he doesn’t feel remorse, and he’s actually incredibly self-centered. when he extends sympathy to him for the death of his friend kaylo, he is less empathetic, more “shit happens”. chelios probably thinks kaylo got away with it easily. He didn’t fall out of the helicopter and survived! i mean why does chev keep fighting and killing people? to stay alive, so he can keep hurting and killing people, which he likes to do because he’s really good at it. Chev Chelios is a man without remorse, and America, you can’t handle that. rambo goes home at the end of rambo, chev chelios can’t go home because he is full of pussies (i guess he would say this). Chev’s relationship with Eve is based on lies and sex, and that seems to be fine for both of them. Remember when Charlie Murphy called Rick James a “regular stepper”? crank: high voltage is the rick james of the movies.
where an amazing movie will zigzag when you think it will: high voltage refuses to even acknowledge those terms, operating entirely from a set of rules that only it knows and has no interest in sharing. godzilla fights, childhood flashbacks, crank – high voltage has no time for “the way things are supposed to be”. when you expect a zigzag or a zag, a man cuts off his nipples. real talk.
crank: high voltage sets an amazing precedent for movies. can you get crazy crank: high voltage? can you surprise yourself like this? when you shoot your movie, will it make the extras shit blood (this is true!)? if not, then you have not approached. arguments will be made that a truly great film involves ideas of personal sacrifice, the impact of choices on a person’s life, and the hopes and dreams of a people. of course. but have you ever seen jason statham kick a severed head?
