Crank: The Chaotic Action Flick That Brought Video Game Energy To Cinema

Crank: The Chaotic Action Flick That Brought Video Game Energy to Cinema

01 October 2024 17h00

In 2006, Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine’s Crank united cinema and video games with its frenetic pace, chaotic energy, and absurd action.

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Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), Crank, Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine, Lionsgate, 2006.

When it comes to films bridging the gap between cinema and video games, recent examples come quickly to mind with the multiple releases of the past few years. Whether it’s Uncharted or The Super Mario Bros. Movie, filmmakers have the difficult task of reproducing a videogame feeling, whether it’s in Tom Holland’s feverish resemblance to Nathan Drake or retranscribing the colorful, vibrant style of the Nintendo universe for studio Illumination.

But let’s go back in time, to a time when video game adaptations weren’t as coveted by studios, or worse, when they were despised or even cursed – the 2000s. In 2006, Crank, directed by Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine and starring Jason Statham, was unleashed. The premise of Crank is as simple as it is ridiculous. Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), a hitman, wakes up to find he’s been poisoned by a synthetic drug that inhibits the flow of adrenaline to his heart. His only means of staying alive is to keep his adrenalin levels high, by doing things as crazy as they are ludicrous, as he hunts down Ricky Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo) to seek revenge.

Let’s make it quite clear right now, Crank is definitely not the smartest thing you’re going to watch tonight. However, the two filmmakers bring a remarkable visual aspect to their film, taking it from a violent, absurdist nonsense to an innovative visual proposition in action cinema.

So, what does this have to do with video games? Right from the screen displaying the film’s 8bit pixel title, the filmmakers’ inspirations are laid down. The duo use this as a basis for incessant visual dynamism, using hand-held cameras, split screens, fast cuts and POV shots to immerse the viewer in Chev’s frenetic, distorted reality.

“It’s like a battlefield to us. We both have a camera in our hands, and we like to be in the explosions. And when the guns are going off, we’re putting the camera right in the gunman’s face. It’s just stuff we can really play and have fun with.”[1]

The filmmakers also incorporate various digital and sound effects to reinforce the sense of urgency and disorientation. As our poisoned killer rushes from one chaotic situation to the next, the camera acts as a third character, a point of view ultimately quite similar to that found in Grand Theft Auto.

Despite its serious tone, Crank revels in its own ridiculousness. The film knows how to laugh at its own character and universe, injecting moments of black comedy and absurdist humor. Whether it’s Chev engaging in extravagant acts of violence by chopping off a mob member’s hand, or standing on a police motorcycle half-naked to maintain his heart rate, the film is packed with preposterous moments.

While Crank doesn’t shine for its script, its constant overacting or its coherence, it does serve as an example of how a simple concept can be used to propose or bend the rules of action cinema. However, this delicate balance doesn’t work for everyone, and understandably so. On more than one occasion, the film is on the verge of an overdose of stupidity, but its visual aspect manages to keep our interest just enough for the next sequence.

Despite moderate critical reception, praised for its aggressive style and relentless pace and discredited for being too chaotic and superficial, Crank was a commercial success at the box-office, grossing $42 million on a budget of $12 million. Enough of a success to spawn a second film, Crank: High Voltage in 2009, which failed to recapture what made the first film such a hit with audiences. This didn’t stop directors Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine from continuing their video game theme with Gamer in 2009, and then taking the comic book adaptation route with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance in 2011.

Crank may not be remembered for its screenplay and dialogue, but over the years it has built up a cult following in the world of action films based on video game codes. Even today, the film remains a unique find and experience in the B-movie world.

[1] Interview of Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine, Slash Film, September 4th 2009, URL : https://www.slashfilm.com/505251/interview-writersdirectors-neveldine-taylor-talk-gamer-what-happened-with-jonah-hex-and-how-crank-2-was-their-nickelodeon-green-goop-moment-for-america/