Heart-pumping action stars in "Crank"

Film adaptations of video games are among the worst movies in cinema history. Few have risen from the depths of ineptitude to even sniff anything resembling mediocrity. While "Crank: High Voltage" was not adapted from a video game, it still comes the closest to the modern-day gaming experience that any film has ever achieved.Every scene is an A.D.D. blitzkrieg on the senses. Picking up exactly where the first film left off, we find that our next to invincible anti-hero, Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), is the brand-new recipient of a plastic heart, which is only barely keeping him alive.The heart requires an electric charge to keep Chelios going, which is where the madness comes in. With a broken battery pack, Chelios is forced to find other means of keeping himself stimulated. Whether he's getting static electricity by rubbing against an elderly woman, performing sexual acts in public or sticking his fingers in electrical sockets, Chelios is as resourceful as he possibly can be to keep his heart pumping long enough to find the gangsters who stole his ticker.Like a lot of Statham's movies, "Crank: High Voltage" requires that you take the film with a freakishly large grain of salt. However, once you accept the characters and the world in which they inhabit, the film becomes an inspired yet absurdist romp through an implausible alternate reality.The studio could have swapped out the title for "Grand Theft Auto: The Movie" and you probably wouldn't have batted an eye. However, like that video game, the film is not for everyone. If you're put off by copious amounts of extreme violence, offensive dialogue and a borderline anarchist outlook toward society and interpersonal relationships, it's probably best if you don't drop all your quarters into this proverbial arcade.Although, if you're like Chelios and you enjoy a good shock every now and then, "Crank: High Voltage" is the film to keep your heart racing."Crank: High Voltage"Directed by: Mark Neveldine and Brian TaylorStarring: Jason StathamRating: 4 stars (out of 5 stars)