Pure action and violence

A cardinal rule of watching movies is that you have to keep their genre in mind; i.e., if you’re watching “High School Musical 7,” you shouldn’t compare it to “The Godfather.”
Just ask yourself how it holds up against other movies where synthetically beautiful, acne-free teens sing about how hard high school life really is. 

So when you watch a movie like “Crank: High Voltage” and think about how well it performs compared to other action comedies that have become so popular recently – I’m thinking the original “Crank,” 2007’s “Shoot ‘Em Up” and Sam Raimi’s cult classic “Army of Darkness” – it’s apparent that this one is among the best. 

The film picks up where the original left off, but you don’t need to know much.
Jason Statham is an ultra-badass hitman whose heart is replaced with an artificial electric model. Whenever its batteries run low, he has to jolt himself with electricity or else he dies – all the while hunting the men who are responsible.

There’s a bit of plot addressing who took his heart and why, but it’s hard to care. What follows is a full-throttled assault on the senses that is closer to a two-day cocaine binge than an actual movie. 

Despite its lack of plot, “Crank” offers moments of near-brilliance. 

Topless strippers wielding shotguns take us into “Grindhouse” territory. A wonderfully executed homage to “Godzilla” is so unexpected that it’s almost confusing. The Jerry Springer-esque flashback sequence is sure to keep the laughs coming, as well as the anal-rape-with-a-lubricated-shotgun scene. If this sounds ridiculous, it sure as hell is.  

This one is so over-the-top that the phrase starts to lose meaning – it waves bye-bye to “the top” within the first 10 seconds and tries to outdo itself at every possible turn.

This movie is so full of nudity, ultraviolence and completely offensive stereotypes that some may find it repulsive.  

But for those who love a good tongue-in-cheek action flick every once in a while, you won’t be able to keep the smile off your face.