Metascore
57 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 19
  2. Negative: 2 out of 19
  1. Reviewed by: Nick De Semlyen
    80
    A Saw for the action crowd, this is an intense, stripped-down ride that goes places you'd never expect. Edgy and outrageous, it should get the fearless Statham some deserved attention.
  2. Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    80
    First-time feature directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor play with speed and sound to effectively recreate the buzz of an over-caffeinated all-nighter, delivering one of the year's best pure junk-food entertainments.
  3. If you can stomach the hard-R rating, this is a smart, sexy and funny sprint.
  4. Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    75
    Crank is an efficient, witty, junkyard dog of an action movie for its first hour. Unfortunately, the script runs out of gas before the hero does. While it's cooking, though, it's violently preposterous fun.
  5. The 2006 summer movie season went out with a reasonable bang courtesy of Crank, a jacked-up, unapologetically mindless bit of ADD-prescribed escapism that more or less delivers on a nifty premise.
  6. Reviewed by: Michael Ordona
    70
    Neveldine and Taylor empty their handbasket of cinematic tricks. They display visual wit, have fun with pop songs, and shoot much of the film in slightly choppy fast-motion ("under-cranked," get it?).
  7. Crank" is "D.O.A" on methamphetamines.
  8. 70
    This is one of those movies whose empty-headed premise is so pure it's witty: with his insatiable need for excitement, the hero is a perfect stand-in for the fanboys in the audience.
  9. 67
    It's a sympathomimetic monoamine that stimulates the central nervous system! Hooray epinephrine! And that's all I'm going to say about Crank.
  10. The movie is cranked up somewhere between stylish and proudly stupid, dusted with sunniness from Amy Smart (as Chev's sleepy girlfriend) -- and guaranteed to be out of your system by the time the lights come up.
  11. 63
    One could argue that Crank works best as a comedy. It's occasionally funny, and some times VERY funny.
  12. So blatantly contrived it could be called The Fast and the Spurious, Crank has the small saving grace of being intentionally ridiculous. The action sequences are more notable for their outrageousness than their visceral power.
  13. Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    60
    Videogamers who've been itching for "Grand Theft Auto: The Movie" can tide themselves over in the meantime with Crank, a down-and-dirty actioner that follows a rugged antihero trying to outrun death by keeping his adrenaline flowing.
  14. 58
    Its a stupid thrill for a while, but the high wears off, and the anything-goes approach gets headache-inducing.
  15. 50
    Genially preposterous, with stunt players outnumbering actors by something like a 3-to-1 ratio, the action thriller Crank is surprisingly watchable.
  16. It's all about the dumb thrill, baby. Leave it alone, or leave your brain and pocket change at the gate, strap yourself in and just enjoy the ride.
  17. Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    50
    The whole thing whizzes by in such a panicked rush that there's no time for anything so immaterial as character, but what little we do learn about Chev works against the film.
  18. Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    30
    For a movie premised on unrelenting action, Crank proves fatally turgid.
  19. Every movie's gotta have a gimmick, and Crank's is that it has an excellent shot at ending 2006 as the worst film of the year.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 116 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 55
  2. Negative: 11 out of 55
  1. TomS.
    0
    This is one of the worst pieces of fecal matter I've had the misjudgement to inflict on myself. It might have some appeal to mentally defective 12-year old crack addicts but that's about it. An action movie needs more than just non-stop action, it needs pacing, or the "action" becomes non-stop, bludgeoning tedium. I can't believe someone actually compared it to Die-Hard. Die-Hard had a talented director who knew how to orchestrate and pace. This movie is has only compulsive, empty freneticism. Maybe sociopathic computer game fanatics might appreciate it as well. Full Review »
  2. 8
    This movie is basically fun, mindless entertainment. It is unexpectedly funny and has stylish cinematography and over-the-top action scenes. Silly action movie done good. Full Review »
  3. This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. This is a movie that is a good example of films that gain "cult" followings in which make them more popular. Crank itself is a strange movie but is based on a pretty unique concept with Chelios being injected with a Chinese drug that slows your heart down, with adrenaline being the temporary fix to keep him alive. Using this idea it really was cool to see all of the different unique ways that the film conveys the character increasing his adrenaline levels to keep him living. The film is filled with some corky types of comedy throughout, but the great action scenes throughout make the film a fun one to watch. Full Review »