Borrowing its slim storyline from the 1950
film noir D.O.A. (starring Edmond O'Brien), CRANK follows the life-and-death situation of hitman Chev (
Jason Statham), who is poisoned and has a limited time to find his killer and exact revenge. Chev swears he wants to go straight in order to please his mightily naïve girlfriend Eve (
Amy Smart). Chev's pursuit of his killer, the utterly arrogant Ricky Verona (Jose Pablo Contillo), leads to run-ins with any number of brutish and shady sorts, including drug dealers, assassins, gang members, and thugs. Chev appears to be a softie at heart--he saves Eve from villains, impresses her with his devotion, but can't overcome the effects of the deadly toxin. In order that the movie can race along for its 87 minutes, Chev is able to slow the poison by keeping his adrenaline geared up -- this according to an absurd diagnosis rendered by his doctor (Dwight Yoakam).