Crank: High Voltage (R, 2009)

The first Crank, for all of its excess, gory violence, and sex-obsessed misogyny, at least had the virtue of being unique, down to the fact that it killed its protagonist at the end of his misadventures. Bringing Chev Chelios back may make sense financially, but it somewhat dilutes the hell-bent-for-madness lunacy of the original film.

Statham certainly deserves kudos for hurling himself into the role, and director-writers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor earn a few points for moments of mad invention (a fight between a hallucinating Chev and a Chinese gangster is shot and envisioned like a monster-on-monster battle from a '70s Japanese science fiction film, for one example). But familiarity breeds content -- or, in this case, shows contempt; the first Crank may have been shocking, but the only thing shocking about Crank: High Voltage is how far it's willing to go in the name of jolting the audience in pursuit of a quick buck.