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Parents' Guide to

Crank: High Voltage

By James Rocchi, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Grisly, gory, over-the-top action-parody isn't for kids.

Movie R 2009 96 minutes
Crank: High Voltage Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 16+

Based on 11 parent reviews

age 18+

A sequel that is even better than the first

I love the first one, but the second one is even better. The story is that Chev is now given an artificial heart and must shock himself repeatedly in order to stay alive (much like the first film) long enough to find his real heart and get it back. This movie just cranks up the raunchy humour up to eleven. And that's why I love it

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
age 15+

better than the first one lol

crank 2 is better than the first one, it's got more crazy action and it's much more ridiculous, and there's also some funny moments in it too, mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are such awesome directors lol

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (11 ):
Kids say (16 ):

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.

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.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: April 17, 2009
  • On DVD or streaming: September 8, 2009
  • Cast: Amy Smart , Efren Ramirez , Jason Statham
  • Directors: Brian Taylor , Mark Neveldine
  • Inclusion Information: Latino actors
  • Studio: Lionsgate
  • Genre: Action/Adventure
  • Run time: 96 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: frenetic strong bloody violence throughout, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language
  • Last updated: September 15, 2023

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