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One of Jason Statham’s most chaotic and fast-paced action thrillers is charging up on the STARZ global streaming chart. Although it is sometimes hard to differentiate one loud and brash Statham plot from another, you might remember this because of the actor needing to give himself a buzz every now and then to stay alive through the movie.

The movie is Crank: High Voltage, the 2009 sequel to Statham’s hit 2006 movie, Crank, which acted as a direct continuation of the dramatic ending of the first film. The synopsis for the sequel reads:

“After surviving an incredible plunge to near-certain death, Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is abducted by Chinese mobsters. Waking up three months later, Chev finds that his nearly indestructible heart has been replaced with a battery-operated device that requires regular jolts of electricity or it will fail. Chev escapes from his captors, reunites with his lover, Eve (Amy Smart), and sets out on a frantic chase through Los Angeles to get his real heart back.”

If there is one thing that is guaranteed by a Jason Statham sequel, it is that whatever kind of crazy was delivered in the first movie will pale in comparison to what the follow-up brings with it. That was certainly the case with Crank: High Voltage, as incredulously, the film actually ended up being criticized for being too violent, offensive, and over the top by many.

Naturally, action movie fans don’t usually require too much to please them, especially when it comes to the movies of Jason Statham. The man can bring in audiences with the most ridiculous and excessive movies and has been doing so for a long time now. Crank, which introduced the character of Chev Chelios, scored well with critics, better with audiences, and delivered a $42 box office from its $12 million budget. In comparison, Crank: High Voltage’s biggest failure was surprisingly in its audience score, which probably deserved to be higher than it was.

At the box office, Crank: High Voltage drew in a $34 million haul but on a slightly higher budget of $13.5 million. The film scored almost identical to its predecessor by critics (64% compared to the original’s 62%), but audiences gave it only a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which was a drastic drop from the 71% Crank received.

While action movies usually need to be a complete failure before future sequel ideas are completely scrapped, but the Crank franchise has been strangely dormant for over 15 years now. However, in 2024, Statham’s co-star, Efren Ramirez, hinted that thing may finally be moving forward on Crank 3. He told MovieWeb:

"There was actually a talk about doing a third film. I don't know if I'm legally allowed to tell you what the story was, but it was pretty intense."

Although there has been no further mention of Crank 3, there is clearly still an audience out there for the franchise. While Crank: High Voltage is currently sitting on top of the global Starz streaming chart, it is not available in the U.S. right now. It can be found on several VOD sites, though.

Source: FlixPatrol