Jason Statham’s Over-the-Top Two-Part Action Thriller Is Now Streaming for Free

Image: Lionsgate Home Entertainment

The 2000s were a wild, occasionally unhinged era for the action genre. From the gritty, rhythmic precision of The Bourne Identity (2002) to the stylized, vintage homage of Kill Bill, and finally the visceral combat of 2011’s The Raid, these films reshaped cinematic adrenaline. Yet, we rarely credit the decade for its masterclass in “absurdist action”—a subgenre where films like Shoot ‘Em Up, Hot Fuzz, and Kung Fu Hustle blurred the lines between slapstick comedy and hyper-violent lunacy. If you are hunting for pure, unadulterated, and gleefully brainless excitement, look no further than the Crank duology.

Released in 2006, the original Crank and its 2009 follow-up, Crank: High Voltage, stand as high-water marks for “dumb” action—and I mean that in the most complimentary sense possible. These films didn’t just participate in the genre; they practically reinvented the 21st-century action flick. If you consider yourself an action aficionado and haven’t experienced the frantic chaos of Chev Chelios, do yourself a favor and stream them for free on Pluto TV.

In the first film, Jason Statham stars as Chev Chelios, a Los Angeles hitman caught in a lethal double-cross. Injected with a toxin that halts adrenaline production, he faces a ticking clock: his heart will stop if his pulse drops below a certain threshold. What follows is a relentless, caffeine-fueled rampage across the city as he seeks vengeance, aided by a shady mob doctor played with delightful eccentricity by country star Dwight Yoakam.

Statham was already a rising star after his tenure in The Transporter, but Crank stripped away his stoic veneer to reveal a character that feels like a live-action Grand Theft Auto protagonist. Chelios is essentially a cartoon character in human form, subjected to every imaginable physical trauma just to keep his heart beating. The film’s distinct aesthetic—shot by directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who frequently operated cameras while on rollerblades—trades the typical “shakycam” trend for the raw, kinetic energy of a guerrilla-style skateboard video.

The sequel, Crank: High Voltage, discards any remaining shred of realism immediately. After waking up to discover his heart has been stolen and replaced by an artificial unit with a finite battery, Chelios embarks on a surreal, neon-drenched odyssey to retrieve his organ. It is a fever dream of a movie, filled with electric shocks, bizarre sidekicks, and power-fantasy sequences that lean further into the “superhero” tropes of games like InFamous than standard crime fiction.

Ultimately, the Crank series is a fascinating artifact of early-internet-era intensity. The sequel, in particular, is a chaotic, gore-soaked spectacle that feels less like a traditional Hollywood movie and more like a high-budget Troma production projected onto the wall of a basement venue. It is loud, unapologetically incoherent, and endlessly entertaining. As long as you are prepared to suspend your disbelief entirely, these films offer one of the most uniquely exhilarating rides in the history of the action genre.

Source: Polygon