One of the great things about Crank was the unexpected ending (SPOILER ALERT!) -- likeable rogue Chev Chelios fell out of a helipcopter and after a mid-air freefall battle, which he won, he bounces off a car and dies. Roll credits.

Crank: High Voltage opens with his lifeless body being thrown into a van and an artifical heart being installed to keep his body alive while his organs are harvested. Of course he escapes and tears across Los Angeles looking for his heart so he can have it reattached. From the very first moments with the power meter of his artifical heart's battery pack counting down, Crank: High Voltage plays out like a movie adaption of a video game of the movie. Just like the first movie, the action is relentless, so as to distract you from the ridiculous nature of the plot, and the visual styles are exuberant and varied, to the same end. There are a few missteps -- I thought a kaiju-inspired sequence was ambitious, but ultimately weak -- but overall it was enjoyable escape.

FuzzyCo grade: A-