Crank

Sound:
Lionsgate has turned up the heat with its soundtracks for "Crank." Featuring Uncompressed PCM 6.1 channel sound and a Dolby Digital Surround EX 5.1, I was ecstatic that the boys over at Lionsgate added Uncompressed sound. I enjoyed it greatly. Bass is deep and booming. Surrounds are very acting and used throughout the film. Imaging across all channels was excellent. I found myself looking around the room a couple times in response to sounds that occurred on screen. The soundtrack was very well done and featured a nice mix of classic rock songs and newer metal. The only back selection was "Achey-Breaky Heart," but one bad egg isn´t bad. As fast and frenzied as the visuals are, "Crank" is a loud film with action coming out of all channels at all times. Dialogue holds up well and each spoken word is easily heard. The Dolby mix is not bad either, with very powerful sequences throughout. However, the Uncompressed PCM is clearly the superior track and quite enjoyable.

Extras:
Early Lionsgate releases did not feature any great number of supplements. The tables have changed and their recent "Employee of the Month" and now "Crank" both contain a nice array of extras. First and foremost with "Crank" is the Crank´d Out Mode! video commentary that features user selectable vignettes that are selectable when a large square icon of a old-school video game heart appears on screen. The video commentary is very good and features the two directors, Jason Statham, Efren Ramirez, Amy Smart and many others. I wasn´t sure of what the icon would look like, as the menu didn´t really let me know what I needed to do, but when it appeared, it was fairly apparent. The only problem I had with the video commentary was that if you simply clicked on the menu selection, it was turned on. Turning it off was not easy to figure out. I ended up ejecting the disc and putting it back in. Another commentary-like feature is provided. The Family-Friendly Audio is an alternate audio track in Dolby Digital 2.0 and features all of the curse words removed. There are still naked breasts and blood, but at least the swearing is removed for those seeking to use this feature.

Next up are a number of smaller features that detail the making of the film and its marketing. Shooting Crank discusses the decisions made in shooting the film with high definition cameras. The Stunts of Crank is over fifteen minutes in length and looks at the films stunts and shows very good footage of the stars doing some death-defying stunts. This was a very interesting feature. Pushing Crank takes a look at the marketing. It is short, but you would be amazed at what all goes into marketing a movie these days. Not listed on the box, but contained within is Crank @ ComicCon. This ten minute feature shows footage from a panel at a ComicCon convention featuring the filmmakers. The largest of the supplements is also not listed on the rear facing of the packaging. More Stories From Crank is just a collection of moments with the cast and crew and offers great tid-bits of their involvement in the film and what REALLY went on. Good stuff.

Closing Comments:
"Crank" was a highly entertaining film starring the affable and action-packed Jason Statham. The film´s concept is far from typical, as two cinematographers decided to write a screenplay that could include as many cool camera angles and tricks as possible. This fast paced and violent action film packs as many chuckles as it does knuckles and never fails to keep the viewers interest in the film glued to the screen. Lionsgate has delivered their absolute best Blu-ray film to date and I must say I´m very impressed. The video quality is extremely good and easily their best effort and one of the best looking MPEG-2 transfers to date. Sound is impeccably good and I was pleased to see the studio supporting Uncompressed PCM. The features are plentiful and nicely done. The video commentary doesn´t quite match up to the U-Control features provided by Universal on HD-DVD, but this is one of the few times you will see Blu-ray doing some of its new tricks that DVD can´t do. The film is good. The disc is great. There may be a few better choices available on Blu-ray, but I can´t think of too many.

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