Crank It Up!

Chev Chelios (Snatch’s Jason Statham), is about to begin his morning with an unexpected wake-up call – and we are going to be riveted by the rest of his day.

Groggy, practically unable to move, and with a heart that's barely beating, he hears the voice of thug Ricky Verona, who reveals that our likeable antihero has been poisoned in his sleep…and has only an hour to live.

As it turns out, Chelios is a hit man who freelances for a major West Coast syndicate. You know…because these are difficult times.

Anyway, because a run of the mill job the night before went awry – he let his target slip away in an effort to quit the killing biz and start a new life with his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart, soon to be seen on TV’s Smith) – now Chelios must keep moving to stay alive.

The only way to keep the poison from stopping his heart is to keep his adrenaline flowing – cranking, if you will. And with the clock a-tick-tockin', Chelios has to cut a swath through the streets of L.A., wreaking havoc on those who dare stand in his way, to rescue Eve from danger, stay two steps ahead of the bad guys, and search for an antidote to save his life.

It’s a pretty imaginative and straightforward premise for an action movie that promises to be nothing but fun. So let’s get Cranking. Sorry…couldn’t resist. The movie opens Sept. 1.

Photo: Lionsgate Films.