When I came out of the theater after watching this, the one word that came to mind was- bizarre. This is one serious head trip of a film, visually, that is. Plot wise or story wise it is about as basic as a movie can be. A guy has to keep his adrenaline up or else his heart will stop and he dies because some gangsters gave him a shot of this poison. So, he drives very fast, gets in fights, snorts coke, has sex, sniffs nasal spray for the epinephrine(sp?) and forces a doctor to zap him back to life even though he isn't dead. In the midst of all this he is trying to get back at the guys who did this to him. All of this sounds very much like a video game and is shot very much that way.
Jason Stratham plays Chev Chelios, yes that name does kind of set the tone for the movie and in this movie he does some of his best wisecracking, but leaves most of the usual fight choreography at home. This movie is more about the camera work or the visuals in general. Paced at a neck breaking, frenetic pace, the camera shakes, zooms and cuts with lightening quick precision. The director utilizes faded colors, bright colors, sub titles, dizzying slow motions, split screen, moving split screens and any other possible camera trick to give the audience an idea of how quickly things are moving. The movie is unbelievably absurd, yet once it starts you can't help be drawn in.
the movie only lasts about 90 minutes and it doesn't slow down much because well if it did our lead character would perish. While he is alive though, he shoots many people, rides a motorcycle with no hands, runs very fast, burns his hand in a waffler, gets oral sex while driving, oh and has sex with his girlfriend in front of about 65 Asians; doggystyle no less, ass smacking and everything. Yes, it really is that kind of movie. Naked girls sitting in big glass balls during the climax for no real reason, a gay drag queen wielding a rolling pin as a weapon and Amy Smart looking sexier than ever all make this train wreck of a movie work.
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