man must keep moving so his heart can keep ticking in “Crank,” a stylistic adrenaline rush that plays like “Speed,” minus the bus.

Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the film begins as Chev (Jason Statham) - a scruffy British hit man who makes his living on the streets of Los Angeles - learns he has been injected with a poison known as the Beijing Cocktail and has an hour left to live.

Chev’s heart rate is dropping, and on the advice of on-call medicine man Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam), he tries to keep it artificially charged. Racing against time, he stocks up on energy drinks and seeks out the punk Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo) who pricked him.

Fast-paced and amusing, “Crank” - a film that was not screened for critics - is a surprisingly fun head trip with handheld cameras, grainy cinematography and action sequences that would make Tom Cruise drool. One eye-popping car chase ends with Chev careening through a mall and crashing his wheels on a moving escalator. Another pursuit lands him in a hospital gown with his gun pressed to the head of a male nurse, demanding a shot of epinephrine and begging for an electric shock.

Of course, there is always time for a love interest, here in the form of Eve (Amy Smart), a girlfriend special enough for Chev to give up his career. In a cheesy, gratuitous moment, Chev realizes he needs a boost, and the two enjoy a public roll in the hay.

“Crank” isn’t going to make or break the crime-thriller genre. But the 87 minutes fly fast, and the conclusion to this amazing race is worth the time.

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