If there was an award this year for the best, all-around "guys" movie, "Crank" would wins hands down. With insane stunts, gratuitous violence, and an eye-raising public sex scene, "Crank" plays like an 83 minute videogame that never loses momentum.

Thus, it's not surprising to see Jason Statham in the starring role. Statham, best known for his tough guy roles in "Snatch" and "The Transporter" films, plays a hitman who is injected with a Chinese poison. The catch? He has to keep his heart and adrenaline going or else he will die.

Statham talked to us about the movie in an interview below.

Q: Did you see "Crank" as being a much different movies from the "Transporter" films, as well as some of the other things you've done?

JASON: This film for me was something I wanted to do because it was like a no-holds barred kind of action film, undiluted fun, which I never get to do. There's always a censored rating on my action films. This on the other hand, is a hard R, for obvious reasons, and therefore you can have a bit of fun. The violence is violent, I suppose, but it's not supposed to be taken seriously. This is a comical romp, and it's more of a video game or comic strip type film than something that's supposed to be too serious. We know it's not going to be everybody's cup of tea. But that doesn't matter, because it's true to itself. We're not trying to offend anybody. We're trying to make something that is an enjoyable romp and this certainly is that. I'm sure it's not going to be everyone's taste but there's also a lot to be said about making a film that's really true to itself. This does that.

Q: You push the level of the stunts in this movie. What was the craziest thing you had to do and was there a line that you drew on terms of how crazy you'd go?

JASON: The line kind of kept dropping and dropping as the more weeks passed. We were having so much fun, and we knew we were getting good material, and we knew that people enjoy this kind of thing. I just kept allowing myself more and more leeway to do more crazy stunts. Luckily, we did the most dangerous things right at the end. [Laughs] In case they lost me, they at least had the film.

Q: Did you get hurt in any scenes?

JASON: Yeah, you always get a few knocks and bruises and tweaks, but I'm used to that stuff.

Q: Did you say no to anything?

JASON: They're always saying no. They're the ones that say no because they're the ones that are concerned that you're not going to be able to do it. They didn't want me to do the helicopter stunt. Usually, it's the explosions and the pyrotechnics. There's no point to do those anyway. There's no skill involved. It's just ridiculously dangerous, and I don't see any value in me doing those crazy head on collision in a car, what's the point? Let the stuntmen do what they're supposed to do.

Q: Did you find yourself having to keep your own adrenaline going in the movie, and what do you do yourself to get a rush going?

JASON: [Laughs] I'm not going to incriminate myself here. I do a lot of active sports. I do a lot of snowboarding when I can. I go every Christmas and New Year with a bunch of friends. You go off to learn a new trick and there's always a rush to that. Scubadiving is another thing that I'm very partial to. You have to stare a shark in the face and you know what an adrenaline rush that is!

Q: On the set though, how did you keep yourself going to play an incredibly energetic aggressive person?

JASON: We were drinking a ton of Red Bull and a lot of coffee. Energy levels do lull, but the two directors Mark and Brian, they had such an energy that you rise to the occasion. You know you have to do it. You become a professional and you can't just say, "I'll be in my trailer. Call me when I'm ready." You do have to keep your energy levels high and that's what they're paying you to do.

Q: Speaking of the directors, how was it to work with two first time directors?

JASON: On the face of it, you anticipate that that to be a bad thing with two ideas, but they worked really well together. They co-wrote the script so they knew what they wanted, which was a great help, but I think it's like going fishing with two nets. You catch more fish. With two directors, you get more opportunity to try something that might work, and this was a very experimental sort of film for me. We shot what we had to shoot, and then they went, "Now do what you want to do." And one of them would come up with an idea to try, and then a different idea to try, so we were improvising a lot. That's what makes it fun.

Q: Has training and starring in these martial arts films made you a more or less aggressive person?

JASON: Much less. You have a certain inner sense of control, and most of the idiots that are out there causing trouble are the ones that don't have a release for their anger. We all have an internal anger, but it's just a great release to involve yourself in any kind of training. It releases all the endorphins and makes you feel good. You know that you have a sort of control. A lot of people that are out there causing trouble have something to prove because they're insecure, and their ego is trying to get out. They're just idiots. They should take up a martial art. If they wanna go and fight, you only have to go to the UFC and see how many people are game there if you want to start picking fights with people. Just go to Vegas and step in the Octagon.

Q: What's the status on "The Brazilian Job" (the sequel to "The Italian Job")?

JASON: It's looming, it's out there. There's nothing locked down. I would definitely say that I'd love to be a part of that. It's a great crowd. Mark's a good friend of mine, Charlize, Mos Def I don't see much, I know he lives over here, but every time I see him it's a pleasure. Seth Green is a funny old bastard, can't get enough of him.

Q: Are you and Luc working on another "Transporter" movie?

JASON: Yes, we have talked about it. I mean, people like the "Transporter" movies. I get a lot of good feedback from it. We don't want to do one next week, but give us a bit of time and we'll stick another one in the bag. I'd like to and he said he would, too.

Q: You said that you wished the second "Transporter" movie could have been better. What do you plan to do with "Transporter 3" to improve upon the franchise?

JASON: I don't want to be too negative and say what I did and didn't like from that last film, but we have so much room to make a better film. We were up against all kinds of things, shooting schedules, hurricanes, different things, no prep time and we still made a decent film. I know that if you give us the things we need, and we'll do something really special.

"Crank" opens in theaters today.