Hard-wiring two great plots - Speed and the original DOA - into one absurdist thrill-ride, debut writer-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor give Jason Statham a further chance to prove he is top of the Lock, Stock alumni and fast stealing Vin Diesel's crown as cinema's leading follicularly challenged hard man. Statham fans will know what to expect: their man doesn't really do thought or expression, so he's given a plot in which he is a hit-man who has to keep his adrenaline level up, or the "Beijing cocktail" he has been injected with will kill him.

This is the most athletic cinema role since Franka Potente in Run, Lola, Run, but even with split-screen and other tricks over an 87-minute running time, it can't help becoming a bit repetitive. However, Neveldine and Taylor wrap things up with a brilliant ending that will stick in your mind when the rest is just a blur.