But Dr. Miles does know of a way that Chev can improve his chances of survival: Chev needs to keep adrenalin pumping furiously through his system to prevent his heart from shutting down. Once he slows, he dies. So we spend the next 90 minutes following our hero as he hurtles through L.A., injecting drugs, committing crimes, beating hospital patients, throwing himself at moving vehicles, getting behind the wheel of speeding cars and has vicious sex in vegetable markets. He uses everything at his disposal – which include hospital-grade epinephrine and multiple cans of Red Bull - to keep his adrenaline constantly pumping.

There's no known cure, but if Chev can race fast enough, drink enough caffeinated beverages, total enough cars and motorbikes, and in the process do satisfactory damage to the town, he might just buy the time needed to give his poisoners a metaphorical dose of their own medicine.

Former stunt co-ordinator Mark Neveldine and his co-writer and co-director Brian Taylor have crafted a wild movie that is very noisy and quite ludicrous. Admittedly, the action scenes are well handled and frequently inventive, such as Chev driving through a shopping mall and stacking his car sideways on the escalator. What it lacks in martial arts choreography, the film makes up for with insane stunt work.