It does differ on when a crow comes to return them back to their bodies to get revenge. The very concept is getting even for what they done to them. I will speak more directly about it in one of my reviews. I always felt The Crow character regardless who became it deserves more respect than they currently get.
1. The Crow (1994)
There's no question this was the best movie in the franchise. It had the best actors, it told the story the best & they're usage of the special effects. This is a cult favorite comic book movie that I felt was one of the best during the 90s. This movie is widely known for the being the last movie. Brandon Lee whose the son of material artist Bruce Lee worked on.
The Crow follows a couple that gets a gang broke up on Halloween night. Eric Draven was beaten badly before thrown out of the window. His lover got beaten as well as raped. She was also close to a little girl named Sarah who also knows a particular cop friend of theirs. I would dare to say this was way better than the live action Spawn movies.
Maybe I'll review that in the near future. I actually have another reason to bring Spawn up here. As of right now, both their reboot movies are taking forever. Also a particular The Crow comic series was done by Image Comics whose also responsible for Spawn. There might be a possible connection that goes deeper than that.
I should mention the story this movie directly based on has a few key differences. Like it never gave us Eric's last name as well as what happened to them. This very story was written during a difficult time for the author. Honestly writing something this impressive being in a state of mind like that I take my hat off to him.
Eric uses Shelley's make up to make his signature face. He gets resurrected a few years after his murder prior to Halloween. Yes he does hunt them down making sure they pay for what they done. Their leader is one of the sickest characters in any Crow movie. I felt some moments are done way better you expect them to.
Obviously this movie helped leading up to huge comic book movie cycle we're currently in today. Eric realizes he has powers like regeneration. One part, he careless puts his hand on the end of a gun. Funny Boy pulls the trigger, he pretends it hurts until his wound healed up. I felt this is a forgotten comic book classic that could hang with some of the finest.
2. The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
This is where people's opinions of these movies differs a lot. It likely could be due to the famous terrible game. Regardless I so happen to like this movie. Only one character comes back played by a different actress from the original. This time it follows, a father & his son that saw something they shouldn't.
Which led to both of their deaths by a strange group of people. I actually got two interesting trivia about two of his targets he hunts down. Well one of them has two of those when I get there. Curve is played by Iggy Pop whose a real life rocker. He was originally asked for a role in the previous Crow movie but turned it down.
Kali is played by Thuy Trang whose was most famously known for playing the original yellow power ranger. Yes can you believe someone from Power Rangers was in one of these movies? Oh wait I'm not done yet, she is the only woman targeted by The Crow character in these movies too. Sadly this was one of her last roles due to a fatal car accident.
As the title suggests, this movie takes place in California. It is surprisingly Thomas Jane plays Nemo because several years later he plays Frank Castle aka The Punisher in The Punisher 2004 movie. Yeah imagine that it is the same guy playing both those roles. I felt Ash was more entertaining at times than Eric.
I am not saying he was a better character, I just meant some moments with Ash to me stands out more. Also this movie brings in such an unique concept late in it that always stick with me. Judah Earl is possibly more wicked than Top Dollar I'm not kidding. He kills the crow to steal his powers. Thus leading to the most unexpected kill scene in the entire franchise.
Well oh okay we knew he was the very guy he wanted revenge the most on. But the fact he went out of his way to virtually becoming his shadow. I felt how Ash finished him off was wow. Some people might consider that a stupid death or at least criticism how it played out. I felt he didn't have a crow around, that was the only way Ash could win against him at that point in time.
3. The Crow: Salvation (2000)
The Crow: Salvation really caught me off guard. I actually felt in some ways this was better than the previous Crow movie. Alex Corvis was falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend. Thus he gets sent to prison on a death sentence. Yes he ends up getting the chair, eventually a crow comes to revive him.
Unlike the previous movie where Ash used his son's paints on his face or Eric using Shelley's make up. Can you imagine how he gets his crow face is by ripping off his own face? Yeah he scratches it enough that he gets a new one like the one on the cover of the movie. I felt this had some great twists this time around.
Unlike the previous two Crow movies, it was a couple corrupt police officers responsible for this. Now going back to what I said even before I started reviewing any of these movies. I did state those who become The Crow are back for revenge. They do further confirm how true it is late in the movie. The guy responsible attempted to further hide himself in a way to tricking Alex it was over.
I wouldn't say Alex was on the same level of entertainment as the previous two actors. I will say he is way better than the guy after him. Sorry for that surprise spoiler you will see what I mean soon enough. The Crow: Salvation has some great actors & actresses you wouldn't believe. Fred Ward plays this corrupt police captain that had a few screws in his arm.
Kirsten Dunst plays someone Alex allies himself with during the course of things. Personally I thought she was better in Interview with the Vampire, a personal favorite of mine. I liked how Alex has to track them these cops. I liked he ends up getting the man responsible the chair while he stays close by to watch.
I felt this was a good Crow sequel that has a more complex story. I would even go as far to say the most complex of the franchise. I also felt every characters plays their roles good enough to get the job done. I do recommend this movie to the fans or those who wants more comic book movies in general. Honestly I felt this was the most forgotten out of the four movies.
4. The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)
Currently the recent entry in this franchise. The Crow: Wicked Prayer has Jimmy Cuervo whose almost got married to his girlfriend. Unlike most of these movies, Jimmy had a history with those responsible for his death. You see they were satanists willing to do anything. Some of them chose to turn on Jimmy & her.
It turns out they went this route for Luc to get possessed by the devil. For a minute there that sounds more like a Spawn movie than a Crow one. I felt the cast was hands down the worst. Edward Furlong does his best as Jimmy but wasn't his best role. To be honest, this particular group he's hunting down really isn't that interesting in comparison to the previous movie groups.
Considering they're satanists, that's a huge surprise to me. Hell some of their deaths were lackluster to me. The only one I would say is worth watching ends up being Luc's death. It is actually more interesting due to being possessed at the time. This movie allows shows you how terrifying it is to go up against The Crow.
Why because at one point the devil is getting beaten by him. Yeah I am not kidding, you would think we would get that in any of the Ghost Rider movies hahaha no. I would say this movie is still better than Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance but not better the original Ghost Rider movie. Tara Reid is now more recently famous for being in Sharknado series.
Yeah a movie series about tornadoes with sharks is all more entertaining than this movie too lol. The Crow: Wicked Prayer ends up being a major disappointment. Both City of Angels & Salvation does more to differ themselves from the original. I felt despite a handful of things, this was a poor man's attempt recreating the original movie.
Honestly I got more negatives than positives on this particular movie. I highly recommend you skip it, I actually felt making The Crow: Salvation the last one you watch is way more satisfying. We got a movie that really didn't even need to be made but here it is. I really wish it had something worth while to even talk about but there's just one small thing.
Jimmy's last name is Spanish crow. Yes all of these main characters comes from the comic series. I think Jimmy is the most different from his comic book self. In the book itself his name was actually Dan Cody. I don't understand why the name change was so important. I should mention all of this takes place during Day of the Dead holiday.
No comments:
Post a Comment