The Crow: Salvation (2000) Reviews

• Great plot and nice ideas in an underdeveloped movie

  Tin Man-52001-05-23

  "The Crow: Salvation," the fourth installment in the popular series of murdered men brought back from the dead to avenge their deaths, is certainly a step in the right direction after the travesty of previous entries. The first Crow, which is best known for being the film in which Brandon Lee was killed (duh), is a cult classic directed by Alex "Dark City" Proyas, and even today, it is regarded as probably the greatest of the gothic/action/modern noir films. It's sequel, "The Crow: City of Angels," starred Vincent Perez, and while it featured some nice ideas and beautiful images, it was nothing more but a poor remake of the first film lacking all the heart of the original. "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" came next, and it was two episodes of the TV show of the same name re-edited into a motion picture and released as a sequel to the first film. Instead of being a remake in disguise as a sequel like "City of Angels," "Stairway" goes ahead and just literally remakes the first film with the same characters, basically the same plotline, and none of the magic (though Mark Ducascos as the title character certainly demonstrates a type of charisma in his martial arts). Now comes "The Crow: Salvation." Eric Mabius stars as Alex Corvez, who is wrongly executed for the murder of his girlfriend and returns from the dead to take out the real killers, with the help of his dead girlfriend's sister and a lawyer friend. As a sequel, it thankfully works because it has a premise completely different from the first film (something the other sequels failed to pull off) and it stands on its own, introducing its own magic and its own intruiging plot elements. It certainly is a good film and a good sequel, and while some points in the movie seem contrived, what film nowadays doesn't have at least a few obvious plot points? The bad: Much of the film is underdeveloped, especially many characters. While the plotline is good, it seems rushed much of the time, and the viewer has to draw their own conclusions about many things. Some of the dialogue is also atrocious. The good: Well well, there's much more of that. Eric Mabius as the central character shines throughtout. For the first time, we have a character in one of these movies *not* ripping off Brandon Lee, but instead, bringing his own qualities and characterizations to the character. The results are an effective performance that makes us forget about Lee altogether...at least until the film comes to a close. The plot, something of a murder mystery, would have made a good film even if it hadn't been a Crow film, and the images and notions presented only add to the appeal, especially with the character of the Crow itself, which at the beginning, acts as if this is just a routine thing to bring someone back to the dead, and that he's done it before. Later, however, it genuinely gets intruigued by Corvis' vendetta and begins aiding him more. All in all, this is certainly much more acceptable that previous entries, and it succeeds where the others failed: Introducing new elements into a Crow franchise that, so far, has been nothing more but rip offs of the first film. *** out of ****

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• Not the best, but worth a look.

  The Garthster2001-01-20

  I love "The Crow," and there's not much in my mind that could be done in a sequel to top it. "Salvation," unlike "City of Angels," doesn't try to top the first one, or rip it off... The characters are solid, the performances are great, and the action is non-stop. But what singles this movie out is the story. It's a good story, not just another "Crow" movie. The direction of the film reminds me of the first, very dark, yet crisp (not gritty like the 2nd), and the trick camera angles mixed with the impressive special effects keep the supernatural elements alive as the very human story rolls along. I work at a video store, and I see all kinds of movies that bypass theatres and come direct to video, and usually there's something about them that tells you why, even the good ones. This had the look and feel of something that, if released at the appropriate time, would have done well in the theatres. It wouldn't have been a smash hit, and it certainty wouldn't bring in as many people as the original did, but it deserves much better than this. If you're fans of the franchise, I highly recommend that you see this. If you like the first one, but that's it, then expand your horizons a little and try to see this for what it is, and not what you thought it would be. It's a sequel to a GREAT movie, and it ends up being a pretty good movie on it's own...

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• The Crow:Salvation

  Scarecrow-882006-08-24

  A wrongfully executed man named Alex(Eric Mabius), resurrected from the dead by the crow, returns with a vengeance to find the man with a scar on his arm that killed his beloved Lauren(Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). To find that man, Alex will first seek out the four men who falsely accused him on the witness stand which led to his death via electric chair. The crow will guide him on his journey to finding those responsible. Erin(Kirsten Dunst), Lauren's sister, and Peter Walsh(Grant Shaud;was Alex's attorney)are Alex's only allies in the search for retribution. Soon dirty cops are unmasked leading straight to the Captain(Fred Ward)and even Erin and Lauren's own father, Nathan(William Atherton). I like this film and think the reason it turns out better than I expected is due to the heart of the picture..one man's will to find the one's responsible for the death of his love. There is some strong talent in the cast for a direct-to-video feature and the young leads of Mabius and Dunst{..not to mention Ward, Atherton, Midkiff, and Shaud}bring much to this film. The film's budget is exceedingly lower, but I felt it makes up for it in keeping the plot simple instead of overloading us with an overkill of sick visuals. Now, that's not to say it doesn't lack punch and edge. There are some very gruesome moments indeed and much flesh is displayed, but the levels are down exceedingly. Plus, this film doesn't make out the perversion as beautiful, but with a disdain towards those young ones exploited{example being when Alex confronts the young girl tied to a pole in the strip club owned by the dirty cops}. The film doesn't speak highly for the cops on the force under the Captain. The world of this film isn't Gothic like the other two but just as corrupt. While the other two felt like they were set in a much darker time and place, this film feels closer to our time in modern society. That might turn some away who like the dark, noirish vision of the first two. But, I do feel the heart of the story is still here and the element of man's link with the crow is quite present here.

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• The Best Crow Sequel

  docturlough2010-04-11

  I don't know why this movie is so hated. I really don't. The acting was good, writing was good, characters were good. I just do not see it. Okay, I still haven't seen Wicked Prayer but I'm not expecting big things, this movie was the best Crow sequel so far, nothing compared to the original, but good. The character of Alex Corvis is really likable, as opposed to ashe, I always get those two mixed up because they have the same first initial and last name, so that bugs me. I can really understand Alex's plight and that he really does love his girlfriend, his journey (unlike Ashe's) emotes feelings in the viewer, and the actor playing him was really good too. (Another contrast to Ashe, the makeup is decent)

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• Stands up fine next to the original.

  KrowbOy2001-03-17

  The Crow: Salvation is a very good movie, not even close to being the masterpiece The Crow is but it's the best sequel you can ask for. There has been a lot of press about Salvation's release and I to am puzzled as to why it's basically direct to video, the producers blame Dimension and politics and yes Salvation is grim but I don't know how true that statement is. The Crow: Salvation is, in my opinion, the most violent of The Crow movies, some is over the top and some is pretty grim stuff but hey it's all good. Eric Mabius seemed a strange choice to some cause he doesn't have the look of what you think of as the typical Crow good guy BUT he is very good at what he does, ranging from fights to anger, sadness...all are touched upon and he delivers in all areas. Kirsten Dunst does good also, I don't think she was bad like some reviews have said, she does seem kinda off in some scenes (the graveyard comes to mind) but she does fine. It's hard to explain Fred Ward's character because it will give away plot details (which honestly isn't hard to figure out anyway) but he does well and has some funny lines also, Fred's been a cool actor for a long time playing in some quirky movies like Remo Williams, Tremors and it's sequel, and Cast A Deadly Spell. Jodie Lynn O'Keefe's role isn't big at all and she doesn't have much to do but she's beautiful and the scenes she has are effective and the scene where she and Mabius are playing around doing fake karate is cute and touching, actually that whole scene is one of my fave's especially when Alex is at her grave talking about wanting to be with her but he can't...it's really touching and sweet, yes to those confused that and the karate scene are the same...you'll understand when u see the movie. The look of Salvation is closer to part 1 than 2 was and yet it has a look all it's own, Salvation is grounded more in reality than the first 2 were but the city is still dark, gritty, and depressing, and the sets were cool...especially the execution chamber with the words on each wall. The rest of the cast does fine with what they have but it isn't much, they are all paper thin bad guys with few characteristics to distinguish differences between them other than the way they die. Which brings me back to the violence, no I don't have a problem with it and am not talking about it to warn you because violence in movies does NOT make people kill others (what movies did Hitler and Stalin watch). Yes Salvation is the most violent Crow and it's not all fun some scenes are closer to the violence in Taxi Driver than The Matrix. But we do get some cool scenes like when Alex shoots himself in the mouth and the camera goes through the mouth as the wound heals and also the scene where Alex and the Dale Midkiff character are in the car and hit a bus and both fly through the windshield but I kinda think The Crow: Salvation is a little brutal but it's all good. Credit must go to Bharat Nalluri for making a cool looking movie with pretty cool camera work and effects and also credit Marco Beltrami for making a really good score that doesn't ape Graeme Revell's but is something all it's own. The ending is really good also but I pretty much figured out who was the man with the scarred arm (which was cool but also too derivative of The Fugitive) but another cool thing was his room looked like it was out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the stuffing room in The Lost Boys, but anyway the end was cool how the bad guy manipulated Alex into thinking maybe he did kill Erin...it was weird. And the end credits play over the new Crow symbol like the credits played over the Batman symbol at the end of Batman Forever. Oh and to just throw it in here it was cool that the markings if Alex were scars and not the paint like in 2 (which had really no reason for it other than cause it was part 2). I'm sure some will give Salvation hell because The Crow is so sacred to them but I say let the series live on and not die. Brandon Lee did give a truely great performance in The Crow and it's a tragedy that he died but I will not hold that against Salvation or City of Angels (which was kinda sucky). I do think Salvation could have been better with a little more money invested in it but that would be in the sets and scope department but then again I like Salvation a lot and Eric Mabius is a gifted actor (for further proof see Black Circle Boys). I hope to see more of Bharat Nalluri and hope he doesn't drop of the face of the earth like COA's director (Tim Pope what are u doing these days). The Crow was better yes because ALL of the characters were better drawn and Brandon's death which I'm not saying was good for the movie but did make the movie more of an emotional experience...it IS a masterpiece and no Salvation is no masterpiece but it is a great movie experience. You won't come away giddy (it is a Crow movie remember) but like part 1 you will come away thinking of Life, Love, and Death.

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