Watch The Crow: Salvation For Free

Sorry, this movie sucks

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Erin (Kirsten Dunst) and her father Nathan Randall (William Atherton) attend the execution of Alex Corvis (Eric Mabius) for the murder of her sister Lauren (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). Alex maintains his innocence to the end. After the execution, he is resurrected by a crow into The Crow. He uncovers that Lauren was killed by a group of corrupt cops and he seeks revenge.This is an inferior sequel of the cult classic. There are a few solid actors. The story is simple revenge as the Crow franchise tends to be. The effects and action are limited B-movie fare. There are explosions and car crashes but nothing special or filmed that well. Eric Mabius' strawberry blonde hair doesn't really fit my vision of the Crow and he doesn't have the threatening intensity. He doesn't have the darkness to be The Crow. The most annoying part is Kirsten Dunst's over-acting in big emotional moments. She has fair acting chops even in her younger days but her cry-acting really annoyed me. The blubbering diffuses all the tension. It makes this B-movie even campier.

Look, I won't lie and say "The Crow: Salvation" is some sort of academy award winning feature. It is good, though.*Minor Spoiler Warnings* Alex Corvis is a young man who is now being executed for the murder of his girlfriend. He maintains his innocence, claiming instead that a man with a strange scar planted the evidence in his car and he never would have done such a thing. All seems sad and somber until a cut away during the execution shows that scarred-man taunting the now dying Alex. And so, the magical crow avatar resurrects the main character to exact revenge, unravel the mystery behind the events, and set things right. *End Spoilers*The hook is fairly intriguing the first time around. Sure, it's an old premise of a dead man coming back for revenge, but it is much better than the mishandled "City of Angels". It stays true to The Crow formula well enough but doesn't try to re-create the lightning in a bottle of the first film. Trying to stand on its own two legs seems unsteady at times, but still there are many things to enjoy.The acting is actually really enjoyable. The evil doers are sufficient and dark enough that you don't mind when they're systematically killed in a vindicated manner. Fred Ward plays the main villain and he's still superb, proving that once again he's highly under rated. The real shocker comes from Eric Mabius (who plays the main character Alex). He shows drive, emotion, depth, and even an character arc you wouldn't expect. He's an A-list actor in the B-list movie and it really shows that he outclasses his surroundings. Even Kirsten Dunst (pre-Spiderman) manages to put on some form of acting ability.The plot is somewhat disjointed and random. When Alex kicks into high gear and begins his bloody crusade, it's some great moments on film. Unfortunately, after he dispatches the first two villains, the pacing slows down, de-rails, and never really gets back on track. There's more action but it never really picks back up. Plot threads seem to trail off, become neglected, or resolve with little reason or rhyme. There's even an identity crisis plot twist that seems wholly unnecessary.The Crow: Salvation is a good movie for what it is. Don't go into the experience looking for some great caliber of drama and action. It has gratuitous stripper scenes, slightly cheesy gore, and some low budget moments that can't be ignored. Still, It's dark, visceral, satisfying, and well handled. It's better than the second (which truly was awful), features a great sound track, is different enough that you don't feel ripped off, and fun.8/10

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)

Much better. The budget was obviously smaller, and it went straight to video. It was kind of refreshing to see the story take on a different angle regrading the tragic and lone search for justice and vengeance against those that did them wrong. The material felt a little more fulfilling, not like the soulless attempt before it (Crow: City of Angels '1996'). However in the long run it's still nothing special, but competently made and told in an interestingly simple film-noir style. Visually speaking, it might not the have the kick but the world created seems based a little more in present reality (with the Gothic comic-book ambiance kind of losing out) and the industrial setting gives out a real seedy and crooked charge. Within the visuals are some brutal acts of violence and sleazy snapshots, but the story keeps the melancholy touch together. Director Bharat Nalluri gets the tone pumping with some intense and exhilarating sequences. It's flash, but concise. However it felt a bit overlong. The hard-rock soundtrack here isn't as noticeable, but still profitable when included and the special effects are adequately staged. Performances are good. Eric Mabius is effectively easy and sardonic as the revenging dead soul. Kirsten Dunst is fine and Fred Ward is perfectly smarmy as the shifty Police Chief. There's able support from William Atherton, Grant Shaud, and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe.