The Crow

I never had a goth phase growing up and I can't stand The Cure, but god help me, I love a good revenge flick. To that end, The Crow is as pure as they come; an attractive couple with a bright future, brutalized and murdered by a street gang; a kid with an absent mother; a good cop in a rotten system.

All of these characters exist in what is quite possibly the worst city there could be; an oppressively dark cesspool, somehow more dreary than Seven, more rainy than Blade Runner, cloaked in death. Just thinking about this depiction of Detroit is depressing, but it's what makes The Crow so well-realized, gives its antihero definition.

This is a movie I didn't want to like but can't help it. Brandon Lee personifies the roles, his life tragically mirroring that of the title character, all of this weaving into the film's tapestry. This isn't a movie, it's a cultural artifact, morose and impactful in its own right.

Based on the comic book created by James O'Barr. The Crow stars Brandon Lee as rock star Eric Draven, who, precisely one year after his murder, returns from the grave to take revenge on the vicious criminals responsible for the rape and death of his fiancée and his own untimely demise.

The basic plot for this supernatural thriller is rather simplistic, holding very few surprises and delivering little in the way of genuine suspense, but a poetic screenplay charged with dark romanticism, a terrific cast (Michael Wincott is particularly memorable as head villain Top Dollar) and extremely stylish direction from Alex Proyas ensure that the film is far from forgettable. Proyas, a prolific music video director, nails the comic book aesthetic, delivering a stream of impressive visuals, with grandiose, sweeping cinematography, stunning lighting, and incredible set design, all steeped in Gothic neo-noir atmosphere and set to a cool alt-rock soundtrack.

Brandon, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, gives a charismatic central performance, and would most likely have become a major star in his own right had his life not been tragically cut short by an accidental shooting on the set of this movie, a fact that only goes to make the finished article an even more tragic and haunting experience.

THE CROW, like 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY separates those who see from those who do not! (who CANNOT). Alex Proyas will never achieve anything close to this masterpiece again and if Brandon Lee HAD to die, then there could never have been a better time and place (do not misinterpret my words or meaning here). Personally, I shall for ever be indebted to him for what he has left...a performance in a film that challenges, implores, conjures, paints. A surreal landscape of good and evil in almost equal proportions.

I am no Goth, have never read the original comic strip, nor do I wish to. I simply regret watching the unspeakably pathetic and inappropriate sequels...do not make the same mistake!

For all its grotesque violence, seediness and Gothic degeneracy, THE CROW is a pure love story, so pure, that even immersed within the blackest of adult fairy-tales its power cannot be dampened or lessened. Eric Draven's spiritual pursuit of those who murdered his beautiful girlfriend is less of a revenge story and more a reminder that karma balances out in the end.

Perhaps the best performance, other than that of the crow itself, is from Michael Wincott, a very underrated actor, as the incarnately evil gang leader. It is the role of a lifetime for him.

If I were in a position that I could see only two films again for the rest of my life, they would be 2001 and THE CROW. At no stage would I ever subsequently be able to say that I had seen EVERYTHING that either had to offer.

The crow was quite amazing. A man comes back to life to serve vigilante justice on the men who raped and murdered his fiancé (and threw him out a window). Vengeance is served with gruesome takedowns and poetic justice as the crow and his walking corpse tear up the town. The cinematography is actually kind of beautiful its dark and ominous tone. The storyline flows well and the characters well developed. A killer Halloween tale.

I feel like this remains one of the best comic book movies of all time. While it's too well-received to be truly underrated, I feel like it's still deserving of more praise than it gets. It's unafraid to look like a comic book come to life, the visuals are bombastic and in-your-face, but almost always effective, and it takes place in a heightened, almost cartoonish word that always takes me a couple of scenes to adjust to. Once I do, this is the kind of film that never slows down or stops being great. Everything from Eric putting his make-up on (backed by The Cure) and onwards is top-tier stuff.

Brandon Lee is great, and I also think Michael Wincott and Ernie Hudson do amazing jobs at making their sort-of stock characters pop. The former is such an over-the-top villain, but in the best of ways, and the latter is a rebel cop with a good heart, trapped in an unfeeling institution, but Hudson makes him feel surprisingly human and real.

The tragedy behind the production unfortunately adds something to this. The film is both more unsettling and emotional than I think it would've ordinarily been; I don't want to say the film is "better" because of a tragedy, because what would have been better is if Brandon Lee had gone on to have the kind of career he deserved, but it's always something I can't shake. That, plus the fact he looks a bit like Heath Ledger and has a similar voice/appearance to the Joker (at least a little), whose passing also warped how The Dark Knight would feel and be viewed.

I'd be much harder on the editing in this film if I didn't know the behind-the-scenes stuff. There are some strange moments that I'm sure came about because they only had so much footage to work with. Also, I swear parts of the score sound a little like parts of The Last Temptation of Christ's score; that distracted me a little, but I still think the music - both soundtrack and score - do a great deal here.

This embodies the 1990s in a glorious way, features a simple yet well-told revenge story, looks stunning throughout, and was a great showcase for the late Brandon Lee. It's not perfect, but I do love it dearly.