The Crow 3 - Salvation

The Crow: Salvation, like the other sequel, will never be able to duplicate what Brandon Lee created. He put a raw, uninhibited energy into it that made the story seem more real. Although Eric Mabius is himself a fabulous actor, his performance in this film is somewhat lukewarm, and lacks the necessary realism to make a film like this work. However, all in all, not a bad deal, and it's one that I would watch again (although I wouldn't watch it 20,000 times like I have with the original Crow so far!)

The Crow was a great film. COA was a good film. Salvation lies somewhere in between them.

The acting, though crapped on by the majority, was pretty good. Eric Mabius played a good crow, who seemed to enjoy his powers a bit and had some witty superhero-esque lines. Kirsten Dunst was nowhere near as bad as others have said she was. Actually she was damn good. Fred Ward was a GREAT bad guy, rivaling Michael Wincott from the first film. The supporting cast all filled their roles well.

Some people complain about the dialouge being terrble. Not really. Some of it was good, some of it was simply plain. One scene that stood out as absolutely terrible is the scene where Corvus persuades Erin Randell to keep her sister's necklace. I can think of ten different ways that scene could have been written better with dialogue that was not CHEESY.

There is plenty of good stuff in this film. We have a GREAT execution scene in the beginning, plenty of action,a hero you could feel sorry for, some good drama, and, yes, for all you perverts, this does have the T&A that is typical of a crow film.

If you're a fan of the franchise and not looking for anything new to be added, then you'll like this. If you didn't like the first one or are expecting something completely originally, then you should skip. I'd rank this film a 9

Brandon Lee rest in peace, as for The Crow Salvation, well I'll just say that it keeps James O'Barr's ideas and spirits alive with the Crow series. You'd have to read the comics to understand what the Crow is really about. It's not just one person but the Crow itself, it's the idea that if something terrible enough happens a spirit can come back and revenge its death. The Crow then becomes a guide and shows the spirit the way to it's enemies. Salvation takes the heart of the crow and makes it its own. You can relate to each character and are surprised as to whats going to happen next. The story never leaves you questioning what just happened. You are with Alex every step of the way. You understand his love and caring for Lauren and want to see his revenge succeed. The more bloody shots are necessary and never too much. Each situation is explained and necessary to continue the story line. If you didn't cry at the end you either went into the movie thinking it was going to suck or you didn't understand the purpose or reason of the crow. For the most part you held back tears of happiness for a love that was truly meant to last.

I recommend this movie to any Crow fans and also to those who are looking for action as well as a meaningful plot with a love story all together in one eventful movie. Try it, and let me know what you think.

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.

I admit, the first time I saw this movie I fell head over heels for it. I still love it, but it's direction was not as good as it could have been. Bharat Nalluri could have easily raised the budget a little bit and the film would have a) gained more publicity and b)obtained a higher rank in quality. Except for Eric Mabius and Kristen Dunst, everyone acting in the movie was horrible! All the cops to name a few. The girl in the car and her friend seemed as if they had been pulled out of school and asked to act right on the street. Kristen Dunst and Eric Mabius however, were excellent. Though Kristen can't cry she can still seem really upset. Mabius could have not accentuated the case number with his facial expressions so much but the movie as a whole, 7 outta 10.