"The Crow: City of Angels" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Spideyzilla]

Believe In The Power Of Another

"I believe there's a place where the restless souls wander. Burdened by the weight of their own sadness, they wait for a chance to set the wrong things right. Only then can they be reunited with the ones they love. Sometimes, a crow shows them the way. Because sometimes, love is stronger than death." -Sarah

Studio: Miramax Films
Release Date: August 30th 1996
Director: Tim Pope
Starring: Vincent Perez, Mia Kirshner, Richard Brooks, Iggy Pop, Thomas Jane

Plot Summary: After Sarah has done her best to cope with the return of Eric Draven as a Crow, another one crosses her path. Ashe Corven has returned to avenge the deaths of him and his son, and follows in the legacy of The Crow.

[langden alger]

in the Neverending Story thread i mentioned how I couldn't recall any other film besides Highlander that has spawned so many terrible sequels....I knew i was forgetting one. not to say this flm wasn't without it's charm. the visuals, the art direction and even some characters were very engaging. I really loved how they made the city a decaying, urban hell-like world of it's own. Judah Earl was certainley an interesing villan, but didn't really hold a candle to Micheal Wincott's Top Dollar in the original. there are a few funny, memorable scenes-if for nothing more than how cornball they are in delivery. a fun movie to sit through on a boring rainy weekend. the film really suffered from being held up to the original and Brandon Lee's Crow. Ash was written as an interesting character but came off i think as kinda boring on screen compared to Eric Draven. the way they tried to mirror so much of the original really didn't help the cause. it just looked like more a flashy remake.

[Invidente 7]

I found this to be a great if not better than the original, I meant this is closer to the James O'barr's original vision than the original (and that's saying a lot) and Vicent Perez did act well

the director's cut has longer scenes and an ending that actually makes more sense, and also several scenes were deleted...which are only alvaible on the pay-per-view version

Spoiler:

• After Ashe's resurrection, Sarah takes him back to her loft where he wakes up. He does not want to believe that he is dead, so Sarah stabs him in the chest with a kitchen knife to prove it to him. Ashe, with a look of horror and disbelief, pulls the knife out of his chest and then runs away as in the released theatrical version.

• Ashe's last name (Corven) is clearly revealed as he runs back to his garage after his resurrection. The garage reads "Corven's Body Shop".

• In his fight with Spider Monkey, Ashe picks up a pistol and says "Don't try this at home, kids" before shooting himself in the head. Ashe then collapses to the ground, faking death. As Spider Monkey approaches him, Ashe pops back up to his feet and scares Spider-Monkey.

• Ashe fights with Judah's thugs outside of a church. Ashe tells one of them that if he (the thug) has a gun he should shoot him (Ashe). The thug hesitates, and Ashe takes his gun, forcing the thugs to flee.

• After killing Nemo, Ashe grabs the stripper Nemo was with and tells her not to come there again.

• Ashe does not burn Danny's painting. Instead, it falls out of Ashe's coat pocket during his final confrontation with Judah, who rips it up.

• Ashe changes from a crow, then reverts back to human form when he goes down to Kali after throwing her out of the window. Kali is still alive and slowly dying after being thrown out of the window. She then begs Ashe to kill her quickly. Ashe refuses and leaves her to die slowly as her blood forms the symbol of the crow.

• Judah tells Sarah when he has captured her about himself drowning and nearly dying when he was younger, leading to his obsession with the occult.

• The ending is different. When Ashe sees the spectre of Danny at the festival, instead of Danny saying to Ashe "If you give up now, we won't be together." He says instead, "It is time to go now," and Ashe refuses, saying he has to save Sarah. By doing so, he gives up his chance to return to Heaven, cursing himself to live on earth for eternity (since he is already dead and hence can't die[citation needed]). When he carries Sarah's body to the church, a priest asks him "What will you do now, my son?" Ashe replies that he can't let another shadow take over Los Angeles. The flashback shown at the end of the released film was originally at an earlier point in the film.

[Bat-Fan Beyond]

It's weird that this film has recently become a topic on this board when I recently have been thinking and talking about it. I bought the director's cut of The Crow: City of Angels on DVD for my girlfriend who's been a fan of the first film with Brandon Lee since it was released, but she never saw this sequel until I introduced it to her about a year ago.

I like both, but personally don't think either The Crow or The Crow: City of Angels are great movies. For me to speak of the sequel, I first have to speak more on the original film. As a fan of James O'Barr's graphic novel, I was a bit disappointed with the original film starring Brandon Lee. I understand the tragic problems it had during the making of it, and I have nothing but respect for the late Brandon Lee and his performance, as well as the vision of director Alex Proyas (whose Dark City happens to be one of my favorite movies), but I do not think The Crow is as great of a film as it should be.

I think the portrayal of the character, although physically perfect, was a bit too talky for my taste, as I would have preferred facial expressions and physical gesturing dominate the character's actions; I feel for the most part that The Crow should have engaged in less conversation with other characters and been more like a sympathic, yet scary, silent being -- almost mime-like.

I also was not fond of the fact that the actual bird, the crow, who should have acted only as a symbolic spirit guide to Eric Draven, or as an omen to others who saw it, was also utilized as an Achille's heal enabling anyone who hurt or kill it cause pain or death to Eric Draven.

But putting those and a few other problems I have with it aside, and despite my love of the subject matter and the respect I have for all those involved in making it, I really just feel that The Crow is a mediocre film -- but, like many well-loved mediocre films, one that is deserving of a cult following.

The Crow: City of Angels, on the other hand, seems to get harsh criticisms against it simply for the fact that it's a sequel to a movie that has become so cherished by Brandon Lee fans that they don't like the idea of anyone else being The Crow, even if it is technically a different incarnation of the character. They'd often say: "How dare they defile, dishonor, and disrespect the death of the one true Crow, Brandon Lee?"

Also, many people don't like the idea of the sequel being too similar in theme as the original film, with The Crow being an undead spirit enacting revenge against the guilty streetgang culpits in an atmospheric urban-gothic environment -- although that's exactly what the whole concept of The Crow is all about.

I personally feel that the sequel, despite being very similar to the first film and having many of the same flaws as the first film, is in some ways better than the first film. Without going into detail, I think that Vincent Perez's depiction of The Crow embodies some of the things that were missing in Brandon Lee's performance (I know, blasphemy, right?). I also like the visual style and direction that director Tim Pope gives us that adds a bit more color to the look of the film, capturing the dirty landscape of urban decay, while still retaining that dark gothic atmosphere.

In the end, I don't necessarily think that The Crow: City of Angels is any more of a perfect film than The Crow is, but I think it offers much more of a visual flair than its predecessor and enough, even if it is only subtly, of a different spin to its story (scripted by David Goyer) to make it a worthy sequel. I believe that both are mediocre films with the first one being overrated by fans and the second one being overbashed.