- September 18, 2000
- There is always an inherent set of problems that plague movie sequels and film franchises. In the case of "The Crow: Salvation," about every screwed-up taboo was touched upon. To put it politely - this film SUCKS! It is truly a poorly made film. The worst part about this film, the third installment
 in The Crow series, is that it almost appears it will pick up and take away the bad taste left by the emotionless and dismally made "The Crow: City Of Angels." It never happens. This film just rots beyond any repair.
To discuss what is wrong with this film is to spend about the entire length of the film pointing out every flaw at every turn. Having yet another new director - Bharat Nalluri - have a hand at a concept that he seems to literally know nothing about is very apparent. The saddest part is that some competent actors were picked for this project - mostly, undoubtedly, for their name recognition power than their talent which is sadly underused in this drivel of a storyline.
To talk about the story is to almost mock the art of telling a story. There seems to be rampant lack of continuity and some very big holes in the plot - big enough to drop Greyhound buses in. We are told of a young lad, somehow accused of the murder of his girlfriend and sentenced to be executed in the electric chair. There is a man at the execution who watches and you just "know" that he has something to do with a setup. The problem is that too early on in the film you are pretty much told the whole story. Veteran film actor Fred Ward, known for taking some mistaken chances in film choices, stars as a hardened and corrupt police chief who somehow orchestrated the actual murder of the young girlfriend. Somehow, this character goes from being just an ass of a political figure to somehow being knowledgeable in the occult and legends. "I've heard about stuff like this.", he tells as her hears about the Crow's connection to the avenging death dealer. Nowhere in the film earlier is any mention made of his having any interest in anything other than political aspirations.
Eric Mabius stars as this years Crow avenging angel. At the film's U.S. premiere in San Diego, CA [at the San Diego Comic Con International], Eric heartfelt told the audience, that he hoped they like the film as they all "put their hearts into it". Maybe, but it didn't show on the screen. It was sad, after that speech, to hear the audience begin to hoot and holler during some "emotional" scenes of his that just fell about as South as Hell. It wasn't his fault though, the written dialogue was so absolutely horrid, it couldn't have been saved by even Sir John Gielgud. The first really laughable scene comes after the execution in which the familiar Crow facial make-up, this time, is burned into his face, making him quite the charming crispy critter. The only genuinely funny moment (that was meant) was when his character shocks a drunken car passenger into a very sobering alertness at the sight of his face, and exclaims "You're up!". Well, OK, it was funny at the moment. About the only memorable scene in the whole film worth mentioning.
Kirsten Dunst stars as the girlfriend's sister, tormented by her death, she hates what has happened and chooses denial over plausibility. She finds out too late about her own father's involvement with the corrupt Fred Ward and damns him. In the end, all is exposed but nothing is truly resolved. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Like I said, this film sucks.
To top it all off, the most amazing point to be taken from Ed Pressman and Jeff Most is the set of unbelievable flaws in editing that, for some unknown reason, the film gang decided to leave in. There are two completely unmistakable editing chops that stutter the film. Once, the hand is here and one frame later, it has already moved forward by a foot. Amazing, the speed of that hand. Do these people not have editors who pay attention? No, I would supposed not since they also apparently did not have proof-readers to un-suck the terrible story.
Note to Jeff and Ed - get the plan together next time before attempting such abysmal projects. Oh, and get a real director. Then again, as with many Buena Vista helmed projects done by Dimension Films (think: eXistenZ), this film will never see any theatrical release in the United States and may barely make the rental rack on a budget markdown. Whereas the City Of Angels was lacking depth, this film is just utter crap.
Written by Philip Anderson
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Philip Anderson is a musician, in addition to being a writer/photographer. He has performed as a guitarist/vocalist, as well as songwriter, in several bands over the past 20 years. As a writer and photographer, he has been published by several magazines and in several books, and had his works appear on television. |
