The Crow: City Of Angels
Chad'z rating: ** (out of 4 = fair)
1996, R, 90 minutes [1 hour, 30 minutes]
[fantasy]
Starring: Vincent Perez (Ashe - The Crow), Mia Kirshner (Sarah), Richard Brooks (Judah), Iggy Pop (Curve), produced by Edward R. Pressman, Jeff Most, written by David S. Goyer, directed by Tim Pope.
The legend of the Crow states when someone dies a crow takes their spirit to the realm of the dead, but if something went wrong in the land of the living, a person can come back to set the wrong things right. That's a fantastic concept, but "The Crow: City Of Angels" proves it's an idea that can only be used once.
Vincent Perez stars as Ashe, a man who lives in an a futuristic version of the Gothic city of the original film, only this setting is much more surreal than Gothic. He and his son were killed when they witnessed a vile gang killing, and much like the original, we are constantly shown flashbacks of their execution. The problem is, as innocent as Ashe and his son may have been, we don't learn anything about their characters. There's too much implication of the good versus evil forces at work, and not enough detail and depth to move us in any way.
A now adult Sarah (Kirshner) meets Ashe and explains he is an invincible ghost who must get revenge. Perez makes for a convincing common man, but his transformation into a vengeful, almost superhero-like man is not transitioned well at all. He seems like Jean Claude Van Damme trying to imitate Brandon Lee.
Richard Brooks co-stars as Ashe's arch nemesis Judah, who is some kind of Sadomasochist drug dealer, who, much like Top Dollar, has a supernatural presence to him. But Brooks is unconvincing, he is too cliche for his own good, and the story isn't original or detailed enough to make us hate him. Iggy Pop also co-stars as Curve, a typical villain who is more talk than anything else.
Although the first film did not have a straightforward style to it, this one is just poorly assembled to begin with. There are long durations between scenes with important characters, endless supposedly evil rhetoric, overly violent fight scenes that are not exciting, and a complete lack of plot. Ashe is not as cunning as Eric Draven was, he seems to just stumble upon his enemies.
The ending is so insanely strange (and just plain cheesy), there is no way the sense of justice the film wants you to feel could possibly be felt. It's hard to sympathize with characters who are just going through the motions.
"The Crow: City Of Angels" had a lot going for it. Its production design was a bit too surreal, but certainly interesting to look at. The elements of character, mood, and theme made the original excellent, this one simply apes the mood and makes up the rest.
e-mail: ChadPolenz@aol.com (C) 1997 Chad Polenz
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