5/10
There's a new bird in town... it's remarkably similar, though unlike it's predecessor, its quality doesn't quite soar
27 January 2008
I watched this before the original The Crow. In fact, I'm not sure I realized that this was part of a series, much less the third part. Now, having watched the original(I have not seen the second movie), comparisons are unavoidable, and they are, I'm afraid, entirely and mercilessly unfavorable. This "gets" rather little from the first at all, and even less of it gets done right. There are attempts for the tone, but in spite of introducing new perverted enemies for the undead bird to seek out and combat, it just doesn't have the impact of the first. The language and nudity is present, but that's hardly what made the first excellent. The style... I don't know, it tries. More often than not, the film comes off as silly(unintentionally, I'd wager). The plot could have been better, and it seems like there was at least one point where they go for demystifying some of the supernatural elements(fantasy is by no means a genre I venture into often, much less enjoy, but in the original, it definitely worked). The powers may have also been altered. The pacing is reasonable, I guess. The acting is usually unimpressive, except for perhaps moments by the two leads. The music isn't bad, mostly rock, and dark in mood, fitting. I wouldn't exactly put up much of a fight if someone tried to sell me the soundtrack. The action has some to offer, as well(if it gets terribly overblown and overdone at parts, in its attempts to outdo the first film), though I can't claim that it'll stay in your memory for long(and, come on, if we're going to watch a young man fight, are we going to choose Eric Mabius over Brandon Lee any day of the week, on a dare, to win a bet *and/or* any other reason? I refer you to Will Smith's oft-used catch-phrase of many of his movies for an answer(hint: it's the one where he uses a word that refers to downstairs, and no, I'm not talking about a basement). The effects are good. The movie is shot and edited fine, if there aren't really any ground-breaking moments. A lot of this seems almost remade from the first, just lacking what made that film great. Gone is the poetic justice. Images, events and the basic *structure* of the film are recycled from the first, almost to the point where you start to wonder if these film-makers actually had or even thought they had *anything* to actually contribute to the franchise, or if they just saw a cash cow, grabbed a teet each and squeezed, as hard as they could. Actual fans of The Crow should steer clear of this. If all you want is a revenge flick, and you either don't mind or prefer them with some touch of fantasy and/or the supernatural, knock yourself out. I recommend this to those who find themselves in the latter group(I've got no problem with people in said group... I just want to make it clear who are likely to enjoy the film). 5/10
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