One to Crow On.

In college, I forged bonds with friends I considered to be a second family, brothers and sisters to an only child. The first movie I got to see with the group was Timecop, but the most memorable would be The Crow. It was a film I anticipated for weeks, listening to the soundtrack over and over again. On the way to meet my friends, the song Big Empty by STP, from the soundtrack, came on the radio. I took it as an omen and when the opening lyrics described “Drivin' faster in my car”, I did just that. It was a great time, a young time and an alive time.

The movie was breathtaking and phenomenal, a one-of-a-kind experience. A couple is brutally slain by the vilest of villains, but a crow resurrects the slain male to avenge his death and that of his beloved. The movie, based on a comic book by James O'Barr, featured raspy rogue Michael Wincott and the welcome return of an old favorite, Ernie “Winston Zeddmore” Hudson. But the performance that stood out the most was that of the star, Brandon Lee. The real emotional impact behind the film wasn't the fact that Bruce Lee's son was carving a niche for himself as an action star in his own right. The tragedy was that Brandon would die filming a scene, when a prop gun's bullet turned out to be real. Enough scenes had been filmed for a complete movie to make it to theaters, but the star would not. A few weeks after seeing the film some friends and I visited a book signing, where O'Barr was still mourning the loss of what had become a good friend during the course of the movie. Though his character is shot and resurrected, Brandon was gone forever. There would never be another Brandon Lee. There could never be another Crow.

Imagine the surprise and outrage of fans when a sequel, City of Angels, was announced. None of us saw the film, nor cared to. Years later in a video store with my girlfriend, I'd decide to take a chance on it. It wasn't a great movie nor a terrible one, but in telling basically the same story about someone else who dies and enacts vengeance upon his killers, it ultimately felt unnecessary. Not long after I'd catch a few episodes of a television series at odd hours on weekends. It told an ongoing story about the first Crow, Eric Draven, originally portrayed by Lee. Had the movie never been made, it may have made for a decent series. Comparisons were unavoidable, and the show didn't come close to the impact and mythology of the movie. It seemed more respectful to let the Draven character rest, and tell the story of others brought back from the dead instead, after all.

Apparently, in the year 2000, filmmakers did just that for a second time, with Salvation, the third in the movie series. I hadn't even heard of it until recently, and took a chance on it this morning. Eric Mabius does a decent job in the lead, meeting his demise in a different way than the first two Crows. Blamed for his girlfriend's murder and executed, he arises to uncover corruption and seek justice. I expected the worst after the first sequel and the television series, but found myself liking the movie better than I thought I would. Better than the second one, it still wasn't as good as the first. I don't think that magic can ever be recaptured, but people seem determined to try.

Enter this year's Wicked Prayer. When I first read that Edward Furlong would be the new Crow, I was very skeptical. I just couldn't see it, and my first reaction was, “Why make a third movie?” At this point I did some research and discovered that this was in fact the fourth movie. The only potential I saw in it was David Boreanaz as the villain. I've seen him play the bad guy before on episodes of Buffy and Angel. He's good at it, better and more interesting than when he's playing the hero. When the film, originally planned for theaters, went straight to DVD, I should have heeded the warning sign. Against my better judgment I took a chance and rented it today as well. I watched 45 minutes of it, paused it and read a Preacher novel, spoke with a friend in the hospital on the phone, played a few rounds of Belter, and finally forced myself to finish the movie. Maybe it would get better. Maybe I have too much faith sometimes.

The movie was ridiculous. Furlong is in a doomed relationship with a Native American girl. Boreanaz wants to be Satan, and the only way to do it is to rip out Furlong's heart, have his girlfriend(Tara Reid at her trashiest) cut out the eyes of Furlong's lady and mystically absorb them, and then have sex with her on holy ground. Of course, first they have to be married by an offensively bad Dennis Hopper, who plays an ebonics-fluent devil-worshipping pimp. I'm free with spoilers as a warning to my readers: AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS.

After being fired from Matrix sequels for demanding a raise, reportedly harassing his superiors and exhibiting signs of drug use, Marcus Chong finds work again as “War”, Boreanaz' lead henchman. He likes guns. “Pestilence”, another henchman, is sick from toxic waste, and “Famine” is the cook for the local mine where workers are upset over conditions. Apparently raising Satan in Boreanaz, nicknamed (you guessed it) “Death”, will somehow help resolve their grievance with the townspeople and mine owners. It's all a bit fuzzy. I forget bad plot details as much as these people forgot to act. I've seen them in other movies. None of them have ever been this bad. I should realize from the first five minutes of Bones that I have no interest in seeing Boreanaz play any other character besides Angel. I've liked Furlong and Reid in other projects apart from their most famous ones, but this was horrendous.

Sometimes I feel like the Crow, like I died a long time ago and I'm just drifting through this world like a zombie. The original concept is great as was the execution of the first movie, but none of the sequels were needed and only one, the third one, was halfway decent. It didn't hurt to have Kirsten Dunst along for that one either. When revenge and justice have been satisfied, when wrongs have been put right, only then can the hero of each tale rest. The fourth movie was pretty wrong and may have killed the franchise. Will a fifth one rise up to undo the damage? It's best for sanity's sake not to think about things like that. Let it die.