Written by David S. Goyer
Directed by Tim Pope
Sarah: "There's a reason why you've been brought back, Ashe."
Ashe: "To find the people who did this to us. To make them pay."
Following the tragic passing of Brandon Lee during filming of the first movie and the success of that film, a sequel was inevitable. However, it was a tough case of finding the right story to put the mythology forward while being respectful to what had come beforehand.
To say that The Crow: City Of Angels had an impossible task in doing that would be an understatement. For a second outing, it's certainly a movie that may have disappointed fans of the first one at the time of release but has gained a cult folllowing over time. I kind of enjoyed it too.
Last time it was a rockstar avenging his murdered girlfriend. This time around, you've got doting father and mechanic, Ashe Corven (Vincent Perez) being killed along with his son, Danny (Eric Acosta) by a drug gang led by Judah Earl (Richard Brooks). Needless to say, the crow returned, resurrected Ashe and the latter embarked on a revenge mission of his own.
Like Eric in the previous movie, Ashe had an ally in Sarah Mohr (Mia Kirshner). This time, Sarah was an adult, working as a tattoo artist with a gay boss named Noah (Ian Dury) and having bad dreams. Those dreams led her right into Ashe's direction and she had to be the one to bring him up to speed about his current status.
Ashe didn't exactly take the news well but he did enjoy taking out an assortment of scumbags in his lead up to confronting the superstitious Judah. Those included the likes of Curve (Iggy Pop) and Kali (Thuy Trang), the latter in particular getting a fate worse than death.
As for Judah himself, I found his motivation. Wanting to replace Ashe as a beacon of death by killing the crow and using Sarah as bait for Ashe. He didn't exactly get his wish at the end of this movie as Ashe managed to get his revenge. However, Sarah, while useful in the movie was another casualty. There are also two endings for the movie. The theatrical one was the conventional similar to the first movie. It was an okay way to end this one.
- The second ending was more downbeat with Ashe's actions resulting in him being unable to crossover. I think I liked that one more.
- The Deftones appeared as themselves in the movie. Originally Ashe and Danny were meant to be brothers instead of father and son.
- Standout music: Bush's In A Lonely Place, Hole's Gold Dust Woman and the use of Hush Little Baby by both Ashe and Kali in the movie.
- Chronology: Several years since the events of the first movie. It's also set during the day of the dead in Los Angeles.
Yeah, I liked The Crow: City Of Angels. It was in a tough place as a sequel and for the most part, it worked for me. I liked Ashe as much as I did Eric in the first one and Sarah had her moments as a character.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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