The Crow: City of Angels (1996)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Phil H

  
  Hmmm great soundtrack, truely great and looks amazing, its practically a music video really but shame its kind of a rerun of the original (which can't be bettered) but its the last of The Crow flicks that was any good. Style and design is faultless, costume and action set pieces… More
  Hmmm great soundtrack, truely great and looks amazing, its practically a music video really but shame its kind of a rerun of the original (which can't be bettered) but its the last of The Crow flicks that was any good. Style and design is faultless, costume and action set pieces are stunning and the villains are a lovely motley crew of nutters and killers that just happen to look like a bunch of ladyboys and transvestites. Its just a shame it wasn't received better but I think the obvious way they tried to replace or copy the 'Draven' character with 'Ash' in both looks and behaviour was the wrong choice and fans didn't accept it. The first film was one of those moments in film history that can't be repeated and Lee will always be the ultimate Crow.

• Megan S

  
  This .was actually not too bad until the end which was ridiculous.

• David L

  
  The Crow: City of Angels suffers from the greatest sin in movie making; too many hands in the editing cookie jar. Had the film that Tim Pope shot been allowed to be presented, I think fan reaction would not be near as harsh as it has been and had the studio trusted Pope's vision… More
  The Crow: City of Angels suffers from the greatest sin in movie making; too many hands in the editing cookie jar. Had the film that Tim Pope shot been allowed to be presented, I think fan reaction would not be near as harsh as it has been and had the studio trusted Pope's vision more and most importantly, trusted the audience more, this film had the potential to be great. As is, I love the style of the film and the performances of Vincent Perez and Mia Kirshner. In my original viewing my issue with casting issue was made in the form of one Iggy Pop. What I told friends at the time was roughly that granted, the man is a living legend in the Punk circles and is a personal hero of Crow graphic novel creator James O'Barr (Eric's movements are based on the lean Pop's stage antics)., one can not escape the reality that Iggy Pop was way over his head acting wise in this. A far more seasoned actor could have turned Iggy Pop's "Curve" into a great scene stealer. As is, he may look the part and at times even act the part, but he never IS the part. Now I think about those statements and not sure that they're valid. Its very likely his best parts of the performance along with other plot elements are laid to waste on the cutting room floor. Now we get to the biggest flaw and that is the tampering done by the studio in regard to the romance..I read and still have the original script which wasn't bad at all but when the film was done, they did some knee-jerk cutting of the film when some test screenings showed people were weary of a romance between essentially a dead man and a woman who is alive. However, had the core audience been trusted, but more importantly, had Pope's original vision and script been trusted, they could have pushed that doomed relationship story arc further. It would have given the story a lot better balance than it has (when a director makes one film and the studio wants edits to make it something else, you lose a lot of story cohesion). Along with that, sticking to the original story would have given us a darker ending, but none the less, an ending truer to the story than the eluded to happy ending we have. The final trapping of the film is that with all of the input outside of the director's, too many story elements are repeated from the first film to try and make it more in line with it (the first film) than being something entirely of its own accord. This caused an even harsher reaction from fans as they saw this as merely being a product pushed on the coat tails of the first film. In the end its most definitely a very flawed film. Not great but not terrible. If you can find the original script, give it read. A much better script than final film due to studio tampering.

• Tim S

  
  "**** you, bird-dick!" That line alone should tell you something about this terrible sequel.

• Luke B

  
  Just as dark and just as dangerous as the first installment. Perhaps it is just too similar, with the bad guys and heroes being carbon copies of those from the first. The only real difference is the lead character. Following in Brandon Lee's footsteps is a tough job, especially… More
  Just as dark and just as dangerous as the first installment. Perhaps it is just too similar, with the bad guys and heroes being carbon copies of those from the first. The only real difference is the lead character. Following in Brandon Lee's footsteps is a tough job, especially because of the tragic circumstances. Luckily though, Perez isn't the same character. His Crow is a lot more disturbed. At both being The Crow and the events that have led to him donning the makeup. He also seems to take more, diabolical joy in his actions. It makes him harder to connect with, but this avenue should have been explored more. It becomes easy to forget why he is killing these people and it would have been interesting if the film purposefully disconnected it's "hero" in this way. The bad guys are far too into the whole Crow thing, with fortune telling and blood drinking. Once again there is an awesome soundtrack, but the film places too much faith in it's musical connections. Even casting Iggy Pop and Ian Dury. If you're into your dark and brooding tales, this is an easy watch. But not one that deserves too much attention.

• Curtis L

  
  So bad... I hate people that love these movies.

• Rachel F

  
  Not nearly as good as the first one but its watchable.

• Dean M

  
  It's great and believe this is not a sequel, but a virtual remake of the 1994 film, with French actor Vincent Perez as a motorcycle mechanic back from the dead to avenge his own murder including his son. This time, the urban-hell atmosphere is ever darker and dirtier. The chic… More
  It's great and believe this is not a sequel, but a virtual remake of the 1994 film, with French actor Vincent Perez as a motorcycle mechanic back from the dead to avenge his own murder including his son. This time, the urban-hell atmosphere is ever darker and dirtier. The chic despair and morbid obsession with death is overwrought, and at times unintentionally comic. Brandon Lee was the best original character avengeful hero.

• xGary X

  
  This dismal sequel goes to show what a loss the death of Brandon Lee really was. The original was stylish, exciting, and Lee oozed charisma. Perez has all the chemistry of a used tea bag. And (incomprehensibly considering the subject matter) it was boring.

• Jason S

  
  I liked this one fine but you could telll they really missed Brandon Lee.

• James A

  
  They should of quit after the first one.

• Emily A

  
  A travesty. A disgrace to the original film. Vincent Perez learned too late how to act like a walking corpse (Queen of the Damned), and this movie just sucks. I wish I could be more eloquent.

• *Kimberly *

  
  It is best to approach this movie as an entirely separate entity than to try to compare it to the original, which pales it. overall, it was a dark and well-done continuation tying in a familiar character from the first awesome installment!

• Anthony V

  
  Smelly piece of crap.

• Kevin M

  
  I read the comic book shortly after I saw this film. It looked just as sappy in print. Instead of a black & blue background, like the 1st film; this film features a series of colourblind red and maroon shots.

• Eduardo C

  
  Inferior retread of the original with a poorly written script and odd casting choices. Kudos to Tim Pope for attempting something different with the color scheme and direction, and to Vincent Perez and Mia Kirshner for delivering very strong performances in a stale, pointless film.… More
  Inferior retread of the original with a poorly written script and odd casting choices. Kudos to Tim Pope for attempting something different with the color scheme and direction, and to Vincent Perez and Mia Kirshner for delivering very strong performances in a stale, pointless film. Some beautiful sequences elevate it just a bit, and the score is still as wonderful as ever, but ultimately it disappointed the shit out of me.

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