Risen From the Grave

"People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their spirit form the land of the living to the realm of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. And sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that spirit back to put the wrong things right." This quote is the opening line from the movie "The Crow", released in 1994. There were three sequels made to this movie. All of these movies have a common tie but at the same time are their own story.

"You tell me how someone who comes back from the dead is going to behave." (Brandon Lee 1994). In each movie the main character has returned from the dead to extract vengeance on those who killed him. Each of these characters behaves differently. In the first movies, Eric seems to have behavior that is equal parts insanity and seriousness. The insanity is illustrated when he merely falls forward off a for story building and lands in a dumpster, only to start laughing hysterically, His serious behavior is illustrated whenever he is gathering information or about to take revenge on one of his murderers, he says only what needs to be said and nothing else, even after the task is finished. In the second, Ashe has a much more somber behavior, which is illustrated throughout the movie, he voice soft and only speaks when he must. In the third, Alex is more hell bent on revenge than anything else, which is clearly visible through the entire movie, he has a type of tunnel vision, only worrying about those who killed him. In the fourth, Jimmy behaves in more of a cocky manner, He is very brazen throughout the movie. And always has something to say for his former killers. These varying attitudes illustrate the differences not only between the characters, but also make the movie distinctly their own.

The actual use of the crow itself is also different in each movie. In the first movie, the crow is looked at as Eric's guide as well as his link to the land of the living. It also serves to protect him from the curse of mortality. In the second, it is treated only as the sources of Ashe's power, which can be taken from him. In the third, there was not much development of the creature itself. In the fourth installment, the view was a kind of combination from the first and second movies. Once again, these differences serve to make the movies distinctly their own.

The original installment of these movies was based off the Dark Horse comic book written by James O'Barr. The next three were seemingly made to simply cash in on the success of the first, as was the short lived television series. Though the second and fourth movies did seem to be pretty well developed stories, they still appeared to me more just feeble attempts to make more money without putting any thought into a fresh idea. While this is a good series all in all, there should have been more thought put into the final three movies. This would have very likely made the series even better than it already is.

Every hero needs a sidekick, and most of these heroes are no exception. In the first movie, Eric has two of them in fact. The first being Sarah, a scrappy young kid who Eric and his Fiancé, Shelly, took care of when they were alive. His second sidekick is Officer Albrecht, a cop who was on the scene of Eric and Shelly's deaths and had spent the entire year before Eric came back trying to crack the case. In the second, Ashe's sidekick was again Sarah. Only now she was an adult. In this installment, Sarah served more as a guide, helping Ashe to figure out what he had to do when he returned, helping him along the way. Her familiarity with having been through it before helping her to help him. In the third, Alex had Erin, his girlfriend's sister. Although she was reluctant and did not believe he was who he claimed to be, he was able to prove it to her. At which point she started helping him wherever she could. In the fourth, however, Jimmy worked alone. He didn't have anyone to guide or help him. Though the proximity to the Indian reservation alluded to the fact that he would have been familiar with the legend and know what to do anyway. All of these secondary characters played large parts in the movies, assisting the heroes where and how they could.

The crow's power is also approached differently in each movie. In the first, the villains simply discover that killing the crow severs Eric's link between the two realms. When they attempt this, they merely wound the crow, which does weaken Eric, but doesn't destroy his link or totally destroy him. In the second, the villain drinks the blood of the crow, essentially draining Ashe of his power and taking it as his own. In the third, the villains are somehow able to trick Alex, and apparently the crow, into believing that Alex's work is done. Though for some reason that can't seem to be figured out, Alex remained among the land of the living, though he is rendered powerless by this trickery, despite the crow being unharmed. In the fourth, the villain again drinks the blood of the crow. Though this time it does not render Jimmy powerless like it did to Ashe in the second. It merely levels the playing field, negating Jimmy's advantage of immortality. These differences do illustrate a degree of creativity while still keeping the stories tied together to a degree.

"If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever." This quote from fifteen year old Sarah from the first movie, are some of the wisest words that have ever been spoken. They are also true for all the movies. Each one of the heroes is brought back to avenge the deaths of themselves and someone they love. For Eric, it was his fiancé, for Ashe, his son, for Alex, his girlfriend, and for Jimmy, it was again his fiancé. These men all had someone dear to them stolen from them, as well as having their own lives stolen, but were brought back to bring evil men to justice. I have seen plenty of movies with violence in them, but I agree with what Brandon Lee said in his final interview, which was that in no other movie is the violence as justified as it is in these. Each man had a reason for what they did. The perpetrators of these heinous murders only got what karma had deemed they deserved.

While I thoroughly enjoyed all but one of these movies, I would have to say the original installment is my all time favorite. Followed closely by the fourth mainly because it could be a stand alone movie itself. The second movie was also well developed, though while I did enjoy the recurrence of Sarah from the first installment, the movie seemed to lean heavily on her presence to tell the story. The third movie I would have to say was the worst of the group. The story seemed to have no ties to any of the others, aside from the obvious use of the crow itself. It was poorly developed, and the ending made no sense. All in all though, I would recommend these movies to anyone who hasn't seen them. The basis for the story is wonderful. The characters and plots are well developed, the actors did a magnificent job in their roles, drawing the viewer into the world with them. Action fans would love the fight scenes. And the story itself is very touching; one can almost feel the emotion pouring out of the main character throughout the movie. In the end, despite one stumbling block that would be the third installment, this is a wonderful series that is worth watching at least once.