The Crow trilogy | Reviews and synopses

Released six years ago, this dark and brooding gothic thriller concerns slaughtered rock star Eric Draven (Brandon Lee).

Seeking vengeance for the death of himself and his girlfriend Shelly, Draven returns a year after the bloody event, resurrected by a crow. Looking like a refugee from a Kiss concert, the leather-bound avenger takes to the streets in a quest for justice.

Reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's classic, High Plains Drifter, this film achieved instant notoriety when the star was killed during its production. The fact that Brandon's father, Bruce Lee, had also died young two decades earlier under mysterious circumstances did little to halt the Lee family's cult following.

The movie was based on James O'Barr's cult comic strip, a brooding homage to the writer and illustrator's girlfriend who had died in a hit and run accident.

Lifting inspiration from bands such as Joy Division and The Cult, O'Barr managed to exorcise many of the demons that had haunted him since the fateful event. A small army of fans soon grew and it wasn't long before copies started circulating around Tinseltown.

Producer Ed Pressman liked what he saw and decided to take a chance on the hit comic. He hired Egyptian film-maker Alex Proyas (Dark City) to direct and rising star Brandon Lee to headline. The latter seemed perfect for the role: Young, charismatic and more than able to handle the intense amount of stuntwork - this would be the movie to launch him into the big league. Alas, a prop gun put an end to that. Lee was accidentally shot in the head and died soon afterwards.

His demise left the fate of the movie in the balance: Moral and technical implications were soon brought into question.

Even if director and crew could finish the film, the question remained: Should they?

While River Phoenix's final movie still remains unfinished, cast and crew on this project decided to carry on as a tribute to the ill-fated Lee - but it proved far from easy.

Although the bulk of the movie had been filmed, there were still some crucial scenes which needed to be completed if Proyas was ever to finish The Crow.

As with John Candy's final movie Wagons East and Oliver Reed's swansong, Gladiator, the ever handy computer was able to fill in the missing scenes, cutting footage of Lee in another location and pasting him onto more relevant backdrops.

The movie eventually did see the light of day in the summer of 1994 and surprised everyone in Hollywood by smashing into the top 10 film charts.

It didn't take a genius to realise a sequel wouldn't be far behind and a couple of years later, The Cure's favourite film-maker, Tim Pope, directed the visually stunning rehash, The Crow: City of Angels (see below for review).

As with that other cult film series Highlander, canny US moneymen decided to tone the franchise down a little and turn Eric Draven's adventures into a TV series. The lacklustre result, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, was the result with Mark Dacascos stepping into the leathers as the eponymous hero.

Now fans are hoping that a third big screen instalment, Crow: Salvation (due for release this year) will set the series back on track.

Eric Mabius (recently seen in Sarah Michelle Gellar hit, Cruel Intentions) and Kirsten Dunst (Interview with the Vampire) head the cast in the tale of a young man who returns from the dead to investigate the murder of a young woman he was accused of killing.

The Crow: City of Angels

The trouble with most movies these days is the engine that drives the story along is usually not up the job of keeping an audience interested for the 90 minute-plus running time. Flashy photography and quick-cutting give the illusion of a film which knows what it's up to while beneath the bonnet of these cinematic Ferraris are merely moped engines.

Tim Pope's sequel to the notorious Gothic comic book made flesh suffers from just this problem, a stuttering narrative.

Although to be fair, given that it is a pure remake as opposed to a sequel, it does boast some fascinating moments.

The wafer-thin plot finds murdered mechanic Ashe (Vincent Perez) arising from his watery grave and seeking vengeance for the death of him and his son.

He is taken in by dreamy Sarah (Mia Kirshner) who was the little girl in part one.

Not a great piece of casting as the original Sarah was street tough and sassy and Mia just isn't. She has little to do except look good and provide the irritating voice over - always a bad sign when a film this simple has to be explained .

When the wide-eyed beauty is captured by the one-dimensional bad guy, you don't need a degree in screenwriting to realise what Ashe is going to do next.

So the plot isn't up to much.

However, this IS one of the best-looking films of the year with some lush visuals and inspired touches from Pope, the man behind many of The Cure's best videos.

A pounding soundtrack adds life to the narrative while Perez does a suitable job as possible as the tortured hero.

A pity it is so much of a remake, but for my money, its flair gives it the edge over part one.

The Crow: Salvation, the third installment in the series, stars Eric Mabius, Kirsten Dunst, Fred Ward and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe in a tale of a young man framed and executed for the brutal murder of his girlfriend.

Returning as the Crow, the victim is now the hunter, but in order to track down his quarry, the epoymous hero must find out just who is behind a city-wide conspiracy of lethal corruption.

Eric Mabius stars as Alex Corvis, who is electrocuted by the state for the murder of his girlfriend, Lauren Randall, played by Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. Alex returns as the Crow, fueled by the need for vengeance, to put the wrong things right, which includes saving Lauren's younger sister Erin from the same conspiracy that doomed himself and Lauren.

Kirsten Dunst (Interview with the Vampire) plays the role of Erin, with Fred Ward (Circus) portraying the Captain of the police force.

Returning as producers for The Crow: Salvation are Edward R Pressman and Jeff Most.

Pressman has produced more than 50 films including Conan the Barbarian, Wall Street, Das Boot, Reversal of Fortune and Badlands. He has worked with such film-makers as Terrence Malick, Oliver Stone, Barbet Schroeder and Brian De Palma. Most's producing credits include The Specialist with Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone and Girl, starring Dominique Swain. The Crow: Salvation is directed by London-based Bharat Nalluri from a screenplay by Chip Johannessen (writer and producer on Chris Carter's television series Millennium).

Nalluri, a prolific director of commercials, has also worked both independently and for the BBC. Best known for the films Downtime and Killing Time, Nalluri makes his American debut with The Crow: Salvation.

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