The Crow had been a major box office success
for the studios, who duly called for a sequel. But how to continue the story without the lead actor (Brandon Lee of
course having died during the production of the first film)? So, taking a line from the comic books, they decided
to do a film about another person who is wrongfully killed, that gets resurrected by a black crow to avenge his
death.
Set several years after the original, the young girl who Eric Draven befriended in the first film Sarah (played here by Mia Kershner) is now a teenager and working as a tattooist. When she witnesses another mysterious black crow resurrect a young man, Ashe Corvin (Vincent Perez - Queen of the Damned), who was brutally murdered, along with his son, by drug dealers. She informs him of the crow's supernatural powers and how he can go about getting revenge on those who murdered his family.
Soon afterwards, the local drug lord (played by a pre-"Law & Order" Richard Brooks) finds that many of his lackey's, which includes Thomas Jane ("The Punisher") and Punk rocker Iggy Pop, are meeting an exceptionally violent end and his drug dealing business is going down the pan.
Essentially retreading the previous story, the gothic atmosphere that permeated the original is sadly absent here. Instead the city seems to resemble more of a dystopia, or some sort of post-apocalyptic scenario, devoid of law enforcement, which doesn't work as well. Indeed, it failed to emote the success of the original, being critically panned and proving to be only a minor success at the box office.
However, it is an entertaining enough follow up and certainly worth a watch, but its nowhere near as good as the original. Was also very surprised to see musician Ian Drury and rock band The Deftones appearing in this.
