I disagree with Lord Ruthven regarding his point on "The hero losing his powers during the climax? Check." This not a Crow cliche, but a plot device used ever since heroic tales have been told. The climax of any heroic tale usually involves the hero losing his powers, weapon, etc... Thus, the hero must rely on his own strength, cunning, etc. to win the climatic fight. In The Crow: Salvation it is eluded the source of Alex's powers are in part rooted in his own beliefs. When he began to doubt, his strength waned. I would find it a very boring story if the hero kicked ass from the beginning to the end credits, without any personal struggle. For me, part of the appeal of The Crow is its portrayal of internal emotional turmoil as well as physical conflict.

The Crow: Salvation separated itself from traditional Crow canon in some ways that made it better than the first movie (GASP!! Dare I speak such sacrilege?). In The Crow there was no question ever about whom the bad guys were, only how long it was going to be until Eric balanced the scales. In The Crow: Salvation we, the viewers, take the journey of discovery with Alex as he finds out who killed his girlfriend, set him up for the murder, and why. Not that it took that long to figure out who the bad guys were, but at least it wasn't spelled out for us.

Also, Alex never pursues the men who actually killed him. He only goes after the guys who set him up to take the fall for his girlfriend's murder. He never seeks out the judge, jury, DA, or prison executioner. This would certainly imply that these people were not in on the setup and were only doing their "job". Since, The Crow in all its incarnations(comics, movies, and books) is supposed to be about justice, this adds an interesting little twist to the story. Had this film gotten the worldwide release it deserved, I'm sure it would have sparked some interesting debates on capital punishment.

These points may seem somewhat minor and subtle, but for me they made The Crow : Salvation a worthy sequel to The Crow. To me, sequels need to vary a bit from their originals in order to keep me interested. The Crow : Salvation told a different story with different characters reacting in their own way to a similar situation as The Crow. I believe Eric Mabius did a fantastic job making the character of Alex his own, and not merely a copy of Brandon Lee's Eric Draven. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to tell Eric Mabius this, since he attended the screening in Northampton, MA. Anyway these are just a few of my thoughts about The Crow: Salvation. There were a few problems with the story, script, and cinematography, but I would much rather stress the positives about the movie.

Daniel. S Walsh