"The Crow: Salvation" helps to pick the Crow movies up off the mat

One thing is evident right away with the opening credits of Salvation. This is not a carbon copy of the previous two movies. The movie's opening credits are laced with the sinister Marco Beltrami score and images of a taxidermist stuffing a crow. The movie begins with the shouts of a crowd, outside a prison, showing their support and protest for Alex Corvis' execution. We first see Alex in his cell, playing chess with his lawyer and awaiting the walk to the execution chamber. Eric Mabius does a great job conveying the emotions of his impending doom and his frustration in not apprehending the real killer of his girlfriend. His concentration is more on his failure than his impending execution. This establishes his love for Erin Randall and shows us his motivation for coming back. This is a new twist for The Crow movies. Previously, we were not introduced to the title character before death. Here, we are able to make a connection with Alex before his execution. This is a very nice change. Salvation incorporates some dry wit at times to break up the intense action. This dialogue is appropriately placed and delivered by all the actors. Eric Mabius neither looks nor acts like his predecessors. There is much irony and wry glee in what Eric's character is doing. Mabius' intense eyes add to the unsettling image of his Irony scared face smiling at his enemies. A couple of story elements such as Alex collecting momentos from his victims and using the witness list from his trial to literally scratch out his victims one by one were very nice touches. I found Kirsten Dunst believable and genuine in her portrayal of Lauren Randall. Fred Ward is his usual feisty self in the role of the evil police Captain. One observation I had was that the characters in this film are more realistic than the cartoon figures of previous Crow movies. Even though the villains were excellent in "The Crow", everything from the way they looked to their mannerisms and names were extreme. The characters in Salvation are more identifiable with people with which we have everyday contact. Even the title character is not decked out in the "gothic" attire of the past. Another "atmosphere" change is that we see more of the general population. The city is not barren and deserted as the cities have been in past Crow films. All of the soundtrack songs are appropriately placed in the movie. A prime example of this is the song "Antihistamine" by Tricky. Though my least favorite song on the Salvation soundtrack, when heard in correlation with the scene in which it plays (strip club scene) it brings better understanding as to why it was picked. The ending is a vast improvement over that of COA's and is very satisfying. The inclusion of a mystery element to the story helped to establish its independence from the previous two Crow films. The plot was by no means intricate, but it was challenging enough to keep you guessing throughout most of the movie. The new director, Baharat Nalluri, brings some innovative visual elements to Salvation, such as a new Crow-vision style, as well as other personal touches. All of these changes, as well as the previously discussed story elements, helped to make Salvation a very enjoyable viewing experience for me. Using our new "Crow" rating system, I give Salvation a 4 out of 5 Crows rating. Fans in the Spokane area, get out and see the movie and judge for yourself. Take care…….LLcruize.