The Crow Wicked Prayer Review
THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER is inspired by the same-name novel by Norman Partridge. For those familiar with Partridge's novel, you should know that the film is very different from the book. It is listed in the credits as “inspired by” and that is an accurate statement. It takes inspiration from the novel, but is basically its own story. In my opinion, this was a good thing. The novel, though a good read, had issues, mainly the villains had far more emphasis and the lead “good” character was basically put in the backseat of the story. Not a good thing when you are talking about a story that is supposed to be driven by the avatar. So these changes, and many more, were needed for the film. We have a glossary of characters in our THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER section that lists who the characters were in the book and the changed character from the film. Now on to our review of the film.

THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER marks a return to a stylized form of film making. Each scene, especially early on, is like a framed poetic piece of art work. That word “poetic” was used by quite a few folks when describing the various scenes. The film/story is set in the desert Southwest. Everything has dust/sand on it. Gone is the urban decay of previous stories. This dusty/dirty atmosphere helps to establish the film as a modern western tale. I will break the review down into different parts so each area of the film can be addressed.

LOOK
The film looks fantastic. Lance Mungia has done a wonderful job bringing us a great looking film. Anyone that has seen his film SIX STRING SAMURAI knows he has a unique eye for framing and action that is brought to THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER. There are a lot of different shades of browns in the color palate as well as beautiful reds and blues. I was struck by how barren, but at the same time beautiful, the settings were. The desert is very much a welcome change from the urban decay we have become accustomed to. There are some great shots of sun sets and sun rises that can only be enjoyed in the desert.

Fans will notice some of the birds in flight scenes are copped from previous Crow films. Thankfully there is no alley scenes from the first film used (like in THE CROW: SALVATION). The birds in flight shots are an unfortunate result of a limited budget.

STORY / ACTION / FLOW
Overall, I really enjoyed the themes presented in the story, especially the inclusion of the Native American element. Though not fully explored, the Native American origin of the Crow mythology was a welcome change. This film presents a lot of social issues and those are played out nicely during the film. Jimmy Cuervo is very much an anti-hero. I thought the conflict within the residence of the town over shutting down the local mine and building a casino really adds a nice touch to the story. This conflict, in part, lends to some of the reasons why the Four Horseman gang are seeking revenge, which leads me to the other element about the story that is fascinating. The gang believes THEY are righting wrongs. This clash of missions with Jimmy's will make for some interesting discussion by fans. The story is spiritual in nature. The satanic themes presented may or may not appeal to everyone. Some who saw the film with me were a bit bothered by the satanic imagery and themes. It didn't bother me, because there is a balance of super natural (the satanic stuff), spiritual (Native American) and social themes. In my opinion, the satanic element highlights the despair the whole gang is in and represents a reaching out to the easiest way for them to deal with their pain. Jimmy could have easily fallen in with the gang given his circumstances, but he has Lily to ground him. Luc and his gang don't have anyone like that in their lives so they are easily fooled into following the wrong path. These people are not entirely evil, which is evidenced through some very well done moments in the story where the gang isn't so sure of themselves. This humanizes these characters that have in previous Crow films been nothing more than cartoon characters lined up for the slaughter.

Action is straight on, not a lot of martial arts. It is brutal fighting. Wires are used from time to time, but other than that, the action is raw and emotional. There are no car chases, no exaggerated fighting styles. This is bare knuckle action and it fits the setting and story perfectly. I really liked that the action was not over the top.

The film really moves a long at a great pace. A lot of this is due to some great editing (will talk more of that later on). It has a run time that is right at 100 minutes. At no moment during the film did I glance at my watch. Editing was a big issue with the second film in the franchise, not this time, all the scenes flow beautifully, but like I said, more on that in a bit.

ACTING / DIALOGUE
By far, Eddie Furlong (Jimmy Cuervo/The Crow) gives the best performance in the film; and well he should. This is his film to either make work or not and he brings forth an emotional and tragic performance. He has some great lines and he delivers all of them dead on. Having read the script numerous times, I was anxious to hear/see his delivery of some of my favorite lines. He flat nailed them and in a few cases, really surprised me with a delivery I did not expect. Emmanuelle Chriqui (Lily) who plays Eddie's love interest and catalyst for his return is fantastic. She conveys the beauty, strength and love that the role called for. I would have to say, to date, she is the best love interest featured in the Crow films. She has the task of being the films emotional anchor. She gives a speech at the beginning that is filled with dialogue found in the first Crow film that details the story of the crow. It is an altered version and is delivered perfectly. She also delivers more emotional dialogue throughout the film in the form of memory and sound flashbacks. More so than any previous film in the franchise, Emmanuelle (Lily) has a lot more to do in the story than just being the damsel in distress.

David Boreanaz (Luc Crash/Death) does a good job as Luc, though his later scenes channeling Satan are a bit too animated in my opinion. Luckily, he is not Satan for long enough to derail the film, but I would have liked a more reigned in performance when he finally channeled Satan. He does such a good job as Luc, it is a shame he ends the film hamming it up. Tara Reid (Lola Byrne) gives a really subdued and tragic performance, she does a great job. As for the rest of the gang, Marcus Chong (War) is the anchor of the gang and does a great job delivering, in many cases, poetic verses in the midst of chaos. Yuji Okumoto (Pestilence) steals practically every scene he is in. He does a great send up of a wannabe cowboy and his “western” accent is a hoot. Some may remember him as the villain opposite Ralph Machio in Karate Kid 2. The biggest surprise was Tito Ortiz (Famine). I half expected him to be totally out of place amongst the “real” actors, but he holds his own and is a steady presence.

David Ortiz (Sheriff Tanner) is really good. His scenes with Eddie are some of my favorites from an acting/dialogue aspect. Danny Trejo (Harold) brings his usual strong presence to the role of the tribal/spiritual leader of the town. Danny is always good and he delivers once again in a supporting role. Rounding out the cast is Rena Owen (Mary), who gives a short, but emotional performance. The scene she shares with Eddie is one of the stand outs emotionally (though her crying does get to be a bit much after a while). Richard Cumba (Moses), like Rena, has a short role but makes the most of it. He plays a preacher who has a past with Luc and is the husband of Rena Owens' “Mary”. His confrontation with Luc (Boreanaz) is really good and one of David's best scenes. Daymond John (Proud Foot Joe) is OK, definitely not an actor, though he doesn't have a lot of scenes that require him to “act”. He does have one of the movie's funniest moments when he comes upon a newly resurrected Jimmy Cuervo.

Dennis Hopper (El Nino) is good, albeit he is saddled with some of the worst lines in the movie. I never liked the gansta' lingo his character uses when I read the script and as feared, it sounds as out of place as it reads. Hopper makes what is basically a cameo, so his dialogue is not around long enough to do any real harm. The last performance to speak of is Macy Gray (Cara Mae, bodyguard for Hopper's Nino character). She is…..well, she is Macy Gray. Not even close to being an acting talent, Gray basically is a presence and thankfully, her “presence” is short-lived.

WHAT KILLED (what I liked the best)
The opening sequence, with its tip of the 10 gallon hat to THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY intro of the gang is great and set the tone perfectly. Jimmy and Lily's intros are great. It was a nice touch to actually see both lovers alive at the beginning, where we can actually see them relate to each other, which really adds strength to our empathy/sympathy for Jimmy later on. Jimmy's resurrection is done perfectly, a lot of emotion.

The music is absolutely fantastic. Jamie Christopherson's score is THE best, in my opinion, to date. This is the first Crow film without the benefit of a rock soundtrack. In my opinion having a score-only soundtrack works perfectly given the setting.

As I mentioned before, Eddie Furlong's performance is spot on. He has the crux of responsibility in this film and he handles it beautifully. His character is very different from previous Crow films. He is torn when he comes back. He doesn't want to be there, he wants to be with Lily. Eddie does a great job conveying this pain. Eventually he accepts that this is the only way to be with Lily again. Emmanuelle is a dream, you can feel her love for Jimmy and the strength she has.

The villains overall are a much improved element over previous sequels. The beauty of this film is for the first time, we see the villains as humans. They have back stories that we are given glimpses into. There are even flashbacks that Luc and Lola have (a first in a Crow film for villains) that help to establish tone and understanding of their characters.

As I mentioned, Lance's style is great to watch. The camera angles and shots are beautiful. The editing is near flawless with some very nice transition scenes that go from real-time to flashback back to real-time with beautiful results. I would have to say that for the first time in the sequels, we have a very technically sound film here. There was great care and work put into this film during post-production and it shows. Finally, the ending is one of the best since the first from an emotional level. It is beautifully shot and executed; you will be moved by it. Again, the word “poetic” comes up time and again when I look for a way to describe the look and feel of this film.

WHAT DIED (stuff I didn't like)
My only complaint with the film is the first half of the 3rd act. This is when Luc has channeled Satan and he and Lola are married to further consummate the union. The wedding itself is fine, but as I mentioned before, David Boreanaz, in my opinion, is just too over the top. The dialogue David has during this part of the film is sprinkled with a tongue-n-cheek tone, but his delivery works against the intent, in my opinion. There is one exception when he and Reid are leaving the church he nails a line that is one of his funniest in the film and really got a great reaction.

Also, as I mentioned, Hopper's dialogue is cringe worthy in the 3rd act. I had hoped perhaps the delivery of the lines would improve them but as feared, the gangsta' lingo sound out of place and I wish it would have been changed. Thankfully the second half of the 3rd act gets things back on the right track and gives us a satisfying close to the movie. Don't get me wrong, the first half of the 3rd act isn't horrible, but it could have been so much better with some tweaking of the lines and better delivery by the actors. I was the only one that felt this way about this portion of the film amongst the people I spoke to, so take this criticism with a grain of salt and make up your own mind about it.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, after much waiting and build up, the film delivered the goods for me. Having followed the film for so long, reading all the scripts, etc, I had built up this image of the film in my head which frankly, I thought couldn't be matched. That image was not only met, it was surpassed. This is a more than worthy addition to the Crow franchise and one I feel a majority of the fan base will embrace. My only regret about the film is that it will not see a much deserved full fledged theatrical release. It is high quality work and it is a shame that a film like this is not given its just due, especially in light of the films that HAVE been given a theatrical releases of late that absolutely tanked at the box office.

My rating is 4 crows out of 5.

Review from John M. Tart

I'm from Tacoma, WA and I saw The Crow: Wicked Prayer in Seattle on June 3rd. I thought the film was absolutely brilliant. This was much different from the first 3 films. I have to admit, some scenes were very hard to watch. One of the best things about it is the

special effects. I'm hoping to see it again before they stop showing it.

Review from SawRed

Well, just got back from seeing Wicked Prayer. I must say I thought it was disappointing, mostly due to the casting of Ed Furlong. I can see why they decided on straight to DVD.

Was it just me or did Edward Furlong seem "out of it" during most of the movie? I think Emmanuel Chrique had more screen presence in the movie than E.F. did. David Boreanaz makes a good villain but his lines were just cheesy and we've all seen that anyways in the ANGEL TV show. Tara Reid makes a good point, she says something like "I'm just gonna go back to being white trash" towards the end. nuff said.

The name of the town is hilarious too, Lake Ravasu. Being that I'm actually from Lake HAVAsu, AZ. It was just too much. And it looks nothing like HAVAsu. I don't know what tribe exactly movie was going for but they messed that up to hell. I can't believe how Hollywood seems to think Mexican people are the same as Native Americans. That's like calling a Japanese person Chinese. I know, I know, it was a mixed tribe but unlike Yaquis and other handful of Mexican mixed tribes in AZ. Wicked Prayer just got it wrong.

There were a few good parts though, like the opening credits for the Four Horsemen. Now if only they could have put as much work in the entire film as that they might have an ok movie. In a way I don't blame people for thinking the Crow franchise is becoming a joke, after seeing Wicked Prayer I can see why they feel that way. I hope someday someone makes a quality film like the first film minus the hype. I ran into someone at the bank after the movie and they said that the TV series Stairway to Heaven was better than the last few movies. Haven't seen too many eps of it but I'm sure it has better than the last "4" films.

Watching the film made me realize, I'm more a fan of James O'Barr, Brandon Lee and the original story of The Crow than The Crow franchise but since most anything to do with The Crow has Brandon Lee on it hard not to be. FYI- I have seen all of Brandon Lee's movies prior to the Crow.

PS: I was the only person in the theater at the 12:15 showing. C'mon there has to be more crow fans that haven't seen Wicked Prayer yet in Seattle! Well at least no one was taking to the screen, which actually might have been more entertaining if there had been.

I say if you are in Seattle, see it but just be warned

Review from burningcorvus (Found on IMDB)

Seattle had screening of this movie for one week only. so this is how i saw it. well there isn't much to say about The Crow: Wicked Prayer. it had its ups and its downs. in terms of a movie though, i thought it just sucked. i thought the intro was good though, had a little profile of the main bad guys with the exception of Lola (i feel they could have picked a better actress other than Tara Reid). Although i do feel that the death of Pestilence (Okumoto), Famine (Ortiz), and War (Chong) could have been better. There was however a fight between Jimmy (Furlong) and Death (Boreanaz). that wasn't really in the previous Crow movies. In the original there was a sword fight, but this one was more one-on-one. I couldn't figure out if the movie was suppose to happen somewhere in America, or Mexico. The Indian tribe, i believe was fictional. Totem poles were found out in the desert-crap type area, and Totem poles are more coastal tribes (if they where more to the cost then they didn't really explain). I also felt that that they could have actually chosen REAL Indians to play the roles of Indians, but I guess they wanted the more Mexica-Indian look (which confuse me because i couldn't tell where the movie was taking place). Dennis Hopper's character, El Nino to me was more of a comic relief character. He spoke slang, and was a satanic-gansta-pimp. The back
story between Lola (Reid), and El Nino (Hopper) i felt could have been explained better. Macy Gray in my opnio did not fit the role for the movie and (in my opinion) doesn't really have much to do with The Crow franchise. but thankfully she doesn't last long in the movie. I also felt that Boreanza wasn't a good match for Death, especially the dialog after he becomes the embodiment of Lucifer. All in all i give the movie a 7 out of 10, some of the characters and actors chosen for the characters i felt was off, but the overall story was interesting.

Review from Amanda Zimmerman

Hello.  My name is Amanda Zimmerman and I saw The Crow: Wicked Prayer today.  This is my review:

I saw The Crow: Wicked Prayer today (June 8, 2005).  It was different from the 3 previous films, it was lighter in design and tone at times and the way the Four Horsemen were introduced was not something I would have thought would fit with the franchise.  But it works with this movie.

There were changes from the norm that fans know, but in my opinion, the changes were okay, a different perspective so to speak.  I really enjoyed Eddie Furlong did a great job as The Crow.  He looked kinda young, but I think he still did a wonderful job, and the make-up and costume were good.  I was greatly surprised by Tara Reid's performance.  I'm not a big fan of hers, and must admit that I walked into the movie prepared to not like her, but I think her performance was one of the best in the film.  David Boreanaz did a good job as well, but I must agree with an earlier review that he did ham up the Satan stuff a bit, some lines I think should have had that cocky tone,
but not all of them.  It reminded me a little of when he played Angelus on Angel.  I didn't think the Dennis Hopper stuff was that good, mostly because of the dialogue, but I also had a hard time with him in that role, it just didn't seem to fit for me.  Macy Gray's performance was small, but I feel it could have been done a little better.

One of the elements that I really enjoyed with the film was having the backstories for the villains.  It was nice to know why they were doing the evil stuff.  There was something with the backstories, and I'll try not to give anything away, so forgive me if this is vague, that I wish could have had a little more explanation, and that was the
connections between characters.

I loved the score to the movie and wish that a soundtrack would come out.  The song during the end credits sounded nice too, but I was with my dad and couldn't stay to hear all of it.  I went to the 1:45 showing, and there were only three people there, my dad, myself, and a guy who sat in the back, which was sadly about what I had expected, but it was also a school day and towards the end of the run.

If anyone is in the area and can see it, I would recommend that they try to do so, if only for the experience of seeing a Crow movie on the big screen, especially for those who didn't see the first two in theaters.  That prospect alone made the trip worth it to me (I live a couple hours away), but the movie was more than worth the trip itself.

Review from MattyW

Hey, MattyW here. Was able to catch Wicked Prayer the first weekend it was playing at the Pacific Place.

I really enjoyed Wicked Prayer. The way the film was shot is fantastic. One of the best looking crow films yet. I really enjoyed the Furlong character Jimmy. He does a great job. I have studied acting for the last 4 years and really pay attention to acting in movies. He really brings across a wide range of emotion. There really is no one in the film that was bad, they all click in the roles they play. I can't say enough for how the film was shot. There are certain times in the film that could easily be frozen and placed in a frame for mounting.  I enjoyed the story, how Jimmy is this guy who really isn't liked by anyone but his girlfriend. That adds weight to the character and like I said, Furlong really brings that out. The gang has a better reason for doing what they are doing compared to the other crow movies. When you listen to them it makes sense what they are doing. That doesn't mean I agree with what they do but it does make you think about how would you react if the same things were done to you. I am not what you would call a fanatical follower of the crow, but consider myself a fan. For me, this film ranks as the best one. If this was the first crow film I ever saw it would make me want to see the others. Great job to everyone involved.

Thanks


Review from BearBrighter

Caught the new crow flick Wicked Prayer. Man, awesome, really awesome. Not much of a movie reviewer, so will tell you what I liked. I think the personality of this crow is the coolest of any crow. Ed Furlong has a smart ass attitude while being a deep character. I got a kick out of David B. as the devil. I was surprised by how much humor was in the film. It is dark funny stuff but funny. I think this is the first crow film that has scenes in daylight. I think that helps to give it a new feel. The music kicks ass. I don't remember any rock music except for some bar scene where the crow kills the first bad guy. Can't remember who did the music but it is really western sounding. The film
has this cool about it, can't describe it. It is for sure worth a look by crow fans.

Ok, that is my review. Like I said not much of a review critic but wanted to let you guys know I saw the flick and enjoyed it.

Review from CR

Well I've followed the production of Wicked Prayer since it was first
announced. That's been a long time. I'm a huge Crow fan. I've enjoyed
all the movies for different reasons. The wait to see Wicked Prayer
was killing me.

It has an awesome cast. It was said it would be a western. Was it
worth waiting for? This film is as good as the first. I know some
won't agree that's fine. It's really all in tastes. People have been
wanting to bash this film from the start. They wanted to bash Edward
Furlong. I tell you what folks, Eddie owns this movie. He is this
movie. People should go see this thing open minded and if they do
they'll love it.

The first minute of the film is already different cause the movie has
daytime scenes. You can't have western without a blazing sun and dirt
and desert. Lance Mungia and his people made a beautiful film. The
colors are amazing, the shots are gorgeous, and the editing is
awesome. I send out a big thanks to Lance, the cast and crew. Speaking
of the cast, David Boreanaz plays a good part here. I'm an Angel fan
but never really got to see him play charismatic like he does as Luc
Crash. He's great in this role. The villains of this film are so well
developed, they have a back story. Ultimately they're not sure of
themselves. They think they're making wrong thinks right. The baddies
aren't just there to be slaughtered by Jimmy Cuervo. They're
interesting characters. I loved how Jimmy and Luc knew each other
before hand. The music involved is great. The western vibe to it and
the scene where we see Jimmy adding the Crow mask/lines, really had an
awesome sound to it. I hope they release the score on cd.

Ok I did have one complaint with the movie. It was not long enough.
The pace was fast and I wanted more. The movie was so good, I didn't
want it to end as quick as it did. I don't think Dimension knows what
they have here, this movie should be playing in theaters nationwide
now. It would have easily made the budget back with a little
promotion. Again I just want to say thanks to Lance, Eddie and
everyone involved, its an awesome film. You guys were passionate about
the film and it really showed.

ABaHB Reviews Wicked Prayer Trailer