The Crow: Stairway to Heaven

There is a legend that tells of crows bringing the souls of the dead to the afterlife. But there are cases where, when bad things happen, the crow can bring the soul back one year later, to avenge itself.  That is exactly what happened with Eric Draven (Brandon Lee). His girlfriend Shelley (Sofia Shinas) was brutally murdered by four henchmen and Eric was defenestrated (I always wanted to use that word) and died. One year later Eric's soul returns and he hunts down three of the four men that killed them. He gets the help of Sergeant Albrecht (Ernie Hudson) who was working on the case and the other case involving a series of fires that happens every year on that night.  (Just in case you didn't know both crimes were committed by the same people).

Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) is the head honcho of the organization that's behind the fires and he hears about Eric's want for vengeance. Since the fourth and final member of the gang is safe with him and the rest of the mob, TD is certain he's safe. Only thing is that The Crow can't die so he goes in and shoots up the entire place to get Bad Guy #4. Once TD realizes he can't die, he wants Eric's powers. There's a way to do it, something about killing the crow or something - it wasn't really that clear. So TD and his two remaining henchmen (one henchman and one henchwoman) grab Eric friend's Sarah (Rochelle Davis) and lure The Crow into a trap.

Albrecht comes in with him and ends up getting shot, but it's okay, he lives. TD and the rest of the evil gang don't, though, and Eric's soul is finally at rest. The End.

I liked this movie. It was a little bit on the artsy side and was very predictable, but I enjoyed it. I have no complaints about the acting, the costumes, the sets, or even the plot, for once. The ending was slightly tacky, but there's a dead guy running around with make-up and pre-emo emoness about him. I would've been happy with better villains though. One or two were pretty dumb and the chick freaked me out. I have no problems with female bad guys, but why do they always have to be weird and sadistic? Can't they just be tyrannical power hungry bad guys like their male counterparts? Is that too much to ask for?

Grade: 7.5/10