Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with an opinion on the newest CROW film WICKED PRAYER. I've been growing tired of the countless CROW flicks that Miramax keeps spewing direct to video. I've only liked the first film. However, this newest one has a cult geekboy favorite behind the helm. Lance Mungia directed indie film fest fav SIX-STRING SAMURAI a few years ago. Love it or hate it, the imagination behind that film and the energy of the direction was superb. I'm really curious to see his next feature, which is the long in coming CROW flick. I'm no fan of David Boreanaz (he was godawful in VALENTINE and I'm sorry... I know people love it, but everytime I try to watch ANGEL I just go into fits of laughter), but I like Edward Furlong... or, rather, I CAN like Edward Furlong. But the reason I will watch this at all is because of Mungia. Here's the review, squirts! Enjoy!

Hey Harry!

I can?t believe no one has posted anything about this, but the new Crow movie was screened this past Wednesday in LA. I bought a ticket for Constantine and saw Eddy Furlong smoking a cig by the door. There was a little too much fanfare for an off night at the movies so I snuck into the theater after he went in. I had no idea it was the Crow. It was some kind of cast and crew screening because the producer introduced the director, who spoke before the show and I spotted Marcus Chong from The Matrix sitting in the back. To be honest, I don?t know much about the comic, liked the first movie and hated the sequel. I didn?t even know there was a third one until I looked. I?m no big critic, but thought your fans would like to see an early review of the Crow: Wicked Prayer.

First off, the movie has a very Western tone?no big city rooftops in sight. Eddy plays an ex-con, whose hot girlfriend is the daughter of the town sheriff. Enter David Boranez, the guy from Angel, whose plan is to become the Devil and needs both Furlong?s heart and his girlfriend?s eyes to do it. Tara Reid plays David?s girlfriend/witch who whips up the spells to pull it off. The story isn?t much, guy comes back from dead, angel versus devil etc. but it?s got a lot going and has some real good performances to boot.

First off, I didn?t expect much from Eddy as The Crow, but he more than held his own. He plays a true underdog character--the last person you'd see the Crow inhabit and that's what I liked about it. I liked him sans makeup more, but in the Crow costume, he manages to pull off the best scene in the movie. It?s a twist I don?t want to give away. This one?s big on redemption. That said, David steals the show. He?s over the top, as is his ?Four Horsemen?, but does it so well. He had some awesome lines. ?I?d slice all your throats, but I have to get to the burial grounds.?

I recognized Tito Ortiz, the guy from the ultimate fighting championship, and he was actually pretty good, very soft spoken but a big presence. I saw him at the screening too he?s a pretty big guy. He, Marcus Chong and some Asian guy make up David's posse known as The Four Horsemen. Tara didn?t do much, but she wasn?t a distraction either. I liked a scene where she washes her hands clean of blood. However, David carried most of her scenes, he was fun to watch.

What really makes the film is the relationship between Eddy and his girl and that comes off very pure. The scenes with Eddy and her really worked. The film had a strong beginning, but almost lost it near the end. A sequence with Dennis Hopper seemed very out of place, but some people were laughing so maybe it?s just my tastes. The film made up for it in the end.

I wasn?t expecting much, but found myself enjoying this movie, partly because it moved quickly. The audience, though obviously biased, seemed to dig it. The movie had a good pace and it?s clear the director was going for something different. I was never bored.

Bottom line, I was expecting another mess and was pleasantly surprised with something different. Don?t expect any big action scenes though. This was definitely more of a character story and it showed in the care with the performances. It had heart and I have to mention the music .it honestly took the film to a whole new level. I'd definitely buy the score if it was released. It's very classy, soulful stuff.

I thought this was going to be a direct-to-video movie, but honestly, I could see it coming out in theaters. This one certainly deserves a look. It has way more heart than half the crap I?ve seen lately. I think Crow fans will be happy, they?ll probably get a lot more out of it than I did, but I left the theater feeling pretty good. Ending strong is a big plus in my book.

--Booster Gold