The Crow

      As a result of not being able to sleep last night, no matter what I tried to do, I went ahead and decided to watch a movie. I mean nothing worked. The soft sound of waves hitting the rocks on a beach, sleeping on my face, hiking up the fan a couple of notches all seemed to fail me. Of all the movies I have on a growing list, I picked Alex Proyas' "The Crow", which was released in 1994. Why "The Crow"? The first reason being, I have yet to watch a movie that stars a superhero by the name of Crow, until today morning obviously, so the plot line must be original. Secondly, I have a soft spot for ass-kicking, crime fighting, justice providing, death dealing superheros. And finally, as I was watching one of Vlogs that I subscribe to, I found out that Brandon Lee, who plays the main character, actually died on set. So, I believe that this movie is one of those several movies that you have to watch before you expire.

      Lee plays the role of an up and coming musician and to-be-newlywed, Eric Draven. Due to a housing issue with the city's most vile of criminals, his fiancee was brutally raped and beaten in front of his eyes. Draven came in on what was happening and was sent, mercilessly, to his untimely death and his fiancee died hours later. Now, Draven is back to see the death of each of these criminals through as The Crow. Bear with me on this one. To me, the Crow was Nicholas Cage's "Ghost Rider", Michael Jai White's "Spawn", Ben Affleck's "Daredevil", and Heath Ledger's "Joker", all packed into one character. But all of these movies came out years after the release of this movie. It could be very much possible that the main characters of these movies, in part, originated from the character of The Crow. Except "The Joker" of course. 

      I, personally, loved watching this movie. The musical composition of this movie was beautifully manipulated and handled by Graeme Revell. As we speak, I am replaying the shit out of Revell's "Return to the Grave." That piece is not as dark as it sounds, trust me. Although based on an eerie theme, there were scenes that put a smile on my face. Aside from some empty acting from Ernie Hudson and one or two movie mistakes, this movie is a must see. Now about Brandon Lee, the son of the late and coveted Bruce Lee. Because of an improperly prepared gun on set, Lee was accidentally shot on scene. Hours later, he was pronounced dead at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington, because of an bullet intrusion to the spine. 

      There is no doubt in my mind that if Lee was still alive today, he would have the actor to watch on the big screen. His unique ability to be taken seriously, even with a bit of humor, makes him an actor with a lot to offer. The movie went on a hiatus for a while but Lee's family pushed for the movie's release in his remembrance. Proyas and Lee's stunt double, Chad Stahelski, did a great job covering up and keeping Eric Draven alive without a trace of Lee's absence. Will I watch this movie again? Yes, most definitely.

I will post the link to Revell's "Return to the Grave" on my "What I'm listening to right now" column. Check it out.