Summary

• Ranking The Crow movies showcase the inconsistency of the franchise but the original 1994 film remains the best with unique visuals and strong performances.
• Despite its popularity, The Crow series lacks the box office success of other superhero franchises but holds a special place in pop culture.
• The later entries like The Crow: Wicked Prayer suffer in quality and failed to bring fresh ideas.

The Crow movies ranked highlight how wildly inconsistent the quality of the series can be. Inspite of the massive success that greeted Tim Burton's Batman movies, the 1990s was a grim time for comic book movies. For the most part, studios didn't take the genre seriously, leading to a line of duds like the 1990 Captain America or Spawn. A major outlier was The Crow, based on James O'Barr's deeply personal graphic novel of the same title. The movie's stylish visuals, excellent action sequences and awesome soundtrack made it a hit in 1994.

Tragically, the death of lead actor Brandon Lee during production cast a somber shadow over its release. The original film's success created an unlikely franchise, including the short-lived TV series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven while the long-delayed The Crow 2024 cast Bill Skarsgard in the lead. The movies are nowhere near the level of the MCU or DCU in of box-office but they hold an important spot in pop culture regardless. That said, a rewatch of The Crow series underscores how quickly the property ran out of fresh ideas.

5 The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)

Directed By Lance Mungia

Coming dead last in the franchise ranking is 2005's Wicked Prayer. Not only is The Crow: Wicked Prayer the indisputable worst entry, it might just be one of the worst movies ever made, period. Terminator 2: Judgment Day's Edward Furlong became the latest actor to play the Crow, with his character Jimmy being murdered alongside his fiancée by a group of Satanists. As with the previous three outings, Jimmy rises from the dead, dons the goth makeup and sets off on a rampage of revenge that's utterly lacking in urgency, tension or thrills.

The only real bright spot of Wicked Prayer is David Boreanaz as the lead villain; not only is he hammy fun, his character literally turns into the Devil.

Furlong is woefully miscast as Wicked Prayer's hero and seems ill at ease wearing the famous makeup. One of the notable things about this fourth and final entry in the original series is how strange the casting is, with Tara Reid, Danny Trejo, Dennis Hopper and singer Macy Gray all feeling like they're making different films. The only real bright spot is David Boreanaz as the lead villain; not only is he hammy fun, his character literally turns into the Devil.

Other than that, The Crow: Wicked Prayer is a miserable slog. It just remakes the original film again, it has no good action to speak of and the performances are largely awful. More than anything, the sequel is just an unbelievable bore. Wicker Prayer's 0% on Rotten Tomatoes speaks for itself and is truly earned.

4 The Crow: Salvation (2000)

Directed By Bharat Nalluri

Initially slated for a theatrical release, The Crow: Salvation instead when direct-to-video; it's not hard to see why. Eric Mabius (Resident Evil) steps into the role of avenging anti-hero Alex, who was executed for a crime he did not commit, only to return hours later seeking retribution. Salvation is notable for giving Kirsten Dunst one of her first leading roles but the movie's core problem is that it feels like a chintzy, less stylish retread of the original.

The Crow: Salvation also features an early turn from Walton Goggins (Justified) as one of the corrupt cops who framed Alex.

Mabius' inconsistent performance doesn't help, though to the actor's credit, he gets more comfortable in the role as the story progresses. Director Bharat Nalluri surrounds his star with a solid ing cast too, including the late, great Fred Ward, but The Crow: Salvation is a tedious exercise in franchise box ticking. It copies and pastes the key beats from previous films, right down to Alex having to kill four key henchmen to work his way up to the final boss.

Salvation has some distinct visuals, but there is no killer setpiece to speak of. The film also rachets up the violence, but instead of the stylized comic book edge of The Crow, this third entry almost wallows in its own meanness. In of rankings, Wicked Prayer wins the gold medal for The Crow saga's worst, but Salvation has an arguably worse fate; it's the most purely forgettable.

3 The Crow (2024)

Directed by Rupert Sanders

The Crow remake was stranded in development hell for years, with seemingly every viable leading man in Hollywood - from Bradley Cooper to Luke Evans or Jason Momoa - being offered and then rejecting the title role. Bill Skarsgard finally signed on, with The Crow 2024 marking the first movie in the series for nearly 20 years. Sadly, it wasn't worth the protracted wait. On the positive side, Skarsgard as Eric and FKA Twigs as Shelly make for a surprisingly sweet couple, and the Rupert Sanders reboot invests a lot in their romance.

It must be said that Skarsgard gives the role his all both physically and emotionally, and invests in making Eric's tragic tale connect with viewers.

The film also deviates greatly from the source material and the 1994 original; the gothic, Tim Burton-esque visuals are gone, and it's set in a (relatively) grounded reality. This more realistic approach was the wrong one for The Crow 2024, since it sucks much of the fun from the premise entirely. Memorable villains like Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) are replaced with generic, personality-free goons, while Danny Huston's demonic Roeg is a phoned-in, rent-a-villain turn from the usually reliable actor.

Like with his live-action Ghost in the Shell remake, Sanders does inject his revenge tale with some creative camera moves and imagery, but The Crow 2024 just feels achingly hollow. The action is effectively brutal, though CGI blood sprays also dilute the impact. It must be said that Skarsgard gives the role his all both physically and emotionally, and invests in making Eric's tragic tale connect with viewers. It's a genuine shame the film around him lacks the same ion, and while the Crow reboot movie's ending sets up a possible sequel, that's very unlikely to happen.

2 The Crow: City Of Angels (1996)

Directed By Tim Pope

The second best Crow is also the most frustrating. Following the tragic death of Lee during production of the first film, it was wisely decided not to recast the role and instead create a new hero for City of Angels. French actor Vincent Perez takes over as Ashe, a man who is murdered alongside his young son, and as per franchise formula, is resurrected and aided by a magical crow on his quest.

The Crow: City of Angels looks great and has some solid ing turns from the likes of Iggy Pop and a young Tom Jane, but short of a director's cut being released, it will never realize its full potential.

Director Tim Pope intended City of Angels to be very different from the original, but producers the Weinsteins snapped it out of his hands and hacked it to pieces. This results in The Crow 2 being a real mess, but one that nevertheless looks incredible. The production design and cinematography are the standout elements, but while Pope's vision of a more artful, melancholy sequel pokes through, the re-edits badly hurt the narrative.

Almost an hour of material was trimmed from the final version, and this stitching together can be felt. Perez also goes quite mega with his performance and should have dialed it back a few degrees. The Crow: City of Angels looks great and has some solid ing turns from the likes of Iggy Pop and a young Tom Jane, but short of a director's cut being released, it will never realize its full potential.

1 The Crow (1994)

Directed By Alex Proyas

It should come as little surprise that the 1994 original is the best film of The Crow franchise. The film is a unique mix of highly stylized comic book action with a melancholy love story, as Lee's Eric rises from the grave a year after his and his fiancée's murders to wreak bloody revenge. Between the John Woo-esque shootouts and fight scenes, The Crow is a mediation on life and death, and the way love lingers on in the aftermath of tragedy.

Lee is incredible in the titular role and would have undoubtedly gone on to become a bigger star if not for the tragedy that took place during production. The film has a great ensemble too; Ernie Hudson brings a genuine warmth to his role as the cop aiding Eric, while Michael Wincott, Tony Todd and Bai Ling make for a memorable selection of bad guys. The Crow may ape the visuals of Burton's Batman, but Alex Proyas' painterly eye gives the film its only unique feel, resulting in one of the 1990s best comic book movies.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb