Based on the comic book created by James O'Barr. The Crow stars Brandon Lee as rock star Eric Draven, who, precisely one year after his murder, returns from the grave to take revenge on the vicious criminals responsible for the rape and death of his fiancée and his own untimely demise.

The basic plot for this supernatural thriller is rather simplistic, holding very few surprises and delivering little in the way of genuine suspense, but a poetic screenplay charged with dark romanticism, a terrific cast (Michael Wincott is particularly memorable as head villain Top Dollar) and extremely stylish direction from Alex Proyas ensure that the film is far from forgettable. Proyas, a prolific music video director, nails the comic book aesthetic, delivering a stream of impressive visuals, with grandiose, sweeping cinematography, stunning lighting, and incredible set design, all steeped in Gothic neo-noir atmosphere and set to a cool alt-rock soundtrack.

Brandon, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, gives a charismatic central performance, and would most likely have become a major star in his own right had his life not been tragically cut short by an accidental shooting on the set of this movie, a fact that only goes to make the finished article an even more tragic and haunting experience.

This might be a very controversial thing to say, but I think that The Crow is one of the best films of 1994, it's after Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption. One of the most tragic things about The Crow is that actor Brandon Lee died on set, he got shot in a scene that originally wasn't in the script, but was added last second. It was something that could've been easily prevented and the actor could have survived if the fire arm had been examined by the weapons examiner, except he was absent that day. It ended up having real bullets in the barrel and Lee ended up getting legitimately shot and dying during hospitilization. (Rest in peace.)

Saying that, Brandon Lee's iconic performance as The Crow/Eric Draven will live on for eternity. Some scenes had to be done without Brandon Lee because he had died on set, so they cleverly used light and shadow and/or special effects to cover up the fact that it's not Brandon Lee.

The makeup for Brandon Lee's Eric Draven is iconic and the ending is extremely moving. It also features one of the best sword-fight like battles of all time!

The script is fantastic, the cinematography for certain scenes is masterful. It's one of those films like The Dark Knight or Inception that lived up to my expectations and exceeded them. Literally everything about this movie is amazing, the gothic set design is beautiful, go check it out if you haven't, it's one of my all time favorites.

At first glance, THE CROW seems to be just another revenge saga, with an added goth twist to appeal to fans of KISS and Marilyn Manson. Thankfully I was mistaken, because this is an emotional roller-coaster of a movie that is both fun and moving, violent yet sensitive. It certainly strikes the viewer as a film in which opposing values gel together quite brilliantly. And, whatever critics may say, it will always be a strangely unique movie, in which the tragedy of Lee's on-set death runs parallel to the death and rebirth of his screen character. As such the movie has a spooky, almost legendary air to it, a real one-off to a film. But Lee's death – although deeply upsetting – is not a good reason to watch this movie, having nothing to do with the film itself.

Director Proyas (DARK CITY) keeps things dim and shadowy throughout. The film seems to take place over the length of one hellish night, so expect brooding darkness, silent alleys and many shots of Lee's surreal, mime-painted face. The plot is simple; he dies, is reborn, and takes revenge on the bad guys, but Lee's relationship with a teenage friend heightens the emotion, as does Ernie Hudson's sympathetic cop who understands the hero's inner feelings and understanding. The bad guys are mostly psychotic rather than evil, all presided over by the sinister yet suave Michael Wincott, one of my favourite underrated actors. Others such as Candyman (Tony Todd) and Sully from COMMANDO (David Patrick Kelly) flesh out the ranks of the victims. Many stunts, explosive action sequences, violent moments and shoot-outs keep the plot moving, but I found this film to be more of an appealing, romantic and deeply sad love story than anything else. Worth catching.