Movies & TV / Reviews
The Crow Review
Image Credit: Larry Horricks and Lionsgate
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Directed By: Rupert Sanders
Written By: Zach Baylin and William Schneider; Based on the comic by James O’Barr
Runtime: 111 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated R for strong violence, language, sexuality, nudity, and drug use
Bill Skarsgård – Eric Draven
FKA twigs – Shelly
Danny Huston – Vincent Roeg
Laura Birn – Marion
Sami Bouajila – Kronos
Josette Simon – Sophia
Isabella Wei – Zadie
Hollywood has struggled to revive The Crow property for nearly 20 years. It’s not surprising why. The original 1990s classic is a striking, genre-defining film. Based on James O’Barr’s comic series, The Crow hit theaters as a uniquely dark, gritty comic book movie when the genre was not yet well-defined. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was not even a concept when The Crow was released. At the time, Marvel’s most significant pieces of motion picture entertainment unfounded on the small screen with X-Men: The Animated Series and Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The Crow is a singular film, and its iconography and influence have endured over the last 30 years. Unfortunately, the tragic death of actor and star Brandon Lee during the film’s production is a specter that looms heavily over the project. The film features his final performance in a role that likely would have cemented his stardom.
The 1990s feature would eventually spawn a line of subpar direct-to-video sequels. By rebooting the franchise, producers hope to recapture the eerie magic of the original, returning to the story of Eric Draven from the first film. Unfortunately, The Crow reboot utterly misunderstands what the original did so well in capturing the vibe and spirit of O’Barr’s comic. Producer Sam Pressman’s description of the project as “an Anti-Marvel movie” is hardly a badge of honor, even for those who might loathe the MCU. The new iteration of The Crow amounts to little more than a sloppy, reconstituted airline meal.
Skarsgård stars as the new Eric Draven, a gloomy poet tortured by an incident in his past, where he attempted to free a wounded horse covered in barbed wire. While trying to free the poor animal, he horrendously cuts his hands in the process. As an adult, he’s stuck in rehab, which itself looks like a depressing, dystopic sci-fi version of a drug rehab program. Later, Eric is joined by Shelly (FKA twigs), a young woman and pianist who seeks to evade some nefarious characters led by Vincent Roeg (Huston). Shelly’s friend Zadie (Wei) texted Shelly a video that incriminates Roeg in his unsavory activities. Right off the bat, the plot shows its hands too early, revealing that Roeg is a type of Faustian villain with Satanic powers who seeks to corrupt the innocent.
Eric barely meets Shelly before they ditch rehab and squat at the apartment of Shelly’s friend, dropping acid and washing it down with liquor. It fails to make their burgeoning romance all that endearing. Eventually, Roeg’s minions track down Eric and Shelly, suffocating them to death. Roeg’s demonic activities draw the intervention of a wandering spirit (Bouajila), who offers Eric the powers of immortality to get his revenge and “put the wrong things right.” With his newfound regenerative powers, Eric seeks to uncover Roeg and his entourage, but he might lose his love for Shelly in the process.
Although the reboot expands on the relationship between Eric and Shelly, the strategy only diminishes the depth of their romance. If anything, the relationship comes off as if the troubled Shelly finds an easy, malleable mark in Eric. Rupert Sanders’ clunky direction and a weak script fail to reinforce the love between Eric and Shelly that transcends life and death. The two young people barely even know each other before they start sleeping together, so it’s hard to buy that Eric goes on a rage-fueled, undead rampage to give their killers some much-needed comeuppance. Skarsgård and twigs share no spark onscreen, so it’s hard to buy into the concept of transcendent love, especially when their star-crossed romance is built upon such flimsy material. Eric and Shelly’s shared death scene lacks tension, dread, and genuine suspense.
One potentially positive idea the reboot presents entails how Eric learns more about Shelly’s unsavory past, creating doubts in his resolve. That idea could have served as a fascinating exploration of learning harsh truths about a loved one and the true meaning of unconditional love. However, The Crow never fully develops or fleshes out these ideas. While the movie sets up Eric’s crumbling resolve, it never shows why his love for Shelly is true. The plot forces the restoration of his resolve merely because the situation merely calls for it. The focus on Shelly and Eric’s love is one idea to explore, but the film executes it poorly. The narrative wastes so much time on Eric and Shelly’s relationship that when Eric finally assumes the mantle of the Crow, the movie is nearing its end.
The Crow remake certainly earns its R-rating. It revels in violence, blood, and gore; but beyond that, there is very little going for it. The movie embraces a dark edginess without truly understanding what those terms mean. The film lacks substance, and the supporting cast fails to demonstrate a striking presence or any memorable characters. No one leaves an impression in The Crow. The movie never provides a strong sense of setting, place, or atmosphere. Despite a vague United States setting, much of the cast speaks in European accents. Sami Bouajila appears as a woefully expository spiritual guide for Eric to explain the plot and rules for an avenging angel. Bouajila’s performance and dialogue sound stilted, much like the rest of the movie. The Crow presents style without potent mood, substance, or ambiance. Even the presence of the Crow motif feels superficial at best. It’s only there because the movie is called The Crow. The reboot renders the avian avatar for righteous justice into ineffectual set dressing.
The key setpiece depicts Eric taking action at an opera house during a live performance [AN: Never seen that in a movie before, have we?]. The opera house scene features grotesque violence, but at this point, The Crow has already worn out its welcome and it comes far too late to generate excitement. As a villain, Huston’s Vincent Roeg portrays a one-note baddie with the gift of Satanic superpowers. He presents no actual threat or true menacing presence in the film. Presenting a supernatural threat to match against the Crow is interesting, but the film spends little time exploring the idea. Instead, the hackneyed plot focuses on an incriminating video that becomes forgotten once the plot reveals its contents. Additionally, why would an individual like Roeg worry about the video? It’s an idiotic plot device to provoke the characters into action.
In another universe or time, Skarsgård would have possibly made a tremendous version of The Crow or Eric Draven. Skarsgård’s charisma and presence almost shine when not dealing with insipid dialogue. When Skarsgård appears by himself and introspectively stares into a mirror, he exudes a fascinating, quiet mania. It looks like his acting talents are trying to claw to the surface under the piles of ridiculous tattoos he’s forced to wear in this movie.
The look of the Crow is classic and iconic. James O’Barr knew what he was doing when designing the character, so much so that the 1994 movie didn’t mess with the character’s original design when Brandon Lee brought it to life onscreen. The Crow’s design is so iconic that WWE Hall of Famer Sting cribbed the look and made it part of his gimmick in the late 1990s, and he ended up sticking with it for over 25 years. The point is if a production wants to reinvent the iconic look of The Crow character, it better be a damn good update. That’s not what happens here. The reinvented Crow design looks like cringe-inducing try-hard nonsense. The James O’Barr design is so classic and elegant in its simplicity, and the reboot turns it into overcomplicated dross.
After nearly 20 years in development and a neverending string of failed starts, The Crow reboot fails to justify its existence. This reboot is not an anti-Marvel movie unless that means the antithesis of something fun.
