Back in 1994 filmmaker Alex Proyas was in charge of bringing the comic book series The Crow to the big screen. Brandon Lee took on the role of Eric Draven and he unfortunately passed away during filming due to a prop gun error. It was a terrible accident that has since plagued the film despite its cult success. Sequels happened but focused around different characters but there was always talk to rebooting it for a modern audience. Fast forward to present day and we are now living in an age full of superhero films. Now is the perfect time for a new adaption of The Crow. After a long development period filmmaker Rupert Sanders and actor Bill Skarsgard were in charge of bringing The Crow and Eric Draven back to life!
The premise of The Crow is that Eric Draven witnesses the violent death of his girlfriend Shelly after shortly being murdered himself. He is then brought back to life in order to take revenge on the people responsible for her death. As long as his love for her is pure he cannot die and he soon learns the man in charge of her murder, Vincent Roeg, is a demonic crime lord. The set up and premise is exciting and evokes other films such as John Wick’s revenge crusade arc as well as the world building aspects of another Keanu Reeves starring film with Constantine. The result sadly makes The Crow feel far inferior to its influences and almost unnecessary as we have seen this type of story too many times and done a lot better.
Bill Skarsgard, who plays Eric Draven, doesn’t have the charisma that matches the character. He may look the part in certain aspects but his personality isn’t the best fit for the character. As for the villain Vincent Roeg, the film stars Danny Huston in another villainous turn that feels all too similar to his other work. There is no room for creativity, ambition or for originality and the result is a bland mesh of characters who do not bring any depth or development throughout the story.
The atmosphere and visuals of the film are less than desirable too. The first time we enter the afterlife, or the train-yard as it is symbolised in the film, we see some interesting dystopian images but then this is constantly re-used for later scenes and feels more like a lazy choice of making death feel more confined. The atmosphere and cinematography copies a lot of elements from films like The Dark Tower and Spawn, where the focus is mainly on the action but with no particular super-heroics for Draven the film doesn’t reach the required effect when it comes to the choreography or stunt work. The Crow sadly feels neglected in the action aspect and doesn’t bring anything particular unique to the film.
The Crow had the potential to be a dark, gritty crime thriller with a supernatural edge but sadly the final result is a rather bland, done-before sort of film. Filmmaker Rupert Sanders played it too safe with the story, as well as with the casting and the directing. Even the script feels particular weak as we don’t see much development or any engaging narrative arcs for the characters. The Crow feels like it is from the early 90s which is ironic considering the original film came out around that time. It feels out-dated and straight-to-video in terms of quality. It is a shame that a film like this that went through so much production development end up feeling this way but who knows, maybe another filmmaker might have another attempt in a decade or so.
★☆☆☆☆
1/5
Final Verdict:
The Crow misses the mark a lot throughout the film. Bill Skarsgard does his best at playing the anti-hero Eric Draven but the script and direction holds him back. The Pennywise star was given a lacklustre director and a poor script in what ends up being a rather dismal looking film. There is nothing new or exciting that The Crow brings to the table. There are a lot of other similar films out there, like the John Wick franchise, that do the revenge story much better and you’re better off sticking with those films instead of checking out this one.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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