The 1994 film version of THE CROW is considered to be a cult classic by man fans. It was a great performance by Brandon Lee who tragically died on set in the final days of shooting from a blank shot from a gun. It is also one of three great movies by film director Alex Proyas. The movie was based on the classic comic book series by James O'Barr. Many sequels and a TV series followed after the success of the 1994 movie. THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS was tampered with in post-production by Miramax, but the style and soundtrack still shine through. THE CROW: STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN is a one season series that I think lives up to the first movie, but it was cut short after Universal decided to cancel it after acquiring Polygram Pictures. The third CROW movie was OK, but THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER (the fourth film) was terrible. For years, many writers and directors tried to get THE CROW remade with various actors attached whether it was Bradley Cooper or Jason Mamoa.

Finally, the new adaptation of THE CROW got made with Bill Skarsgaard as Eric in a movie that greatly changes the source material and would have been better off with different lead characters instead of trying to use Eric and Shelly. This 2024 film takes too long to get off the ground as you get too much back story where the hack director Rupert Sanders (who does passable film direction whether it is SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN or GHOST IN THE SHELL) whose personal affairs with Kristen Stewart who starred in one of his movies did threaten to take away from the publicity of his movies. THE CROW doesn't even come close to being as great as the best in THE CROW franchise, but it does better than the worst films in the series. The action in the second half wasn't bad, but I do think the action in the 1994 film of THE CROW had more and was done with better style. Eric Draven was such a likeable character in that movie where you wish you could care for Eric more in the 2024 film. If we get another CROW movie, I think it is time to focus on a female Crow and set the movie in another country with a director who has mores style and storytelling skills. Also the 2024 film took too long to get off the ground because you had too many cooks in the kitchen resulting in the film that did get made. You have to let the writer and director rule on a new version of THE CROW without each producer or studio giving their opinion on the story. You won't get a successful movie out of THE CROW mythology unless you allow something new to be said and created.

The director of the current adaptation gets defensive about the reviews of the movie and audience reactions where a better editor and losing a few minutes and some restructuring of the movie could have made it better even if it still will never be a classic or great film. I don’t know whose smart idea was it to give Eric lots of tattoos and make him a recovering drug addict who runs off with Shelly. We don't have much development to the bad guys where the 1994 film version and even the sequel to that one had more character development for each of the bad guys than this one did. Unfortunately, Lionsgate and the various production partners will see this as a failure instead of an opportunity to try better and micromanage less due to the poor box office. Maybe next time (if THE CROW gets one), they should expand the mythos and get away from Eric and Shelly.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
What I always enjoy about Lionsgate releases is the care to sometimes generate a wealth of extras for movies whether they are good or bad. It is interesting to see all the work that went into making this new movie version of THE CROW

TRUE LOVE NEVER DIES: MAKING THE CROW is a multi-part documentary on the origins and production of the newest adaptation of the classic James O'Barr cult comic book of revenge and loss. I do wish the movie was as beautiful as the pre-production art, but I do appreciate the effort they went into making the movie including using the same back screen technology that the STAR WARS shows started. Whether you like the movie or not, the production design and costume design required lots of effort from a dedicated crew.
DARK ROMANCE: THE SCORE- a behind-the-scenes look at the music of the movie
REBORN THROUGH REVENGE: MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE- a quick fetaurette on the title sequence.
EVERY FILM IS A MIRACLE: A TRIBUTE TO EDWARD PRESSMAN- a tribute to the producer of so many movies as his life and career is explored including interviews with his widow and son. It is interesting to see how many films he has produced including some I really like.

The deleted scenes show material cut for time including more scenes with a minor supporting character

Theatrical trailer for the movie

Also included is the movie in standard definition on DVD and a code to stream a digital copy of THE CROW.

FINAL ANALYSIS: This new adaptation of THE CROW doesn't entirely work, but it mainly shines through the production design and score. It isn't the worst movie in THE CROW franchise, but it isn't the best either. I was impressed by the extras on the blu-ray and the making of documentary is a good watch to see how this movie was made.

This movie review is ©9-4-2024 and 11-19-2024 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com