2024 was the year of nostalgia, with Hugh Jackman in a Wolverine costume, Glen Powell chasing tornadoes and our favorite Ghostbusters dressing up again. The trend continues with a take on the comic book character The crow. Thirty years after Brandon Lee made the character an icon on screen, Bill Skarsgard tries to give the character his own interpretation in The crow.
The Crow review
Before we get started, my movie reviews are not based on comparing movies to the original or previous versions of the movie. I go into every movie I see with the hope that it will be good, and whether it is good or not depends entirely on what is shown on the screen.
The first time Eric and Shelly look each other in the eyes is in a rehab center where both are fleeing their pasts. Shelly breaks the rules as we see her sitting next to Eric (women are not allowed to sit next to men) and later even entering his room. Shortly after their arrival, the woman trying to track them down shows up at the rehab center, causing Eric and Shelly to flee.
It’s crazy that the script is absolutely abysmal, yet the script’s imperfections are hidden in the chemistry between Bill Skarsgard and FKA Twigs. Without these two, this film falls flat on its face without hesitation. From the moment the two locked eyes, you embarked on this Bonnie and Clyde-esque journey and never looked back.
Skarsgard, who is covered in blood for most of the film, plays Eric perfectly. A rather quiet and reserved guy slowly breaks out of his shell because he loves Shelly. Once that switch is flipped, Skarsgard takes over this film with pure dominance and never looks back. He is one of the best actors throughout, showing that even with this bad script, he can take a film and make it his own. His counterpart, FKA Twigs, was an absolute delight in this. I need her in more films.
Speaking of gore, when things really get going in the middle of the second and third acts, we see some of the most gruesome murders you’ll see all year. I loved Rupert Sanders’ creativity and how he came up with many unique murders. I also liked how chaotic the fight scenes with Eric were. He’s not a trained fighter and isn’t used to being put in those scenarios, so the out-of-character murders made it even better.
I have to talk about the terrible sound mixing. The unevenness of the sound throughout the film is almost distracting. There are moments where you can barely hear the words coming out of Skarsgard’s mouth and it’s frustrating. I also felt that it didn’t give the fight scenes the proper exposure. It’s a glaring problem that hurts the overall feel of the film.
Is The Crow worth watching?
If you plan to see The CrowGo into it with the mindset that this is a reinterpretation of history and not a remake, otherwise your judgement will be clouded. The Crow is an imperfect, perfect love story with the sweet taste of revenge. This film does just enough to stand on its own, while bringing in some elements of the original to honor its predecessors.
The Crow is in theaters now.
6/10
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