CROW, THE
(director: Rupert Sanders; screenwriters: Zach Baylin, William Schneider, based on the comic book series and comic strip by James O’Barr; cinematographer: Steve Annis; editors: Chris Dickens, Neil Smith; music: Volker Bertelmann; cast: Bill Skarsgard (Eric Draven), FKA Twigs (Shelly), Danny Huston (Vincent Roeg), Isabella Wei (Zadie), Sebastian Orozsco (Dom), Sami Bouajila (Kronos), Josette Simon (Sophia), Laura Birn (Marion), David Bowles (Wickham), Karel Dobry (Roman); Runtime: 111; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Molly Hassell, John Jencks, Victor Hadida, Samuel Hadida, Edward R. Pressman; Lionsgate; 2024-UK/France/USA)
“A dark reboot or re-imagining of the 1994 original cult classic.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A dark reboot or re-imagining of the 1994 original cult classic. English director Rupert Sanders (“Ghost in the Shell”/”Snow White and the Huntsman”) shapes the gloomy avenger tale comic book movie into a bloody fantasy thriller, that was based on the 1989 comic book series and comic strip by James O’Barr and was written by Zach Baylin and William Schneider.
The original was noted for the tragedy of Bruce’s 28-year-old son Brandon, who died on-set from a freakish accident. Over the years the franchise rolled out a number of lousy sequels. This might be its best sequel, which is not saying much.
The tragic poetic love story is about how lovers make self-sacrifices.
Updating the setting to the present day and with a fresh take on its subject’s tale of woe, it follows the troubled youth Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgard) and his druggie path to failure.
At present Eric’s a patient at a state criminal rehabilitation facility for troubled youth, whose tough guy looking heavily tattooed skinny bod hides how small he feels inside.
Shelly (FKA Twigs, Brit Pop star) is an aspiring angst-driven club singer and druggie, who is heavily tattooed and is bankrolled by the manipulative evil tycoon Vincent Roeg (Danny Huston). He made a pact with the Devil for his success, and will let no one get in his way.
Shelly is caught with possession of drugs by the police and ends up at the same rehab facility as Eric, where they make a love connection. She tells him “If I’m ever hard to love, try to love me harder.”
They run away from the facility together, as Roeg’s goons–(Laura Birn), (David Bowles) and (Karel Dobry)–go after them. They end up in nearby Detroit (it was filmed in the Czech Republic, so Motown looks more like Prague).
Roaming the city, the couple are brutally killed at an industrial park. But Eric awakens while in a limbo state between life and death. An entity called Kronos (Sami Bouajila) lets him know he’s dead and that most times a crow will guide him to an afterlife. But sometimes there’s an urgent business to complete in the mortal world and they are returned there with super-powers until they take care of their unfinished business.
With that in mind, the vengeful Eric spends the second half of the film, which turns into a splatter film, taking down Roeg’s goons and going after the main man (he also has super-powers).
Satanic forces are blamed for the tragedy that befalls the mentally weak couple’s inability to kick their drug problem.
The pic falters because it’s overlong and moves too slowly to get to its magical moments before it’s too late to save it from itself.
REVIEWED ON 9/8/2024 GRADE: C+
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