As remakes go, there are some that are less controversial. Making the decision to remake The Crow seem strange, at best. Why would you mess with such a movie? Not only has the 1994 original achieved 'cult classic' status, it is also well known for being the final film of star Brandon Lee, and serves as a tribute to his memory. You might even call it ‘legendary’. So a remake of such a film will always inspire some strong opinions. Opinions that, very likely, won't work in your favour.
That said, director Rupert Sanders has at least done a few things right. For one thing Bill Skarsgård is great as the tortured soul at the heart of this story. Far from an undead warrior, he brings both intensity and vulnerability to Eric - although without any real theatricality - who instead of moving like John Wick, actually has to figure things out as he goes along. Although he does eventually become a bit of a badass. Then there's the central relationship. Instead of fleeting glimpses of half-grasped memories, the love and the passion is there to be seen on screen, and to some degree we get to explore what Eric and Shelly mean to each other. To see what Eric is fighting for. And let's not forget the action. All of which is deliciously gory and very well choreographed. Especially the scene involving an opera house staircase, a lot of guns and a very sharp sword.
The problem is; it just doesn’t feel like The Crow. Where the original conjured a gloomy but quirky world, filled with a colourful array of criminals, and haunted by an almost ghostly figure in Brandon Lee’s ‘Eric’, this new one is rather plain, even with its supernatural twist on the villain. Skarsgård's ‘Eric’ doesn't really haunt it either. At times it even feels like the approach to this whole project was to simply do the opposite of the original, rather than trying to put an interesting new spin on the character and the world. This of course includes the big bad, who might have some interesting abilities, but Danny Huston is wasted. His performance is very good, but he has far too little to do. One thing the movies do have in common, however, is the poor handling of Eric's weakness, which in the 2024 version seems to be more about setting up a sequel rather than delivering a compelling story. A sequel that, rather unsurprisingly, seems unlikely to happen.
Instead of a creepy but colourful tale of an undead avenger, The Crow (2024) feels more like your average revenge movie. There's some good action, and Skarsgård delivers an interesting performance as the troubled Eric, but it's not enough to electrify this rather unnecessary remake, leaving it very much in its predecessor's shadow.
3/10
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