If there’s a world where the remake could have been good, we don’t live in it

You can’t go a month in 2024 without some kind of legacy sequel and The Crow (2024)
is August’s contribution. Even by the standards of the current movie industry, to have Twisters, Gladiator II And The Crow Coming out within months of each other is overkill. That’s to say nothing of new legacy sequels like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes And Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The Crow Did the Right Thought but suffers from all the classic pitfalls of the worst version of all the films.

Fans of the original 1994 movie, directed by Alex Proyas, may not even know the new one Crow Movie exists due to the strangely sparse marketing campaign. Casual audiences have no reason to seek it out. Director Rupert Sanders (ghost in the shell) and writer Zach Beilin (King Richard) adaptation of James O’Barr’s comic falls flat on its face.

When Eric (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA Twigs) escape rehab, they immediately form a connection. The two lovebirds enjoy a substance-field fling and think they have found a soulmate in each other. However, when tragedy takes Shelley away from Eric, his undying soul is brought back with one goal: kill the one who killed his beloved. He eventually gets the hang of being immortal and begins his quest for revenge in earnest. The reality itself is shifted when he is thrust between life and death and must decide the value of his soul. In any case, no one is safe from Eric’s wrath.

The action of the Crow remake is great

Although it is what also holds the film back

The action in The Crow is tough and the film isn’t afraid to get gory. The stylish gun fighting and slasher-style knife work make this movie sing. In a scene cut against an opera, Skarsgård double-taps two guns and cuts another one’s face in half. While this does not make for an average film with a lackluster screenplay, it does provide a few spectacular scenes.

Visual effects technology has made it possible to regrow limbs in a much more realistic way. It cannot be denied that the CGI in this film is both good and deployed at the right time. Credit to all the stunt performers who really sell some of the more wild kills with broken bones and blood splatter. Skarsgård alone does a great job of selling his character’s healing factor. When his leg breaks and he snaps it back into place, we feel his screams of agony and we are grossed out by the reality of what is on screen.

Ironically, it’s also the action-oriented approach that truly keeps this film from being great. The John Wick-ification of action films permeates through all revenge films these days, but in the case of the crow It also reveals the lack of emotion at the center of the plot. That’s a problem if we’re meant to be invested in Eric’s revenge to begin with.

If the film had a different name and was just another action movie, it would probably come and go – forgettable and inoffensive. But with so much history attached to the film’s title, the expectations and standards are much higher. Unfortunately, the standards were not met. Worse, they are disappointed.

The Crow remake still lives in the original movie’s shadow

Bill Skarsgård’s performance is good, but can’t top Brandon Lee

Skarsgård is good as the titular character, but Brandon Lee’s work is not the kind of performance that can be replicated. That’s no one’s fault but Hollywood’s, though, as the industry aims to revisit so many classics. As we move past remaking movies like Point break And enter the realm of cult classic movies like the crow It is up to us to recognize that nothing is sacred. It’s still the legacy sequels’ responsibility to deliver a good product, regardless of how we feel about it.

If we are extremely lucky, we get a movie like Top Gun: Maverick. Otherwise, what we’re left with is 2024 The Crow – A movie that is called good, looks solid and is full of acting talent, but has neither the script nor the soul to bring home the bacon.

The Crow Now playing in theaters. The film is 111 minutes long and rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, sexuality/nudity, and drug use.