Review: The Crow (1994)

Given the content of last week’s article on actors that have passed away before their time, I felt the need to go back and watch The Crow, Brandon Lee’s last film and the one he died while making.  This is one of my go-to films, a movie that I can sit down and watch at virtually any time.  In the end, it’s not that there is anything truly remarkable about any of the particular elements that go into The Crow, but the final film - the sum of its pieces - is a cinematic work of art.  It’s not a blockbuster, but the tone of the film has managed to capture the attention of a generation and still spreads into generations beyond.

For those that haven’t watched The Crow, the story is a pretty simple one.  A man - Eric Draven - dies and comes back to life to exact revenge upon the people that killed both him and his wife-to-be.  He’s been resurrected by a mysterious force and has the ability to shrug off all wounds so that he can continue his vengeful rampage.  One-by-one, Eric hunts down and kills his enemies, slowly working his way to the man that was responsible for the horrors inflicted upon him and his lady.  Along the way, he has to look out for a small girl and enlists the help of the one good cop left in the city.  In the end, he has his revenge and moves on to join his deceased wife in the afterlife.

As far as the individual pieces of The Crow measure up, there’s no wealth of great acting, great characterization or spectacular plots and themes.  Each part of this movie is mediocre to better-than, but as a whole they come together to create something that is truly memorable.  This is one of those movies where the final product justifies all the effort that went into it, the exact opposite of something like Transformers where there are a few scenes that are great while the rest of it flounders.

Each of the villains is stereotypical in some way, but each also displays a unique quality that makes them interesting despite the fact that you’ve seen them in many a movie.  Partly this is the expertise of the actors putting on a show, but the director Alex Proyas certainly had something to do with this.  When you walk away from the movie, it is a unique experience that you remember every villain just as much as you do the heroes.  As for the heroes, you remember their intensity more than the personalities, but it fits well with the emotional impact that the movie attempts to convey.

The Crow is one movie that, despite its 90s origins, can still influence the younger audiences that experience it today.  The semi-sci-fi setting is something that transcends boundaries and allows people to view it from their own world due to its universal nature.  The tone is very similar to Blade Runner, even if the story is quite different.  The Crow is a movie that might not impress everyone, but it is one that should be seen by all fans of super hero or sci-fi films at least once.

Unfortunately, The Crow is being rebooted.  Whether this will turn out to be just okay or one of the worst decisions ever remains to be seen, but they’re still doing it.  In the meanwhile, watch the original.

Photo Credits -           

The Crow courtesy of beyondhollywood.com