My Review of The Crow (2024)

 

Written by Zach Baylin And William Schneider

Directed by Rupert Sanders

Eric: "You might be wondering, "Why the leather?" It's because the bad guys can't see me bleed."

For the most part, I try to keep an open mind in relation to reboots etc. Sometimes they can pleasantly surprise you. I wish I could say that about this movie but alas I cannot. It's as bad as it's reputation preceded. In fact, it's even worse.

I generally find Bill Skarsgard to be a very likable and charming actor even if he doesn't always choose the best projects. He should've straight up refused this one because even his acting could do nothing to salvage this absolute train wreck of a reboot.

He's got the role of Eric, who's a troubled guy. Eric's in a rehabilitation centre which seemed ineffectual on the rehabilitation side of things. There he met the mysterious Shelly (FKA Twigs) and with that, the two of them decided to escape when Shelly's past tried to catch up with her. 

In the original movie, I didn't mind Eric and Shelly's romance but here, it's hard to root for it when you've got two actors whose onscreen chemistry was nonexistent to begin. Anyways, Shelly died. Eric died. Then Eric became the Crow and sought out everyone responsible for killing his girlfriend and so on.

Getting to the villain of the piece, you've got Danny Huston virtually on autopilot as demonic crime lord Vincent Roeg. Vincent had a penchant for making people give into their darkest impulses and we learned that Shelly did some horrible things before she got involved with Eric. 

Subplots with Shelly's sell out of a mother, Sophia (Josette Simon) and the use of spirit guide Kronos (Sami Bouajila) to one side, there's a slight difference in overall outcome compared to the original movie. It's not a great twist but it's also the least of this movie's problems.

- This reboot went through different directors and potential lead actors before we ended up with this outcome.

- It does feel like Eric's look was a homage to Jared Leto's Joker but worse looking.

- Standout music: Joy Division's Disorder.

- Chronology: Very much a present day story. 

I can honestly say this really could be a contender for one of the worst reboots ever and also one of the worst movies in 2024. Absolutely nothing about this version of The Crow worked on any conceivable level and I honestly couldn't wait for it to end. 

Rating: 2 out of 10