I first saw “The Crow” as a teenager, and absolutely loved it. There was a morbid fascination there, too, due to the tragic death of its star Brandon Lee. But it was probably one of the greatest things I had seen at that point least from a visual standpoint. I have watched it since, maybe six or seven years ago and remember being a bit disappointed…but I watched it with a crowd and a drink, never a good combo to get the most from a movie. Watching it this time was an interesting experience. I still really enjoyed it, but noticed a few things that didn't hold up so well.
The story follows musician Eric Draven, resurrected by a crow to seek revenge on the thugs who murdered he and his girlfriend one year previous on Devil's Night(The night before Halloween). Draven dons black and white face paint and sets about taking his bloody revenge, all the while haunted by visions of his life with his girlfriend Shelly. He is aided by a young girl named Sarah (Rochelle Davis) and a cop (Ernie Hudson) as he cuts through the gang until he is left with only the leader(Michael Wincott) to deal with.
The plot follows the original comic pretty faithfully, but deviates in a few important places: mainly Draven's self mutilation. But all in all it works fine, plot not being the comic's strongest point anyway. Unfortunately with the movie, neither is the script. It’s good in places, but more often than not, it varies between clichés and even cringe worthy. None of the characters aside from Draven are fleshed out in any way really. And the ending descends into a bit of a mess really. But, despite all of that, the film works well!
Visually and stylistically this movie is awesome. The mood and atmosphere that Proyas creates (with cinematographer Dariusz Wolski and production designer Alex McDowell) ensure that aside from the flaws, your always emotionally engaged. The action is also fast paced, brutal and very satisfying! I'm sure nobody could help but cheer Draven on as these scumbags get their comeuppance. Of course, another reason is Lee. I know it’s been said a thousand times before but had he not tragically died in an accident while shooting this, he would undoubtedly have been a huge star. His performance isn't technically brilliant, but his screen presence more than makes up for that. The other performances are forgettable (even Hudson isn't at his best here), but it’s Lee's movie, Draven's story and that’s all that matters. Like I mentioned earlier, after Lee's death, there were some shots that needed to be created using older footage. This actually works very well as there are times when we only see but don't hear Draven as he goes about his work. The visuals and soundtrack (another major plus point) are allowed to work their magic.
The Crow is perhaps not quite the brilliant film it’s generally thought to be, but somehow through all the silly dialogue and screaming police captains, it comes through deserving its status as a classic.