‘The Crow’ Movie Review: Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs Flounder in an Epic Misfire
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Despite its visual flair and groovy
soundscape, The Crow reboot sinks under the weight of cringe-worthy
dialogue, flat characters, and gratuitous gore. Instead of a fresh revival,
this installment is relegated to the forgettable heap of ill-conceived reboots.
Remember the missing trigger warning
in Blink Twice? Well, The Crow comes with one, but it's the wrong
kind. Rather than warning of sensitive themes, the film should have prepared
audiences for the toe-curling dialogue and the lackluster chemistry between its
leads. Based on James O’Barr’s comic and inspired by Alex Proyas’ stunning 1994
adaptation, Rupert Sanders’ direction of The Crow (yes, he directed Foundation’s
pilot) unfolds at the speed of drying paint in an empty post office.
The fifth film in the franchise
opens with an unnecessary scene of animal cruelty, where a horse trapped in
barbed wire sets a dark, unpleasant tone. Eric (Bill Skarsgård), a young boy
traumatized by the incident, grows up battling addiction, as does pianist
Shelly (FKA Twigs). Shelly’s life spirals after her friend Zadie (Isabella Wei)
sends her a video, leading her to flee from Roeg (Danny Huston), a crime lord
disguised as a patron of the arts who’s made a deal with the devil.
Shelly is sent to rehab by the
authorities, where she meets Eric. When Roeg’s enforcer, Marian (Laura Birn),
shows up, the two escape and hide at a friend’s luxury apartment. A whirlwind
romance ensues, but their brief fling is abruptly cut short when Roeg’s
henchmen find them and kill them. Eric awakens in an eerie train station and
meets Cronos (Sami Bouajila), who explains that he’s stuck in a purgatory-like
limbo. As long as his love for Shelly remains pure, he’s invincible, and if he
exacts vengeance on the wicked, they can be reunited. Thus begins Eric’s
sluggish, plodding journey of revenge.
While the production design is
top-notch and the soundtrack trippy in its own right, the film pales in
comparison to the 1994 version, which boasted contributions from Stone Temple
Pilots, The Cure, and Nine Inch Nails. Sadly, these fleeting positives are
overshadowed by the film's glacial pacing. The climax, filled with over-the-top
violence spliced with an opera sequence, feels both unnecessary and indulgent.
Twigs and Skarsgård’s lack of
chemistry makes their supposed love story utterly unconvincing, giving the
impression they’re merely companions out of convenience. The flat dialogue and
meandering plot further dilute the film's emotional weight, with important
elements, like the pivotal video, being tossed in as filler.
The crow itself, steeped in
symbolism of ancestors and rebirth in Hindu mythology, feels like a
half-hearted addition, aimlessly flitting around the frame alongside other
underdeveloped characters, such as Shelly’s mother Sophia (Josette Simon) and a
nameless pianist who seems only to exist to moon over Roeg. For a brief moment
during a chase scene, Eric’s regeneration evoked the eerie menace of a Gothic
Terminator—but that vision quickly evaporated, a mirage in the imaginative
desert that is The Crow reboot.
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