MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Supernatural Superhero/Stars: Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, Sofia Shinas, Anna Levine, David Patrick Kelly, Angel David, Laurence Mason, Michael Massee, Tony Todd, Jon Polito, Bill Raymond, Marco Rodríguez/Runtime: 102 minutes
I think it’s safe to start this review off dear reader by saying that, contrary to popular opinion and/or imagination, not every single slice of cinema that is released to the masses manages to get there without some kind of baggage attached to it. Indeed be it the director being replaced due to personal reasons and their replacement being accused of behaviors that are sleazy at best and reprehensible at worst, actors being accused of despicable behavior off camera, actors having certain facial hair attachments being ridiculously CGI’d off when they had to come in for reshoots whilst in the middle of filming another movie, the main animatronic monster failing to work in a consistent manner thus delaying the film’s shoot for a lengthy amount of time, and actors getting into fisticuffs with the director or other members of the crew among other distinct possibilities there is no denying that the saga of movie magic in Hollywood is full of stories about things going awry in between the first take and “that’s a wrap!” which truly are the stuff of legends. With that in mind though, there is one category in this group that is perhaps the most tragic and that is the death of a main actor in the picture either before, during, or after filming has been completed. A group that not only has, among its examples, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight from 2008, Chadwick Boseman in Da 5 Bloods from 2020, and Bruce Lee in Game of Death from 1978, but also (in an eerie yet equally as heartbreaking twist of fate) Lee’s own son Brandon during the filming of the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, The Crow from 1994. Indeed at the time of its initial release it was not entirely sure, since Paramount Pictures decided to drop distribution of the film in the aftermath of the tragedy that took Brandon Lee’s life thus putting the entire project in a state of limbo despite Lee’s family supporting the film being finished. Fortunately, we see that it wasn’t long before the production was picked up by Miramax who gave the movie an extra 8 million and the boost of confidence necessary to finish the film in honor of its lead actor. A choice that, looking back, I think a lot of moviegoers (myself definitely included) can say was definitely the right choice. I say that because no the film is by no means perfect, but at the end of the day still manages to be a mesmerizingly made on both sides of the camera cinematic odyssey that also is able to function as an emotionally potent cinematic eulogy to its star who, like his father, tragically was taken from audiences before his career really had the chance to take off in the way that it undoubtedly would have.
The plot is as follows: An adaptation of a 1989 comic book series of the same name by James O’Barr, The Crow sees its narrative get underway on Devil’s Night (or the night before Halloween for most) in the city of Detroit as we witness what would normally be the ending of most stories. That being at the clean-up of a crime scene. Indeed, as we soon learn alongside a decent and dedicated member of law enforcement by the name of Sgt. Albrecht, there are two victims at the heart of this matter. The first was a young woman named Shelly who has been horrifically injured and taken advantage of in the worst way possible. The second was Shelly’s fiancé, a local rock musician named Eric Draven and whereas Shelly is alive yet critical, Eric was unfortunately not as lucky. In fact he was stabbed, shot, and then found himself receiving a one-way ticket out of the couple’s apartment window down to the ground below. Now normally, as previously stated, this would be the, albeit undeniably tragic, ending for our story, but this is definitely not that kind of story. A fact that becomes quite evident when we see that the story then moves forward a solid year where, in the time since, Shelly tragically succumbed to her injuries, Albrecht has done his best to both clean up the streets as well as take care of a young girl named Sarah, and Eric has been a member of the rock band Six Feet Under performing sold-out shows in the local cemetery if you catch my drift. It isn’t long though before we see things take a turn for the seemingly otherworldly when a mystical crow (hence the title of the film) lands on Eric’s tombstone and proceeds to bring him back to the land of the living. Upon his return, we see as our intrepid hero makes his way back to his very run-down former place of resident and is immediately besieged by a group of flashbacks that show him, and us in the audience by extension, the group of thugs responsible for his and Shelly’s untimely demises. Thus, with the crow operating as both a guide of sorts to say nothing of provider of a form of invulnerability, we see our hero embark on a fairly simple quest to find the people responsible for the deaths of him and his beloved and enact his revenge upon them so his spirit can finally be laid to rest and reunite with Shelly in the afterlife. Yet it isn’t long before our hero discovers while he is in the middle of dishing out vengeance that his real target is none of the people he is currently hunting, but rather their leader, and top crime boss in the city incidentally, known as Top Dollar. Thus can our hero, with the support of Sarah and Albrecht, get the revenge he longs for or is this one bird that’s flown the coop for good? That I will leave for you to discover for yourself dear reader…..
Now right off, it is worth pointing out that the work done behind the camera on this particular cinematic outing is downright mesmerizing. This starts with the work done by noted film helmer Alex Proyas in the director’s chair and, his highly underrated 1998 sci-fi noir Dark City aside, I can safely say that this is the man’s finest hour in terms of his directorial efforts to date. Indeed what Proyas and his equally as skilled cohorts behind the camera have managed to achieve here is no less than conjured up a locale for us as an audience that feels like an extremely effective blending of Blade Runner’s melancholic urban vision of futuristic Los Angeles and Gotham City’s Gothic abundance all whilst managing to be even more ominous to say nothing of grimier than either one of those cinematic destinations. It is also worth noting that this slice of cinema’s distinct visual style definitely has more than a passing debt to the original format that this story was presented to audiences in. Indeed not only does the camera soar over its crime-stricken, dark and gloomy take on the city of Detroit whilst also zero in when it comes time for some very wild shots, but we also see that the architecture on display is wonderfully overdone until it almost seems like they are just mere adornments to the landscape all whilst shadows emit terrifying stabs at the light around it. Along with that, we also see that the musical accompaniment for this film is not only very well done, but appropriately selected. Indeed for a slice of cinema that literally feels like a heavy metal album cover come to life it’s only fitting that its own delightfully head-banging and rocking soundtrack would have, among its dignitaries, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, The Cure, and Pantera among others. Praise at this time should also be afforded to this slice of cinema’s truly brilliant screenplay which, as penned by dynamic writing duo David J. Schow and John Shirley, most assuredly without question is able to get as much from this narrative’s built-in gothic style via an emphasis on not just the theme of “love never dies”, but also in the more otherworldly components as well. Suffice it to say dear reader that whilst slices of cinema that are adaptations of either comic book or graphic novels have long been one subgenre of movie magic that have attracted my attention, it is often sad to point out that for quite a few of them the comic book only gives the people working on it the basic components for the narrative and then they proceed to give us a film that is less about that particularly gripping story or characters and more about how incredible the film looks from a behind the camera perspective. Thankfully, that has changed quite a bit in recent years (2005’s Elektra and 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand among others be darned), but there is no denying that this film was one of the first, besides the 1989 Batman, that really started this trend. I say this because with the work done behind the camera on this film, this is one slice of cinema that not only is able to showcase fully and completely the genuine vibe of its source material to say nothing of increased the positives already present, but then was able to contribute its distinct flair to enhance the story being told to wonderful effect.
Of course, the other element that without question helps to ensure this slice of cinema soars to the level that it is ultimately able to obtain would have to come in the form of the potent work done by the undeniably talented cast of players in front of the camera as well. This undoubtedly starts with the work done by the late yet great Brandon Lee in the lead role. Indeed, as Eric Draven, Lee’s performance manages to be just as impactful on an audience as I have no doubt that it was when this film was first released. I mean be it anguish and pain at the loss of his love, rage as he goes about seeking his revenge against those who took everything from him, and even some unexpected yet no less enjoyable moments of dark humor sprinkled throughout, there is no denying that Lee manages to make this character less someone who has been given an otherworldly chance to right the wrong that has been inflicted upon him and more in the vein of someone like you or me dear reader. Suffice it to say that Lee manages to contribute both a surprising degree of heart to say nothing of an intricate if not darn near athletic and coordinated vibe to his very much merciless turn here and yes it goes without saying that the man’s untimely and heart wrenching demise does provide the whole performance with a very spooky vibe. At the same time though, this should by no means take away from the plain and crystal-clear fact that the performance he gives us, is when looked at on its own two feet, incredibly enjoyable in its own right. Of course, a hero in a slice of cinema like this needs a villain who is able to be just as compelling and intriguing. Thankfully, this film is able to provide us, and the hero, with that in the form of an enjoyably hiss-worthy turn from noted actor Michael Wincott in the role of Top Dollar. Indeed ever since first hearing his voice as the slimy and despicable Scroop in Disney’s 2002 highly underrated Treasure Planet, Wincott has been one actor who I have appreciated whenever he pops up in something and here he does a great job at being this merciless yet delightfully over the top baddie that you can’t wait to see get his comeuppance by film’s end. Besides the work done by Lee and Wincott however, this film also manages to get a wonderful performance from the always engaging Ernie Hudson in the role of Sgt. Albrecht. Indeed Hudson has long been one of the more underrated character actors of his generation and here he is magnificent as this law enforcement veteran who is torn between applauding if not downright assisting in the vigilante acts committed by the lead character due to his weariness from seeing so much crime infect his city and nothing get done about it and condemning them simply because of his chosen career path in the world. Suffice it to say that when you also manage to throw into the mix really good efforts from such dependable talents as Bai Ling, Laurence Mason (Earl from the 2011 Lincoln Lawyer adaptation), Michael Massee from Tales from the Hood, iconic character actor Jon Polito, David Patrick Kelly from The Warriors and the first 2 John Wick films, and the eternally delightful Tony Todd to name but a few it’s clear that whilst this slice of cinema might have its issues there is no denying that the talent in front of the camera do their best to help make up for those issues and then some.
All in all and at the end of the day is The Crow from 1994 a perfect slice of cinema by any stretch of the imagination? Sadly, and I know that there undoubtedly will be more than a few people out there who disagree with me on this be it politely or not so politely, that is something I cannot claim about this slice of cinema. Having said that, and before those of you who not so politely disagree with decide to come for me on Twitter with your pitch forks and torches in your hands, I would like to say that this also by no means makes this the worst thing to happen to birds in cinema since that absolutely excruciating standalone 90s TV sequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal classic The Birds from 1963 (and no I am not making the existence of such a project up dear reader, but believe me I wish I was). In fact, I would say that this slice of cinema might have a few issues scattered about here and there, but otherwise this is an absolutely riveting and engaging film. Yet besides the fact that this slice of cinema contains genuinely mesmerizing work done by the various departments behind the camera and the truly riveting work done by the very well-chosen cast of players in front of the camera (even if a fair majority of them aren’t really playing characters in this, but rather archetypes whose arcs in the narrative you can predict fairly easily), there is something else about it that most assuredly helps it stand out from other films of a similar ilk. That being that this is a slice of cinema that also operates, quite effectively I might add, as a haunting yet quite beautiful in its own right cinematic eulogy to its main star who was tragically taken from this world much too soon during the filming of this movie. Indeed, much like his dear ol’ dad Bruce, there is no denying that had he lived Brandon Lee would have without question been quite the star of cinema in his own right to such an extent that I can definitely see a world where it was him playing both Neo from The Matrix as well as John Wick rather than Keanu Reeves. Sadly this is not that world dear reader, but even with that in mind dear reader there is no denying that at least with The Crow not only did Brandon Lee give audiences one heck of a movie to be entranced by time and time again, but he also gave them a genuinely powerful farewell as well even if he tragically did not know it at the time. Make of that therefore what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give The Crow “94” a solid 4 out of 5.
