The Crow (2024)

First, the original gets right into the action. In this version, we go through about thirty minutes of a love story before the film catches up to the original story. Someone told me that the original had a missing first act. I replied that after ten minutes, I knew everything I needed to know about Draven, his situation, and his motivation, so I didn’t need a first act to know what was going on.

This leads to my second point. Though the reason for Eric seeking vengeance was understandable, it was pretty tame, meaning Shelly’s demise (or fridging) in both movies was a light year apart in terms of brutality. In the new version, Shelly is killed by a mob hit, whereas in the original, it was torture and brutality that can not be described here.

Why is this version boring? Because it lacks the intensity of action—save for the final battle scene—this version plays it safe, especially compared to the 1994 fantasy violence of the decade. The setting was much darker in the original, taking place in a city that is constantly in a state of deterioration. Here, the city is just like any other city in the world. In other words, the tone of the film is gray when it should be black.

Bill Skarsgård in THE CROW. Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate

“…it lacks the intensity of action—save for the final battle scene—this version plays it safe…”

Speaking of tone, the entire story should have occurred at night, but instead, it’s in broad daylight. Lastly, we don’t get a crow until the final act. The story opens with a horse; when our leads die, they are in water. It’s as if the legend of the crow is an afterthought and means nothing until the final act.

You’ll now say that comparing this version with the last is unfair. Sure, I’ll accept that. Remove the original from memory; this version of The Crow is nothing special. It barely addresses the legend, the action we’ve seen over and over again, and there’s a reason dark tales are told in the dark. It’s bland!!!

The Crow with Bill Skarsgård falls flat compared to the original. It drags through a slow love story, lacks the original’s dark, gritty atmosphere, and misses the intensity that made the 1994 film a cult classic. Even the crow legend feels like an afterthought, leaving this remake bland and forgettable. If you’ve seen the original, don’t bother watching this one.