The Crow review: Is the latest version worth watching? Or should you skip it?

Last night, I went to see the latest remake of The Crow. I tried to go into this movie with an open mind and to leave the 1994 version behind. I had watched several of the trailers beforehand and had a general idea of what they would do with the story… but I was wrong. I would suggest you skip it if you’re a fan of the original. Minor spoilers ahead!

The story follows the usual characters of Eric Draven and Shelly Webster but with a few changes. After escaping together, Eric and Shelly meet at an institution and begin their love story. Shelly is hiding out from Roeg, a company that has a reputation for killing innocent people who know too much. The movie's villain is Vincent Roeg, a man with the power to bring the dark characteristics out of a person and send their souls to hell. 

Shelly’s past quickly catches up with them, and Eric is thrown into her world with no knowledge of what she has done. Eric and Shelly are both murdered by the people of Roeg. Eric has a chance to set the wrong things right by bringing Shelly and himself back from the dead. Eric sets out on a revenge plot as he has been tasked with murdering the entire Roeg company. 

Fans were extremely skeptical of this remake and it all started when they realized images of Bill Skarsgård in his crow outfit. People on X were asking for them to cancel the whole project because he looked more like a weird version of the Joker rather than the Crow we all know and love. Fans couldn’t help but compare Skarsgård to Brandon Lee which made him doomed from the start.

The Crow starring Lee is closer to story in the comics than the remake. I understand the appeal of trying to make something new, and the concept is intriguing, but the execution was sloppy. I tried to keep an open mind walking into the theater and to let it be its own movie but there were too many faults.

What works and what doesn't in The Crow

The biggest downside to the film is the poorly-written dialogue. The interactions between Shelly and Eric are downright cringe-worthy and seem forced. The chemistry isn’t quite there and I just didn’t feel the love between them. FKA Twigs and Skarsgård really tried to make it work, but it just fell flat.

The plot leans into supernatural elements which, in theory, seems interesting. The villain didn’t feel like a fleshed-out character, and we never got a backstory as to why he has powers. I would have liked to know more about him and his origin in order to understand the story more. Not to mention the final scene between him and Draven feels rushed, and we don’t get an epic final boss battle. 

I didn’t mind the revamp of Eric Draven’s look, I thought he looked intimidating and murderous in his own way. He still had the iconic trench coat and all-black ensemble. The paint was a little too close to Joker for my liking, but Skarsgård can pull it off.

What does work in this movie is the action and the gore. They really lean into the fight scenes and it pays off. The action is very entertaining to watch which was missing a little bit in the 1994 version. We finally get to see the full demise of Draven’s enemies and we actually get to see the gore this time. My favorite scene in the whole movie was near the third act. The opera scene is a full-out gore fest that leaves your jaw hanging open (if you know, you know). I loved seeing Draven wield a sword as well as a gun to give us the most out of the fight scenes.

While this movie leans more into the action with horror themes sprinkled in here and there, it’s a stark contrast to the original. I wish they had leaned more into the horror themes and gone further with their version of hell. This movie does have some fun aspects that work well but it just isn’t enough for me to recommend to fans.