Breaking out of their psychiatric hospital, Eric (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA Twigs) enter into a fierce relationship together.  Shelly, however, is running from a dark past and Eric gets caught in the web.  Eventually, the people Shelly has been on the run from catch up to her and kill her and Eric in their apartment.  Eric’s soul, however, is not ready to move on and is given a second chance at returning to the world of the living and avenging Shelly’s death. 

Rupert Sanders directs The Crow from a script penned by Zach Baylin and William Josef Schneider based on the graphic novels by James O’Barr.  The Skarsgård-starrer was released by Lionsgate after being delayed from early to late summer; a damning fate which, unlike Eric, the film is not able to come back from.  Running 111 minutes, the gothic action romance has a few moments throughout where it feels very well calibrated, but by and large, it rings hollow. 

Skarsgård leads the film as Eric and eventually the titular crow, coming in under immediate and unfair criticism for stepping into the role that Brandon Lee held in Alex Proyas’ 1994 adaption of the same novel.  Famously, Lee was killed in an on-set accident while filming, so it is understandable why some can feel that returning to The Crow is in bad taste, but there have already been three lackluster sequels since Lee first brought the role to screen, so that argument, while it must be mentioned, does not need to be explored as it is little more than a slapdash excuse to tear the film down.  Unfortunately, Sanders does not deliver a strong enough film to really justify its existence so he opens himself up to this – and a host of other – criticism by not giving audiences a film that is totally immersive and engaging. 

This loose direction, further perpetrated through weakness on the page, leaves Skarsgård – in his second brooding avenger role this year after Boy Kills World (2024) – with very little material or guidance to build his character.  He handles the combat well – coordinated by Adam Horton – and Steve Annis’ lens is all too eager to capture his six-foot, three-and-a-half-inch contortionist frame.  Often bare-chested revealing a sketchbook of edgy tattoos, it is really hard to take the film seriously.  This, coupled with Shelly’s similarly try-hard whining on the page, Twigs never stood a chance at building an actual character here either.  With both leads thinly developed, it becomes almost impossible to invest in the greater action of the film because we have no true stakes. 

It is a real shame because the lore of the film provides such a deep well that is largely ignored.  In the foggy, dilapidated, industrial in-between, Eric meets Kronos (Sami Bouajila) who acts as a sage and a guide to him explaining the scope and limitations of his new powers bestowed upon him as a byproduct of his unceasing love towards Shelly.  The film does well to follow its own rules which is always refreshing to see as it does not allow Eric any conveniences or grey area explorations to pull off a set piece.  Even as his powers intensify ahead of the finale, everything we see is working within the bounds that Baylin and Schneider have established. In this way, the screenwriting team respects the audience by not bending their rules, but rather showing more and more wild ways that the rules can be followed and building smart, traceable action sequences.  While the opera house finale does not cheat, it still lands with a bit of a thud since the juxtaposition of high art and stylized violence has become very overdone especially as of late. 

Beyond being a second swing at the same title, Singer is not showing us anything new or exciting in The Crow either in terms of the lore or in terms of the genre.  To be generous, this could all be in service to the grunge culture of the latest 90s and early aughts which is executed well enough here, but has a gross modern sheen to it that seems way too try-hard; the Jared Leto-ification of Eric in the same way that his version of Joker was grunged down and grilled.  It is the aimlessness that really holds this film back from being something great, or even solid, because there are certain moments that appear well crafted and thought through, but there is so much material that finds the cast just treading water and having nothing else to do but go through the motions of their character.  Danny Huston is playing just another crime boss, Laura Birn is asked to do her best Tilda Swinton impersonation, and Bouajila is stuck in a Morpheus arc though without the benefit of being able to participate much in any of the action.  Much like how Eric is stuck in between worlds, this script is stuck in between drafts yet it was pushed through to production, nevertheless.