The Crow (1994), directed by Alex Proyas, stars Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Bai Ling, David Patrick Kelly, Sofia Shinas, Angel David, Laurence Mason, Anna Thomson, Michael Massee, Jon Polito, and Tony Todd. The film is based on the comic series by James O’Barr and follows rock musician Eric Draven (Lee) as he and his fiancee (Shinas) are murdered by members of a violent gang. One year later, a supernatural force causes Eric to rise from his grave and become “The Crow,” a supernatural avenger who intends to deliver vengeance upon those who wronged him. In his quest, Eric teams up with loved ones from his past to defeat his ultimate enemy, an enigmatic crime boss who goes by the name of Top-Dollar (Wincott). 

 Although it features a unique visual style, the best part of The Crow is undoubtedly Brandon Lee’s lead performance as Eric Draven. If one is not aware, Brandon is the son of the legendary Bruce Lee and tragically passed away while making this movie. This was due to a piece of a dummy bullet being discharged and hitting him in the abdomen. Not only would this be tragic to happen to anyone this young, but it’s even more so when imagining the kinds of performances he could have provided throughout his would-be career. As Eric Draven, Lee proves to be an actor with impressive range. He’s simultaneously badass, funny, and scary. Yet, on top of all this, he also conveys a certain level of empathetic softness that distinguishes him from the typical “blinded by revenge” protagonist. 

The script also does a great job of distinguishing the various henchmen that Eric faces. Since this follows a somewhat typical revenge film structure, it heavily relies on the uniqueness of its characters and visuals. Because of this, typical victims of the hero’s revenge receive a bit more nuance – silly nicknames and all. There’s also a certain “I’m going all the way with it” energy from the performances that only makes them that much more memorable. Going back to the main characters, the film also provides them with an interesting amount of history with one another. This helps to skip some unnecessary spoken exposition by trusting the audience to be smart enough to make the correct assumptions about its characters. 

As mentioned earlier, the film’s unique visual flair likewise helps to distract from the somewhat stale plot. There’s a seedy, darkly gothic take on the city of Detroit that is extremely similar to the visual style of Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). The thing is, the general darker as well as fantastical tone of the material helps make the overall experience feel more inspired by that film as opposed to a ripoff of it. 

Although it doesn’t necessarily hurt the film dramatically, there’s a certain distinct early 90’s quality to the entire affair that comes across as occasionally dated/cheesy. That being said, I think the dated nature of this film causes it to fall into the “enjoyable product of its time” category as opposed to the “so aged that I can’t enjoy it” category. This includes some occasionally eye-rolling voiceovers as well as an editing style that often cuts away from violence despite its R-rating. These two elements slightly unbalanced the film in favor of a lighter tone. This helps make the experience feel a bit more recognizably comic-book-esque, so I understand the intention, I just personally feel the stakes are slightly undermined in the third act because of this. Speaking of which, the action here remains timeless because although the choreography is dated, there’s a distant creativity and/or “hook” to each sequence. This causes the action to feel more fun as opposed to exciting, but I prefer it that way. Action sequences that prioritize excitement often don’t have the rewatch value of sequences that prioritize creativity and fun. Rewatch value often equals timelessness (though not always so don’t track me down). 

Overall, this is an action classic, and rightfully so. That being said, it’s not transcendent or anything. The plot is typical and the script is nothing to take notes on, but director Alex Proyas and lead Brandon Lee succeed in elevating the film through a combination of carefully crafted technical elements and a dedicated ensemble cast. There’s also a certain modern goth quality that even Batman can’t quite achieve. It’s no wonder that to this day, the crow is still a reasonably common Halloween costume, even being referenced in the pop cultural gate-keeper: South Park (1997-). Even if one doesn’t think they’d enjoy this type of film, I’d still recommend it to anyone simply for its pop culture relevance. B