If ever a movie idea appeared to be cursed it was The Crow since following the original things just never came together the way they did when Brandon Lee was given the starring role. While the movie didn’t exactly reach blockbuster status it’s been a cult classic for years since its release and the original has been by far the best in the eyes of many fans that have continued to hold it up as a standard for each and every version that’s come after. In a way, the movies and even the show that followed the original were hard to bear since they didn’t have the same feel or even the same look as the late Brandon Lee’s character, but fans were willing to go along for the story, which is easy to understand since sometimes the story must continue despite the loss of a key and very talented individual. The tragedy that occurred on set was something that people still speak about as theories have been developed over the years and have been laid to rest or at least put aside for the time being. But as Ryan Scott of MovieWeb makes clear, the retooled version of this movie is on its way and no doubt hoping to break whatever curse has kept The Crow from being able to take flight once again and wow the fans as it did with the original.
For any that still aren’t familiar with the story, and it’s true that The Crow has kind of slipped into the shadows of pop culture despite being taken up by those who were too young or not even around yet when it came out, here’s a mild refresher. In a city where Devil’s Night has essentially replaced Halloween, Eric Draven and his fiance Shelly were planning to be married one night hence when a group of violent thugs broke into their loft, tortured and raped Shelly, and then murdered Eric when he entered the apartment only a short while later. After all is said and done Eric is returned from the dead to wreak vengeance on the ones that took so much from him, hunting down the four thugs that murdered him in the guise of The Crow, a spirit of vengeance that can’t be killed, recovers instantly from all harm, and is bent on just one thing. From Tin-Tin to Funboy to T-Bird to Skank, he carves a bloody path of justice that leads him to the overall boss of the thugs and the man behind Devil’s Night, Top Dollar.
The movie is one of action, revenge, and is also a love story in its own way since the passion that Eric and Shelly have is a driving force behind his quest for vengeance and a big reason why he ends the lives of the four thugs in such a manner. In the end Top Dollar manages to run him through and nearly ends Eric for good, but the finish, when Eric transfers the pain that Shelly endured, gained unfortunately when he touched Detective Albrecht to access his memories, proves to be the boss’s undoing as thirty hours of intense and blinding, unending pain all at once is simply too much for any mind to bear. That’s the gist of the story, and that’s a big part of why it’s considered to be so great since The Crow is a love story, but it’s one that many people enjoy since it’s about how far a person will go to avenge those that were taken from them. That’s also what the retooled version is looking at when thinking how far it will need to go in order to really satisfy the fans, since there are many that still hold up the original as the best and the only one that really managed to grip the audience with its tale. At this time the upcoming version has a long haul ahead of it since there’s no telling who’s going to try and fill the role of Eric Draven and who’s going to attempt directing it. Seeing Jason Momoa try to come back would be nice, but as of now that doesn’t sound as though it might happen.
Whoever ends up taking the spot needs to be someone that can bring the same type of energy and acting ability to the role that Brandon Lee did since the movies that followed The Crow didn’t exactly do the character any justice, though of course this is a subjective matter that many people would likely chime in on. K. Thor Jensen of Geek.com has something to say about the idea of bringing the movie back as well. The fact that none of them really gained the notoriety or cult following of The Crow however is evidence enough that the productions that followed were less than revered. It would seem that in order to bring this story back in the most effective manner it’s going to take both a phenomenal lead and a director that’s willing to go back to the basics of the story.
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