The Crow 4K Review (Lionsgate)

The Crow is a 2024 revenge film produced and directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman and Ghost in the Shell). It was written by Zach Baylin (King Richard, The Order, Bob Marley: One Love, Gran Turismo, and Creed III) and William Josef Schneider (Return to Silent Hill). It’s based on the graphic novel and comic books from author James O’Barr. It was produced by Edward R. Pressman (The Crow franchise, American Psycho, Conan franchise, Wall Street franchise, Bad Lieutenant, Judge Dread, Phantom of the Paradise, and Street Fighter). It’s a remake of 1994’s The Crow. It was followed up by 3 sequels and a television series. The budget was $50,000,000 and it grossed $23,999,106 worldwide at the box office. Eric (played by: Bill Skarsgård from IT, Barbarian, John Wick: Chapter 4, Castle Rock, Boy Kills World, and Deadpool 2) and Shelly (played by: FKA Twigs from Honey Boy) meet during some of their lowest points in their lives. They end up falling for each other and they have a strong connection. They are both brutally executed when Shelly’s dark past catches up with them. Eric is given the opportunity to bring back his one true true love if he sacrifices himself. Eric goes on a revenge spree for the people that’s responsible for their deaths which includes Vincent Roeg (played by: Danny Huston from Game Night, Succession, Wonder Woman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Proposition, and 30 Days of Night) and Marion (played by: Laura Birn from A Walk Among the Tombstones, Void, The Innocents, and Foundation). He travels the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right!!!! The Crow remake has caused all kinds of controversy during it’s announcement and release. It didn’t perform great when it hit theaters and most of the reviews have been harsh. Honestly, it’s hard to top the 1994 original and it’s still crazy what happened with that one. This 2024 reboot was directed by Rupert Sanders and it’s very different from all the other Crow projects over the years. It doesn’t feel like The Crow to me for the most part and I see why so many were angry about it after viewing it. Regardless, it was better than I thought it would be. Lead actor Bill Skarsgård as Eric does a very good job in The Crow. His performance is one of better efforts in this. He’s no stranger to action films and violence at this point. This is the 2nd iconic role that he’s taken over. His version of Eric Draven is definitely the most brutal one when it comes all the movies and the television series. It’s not his fault but I thought what really hurt the classic comic book character was the overall look. It was nothing like it should have been and it’s the main reason why this got so much hate. It resembles more like a bad cosplay or a cheap Hot Topic version. FKA Twigs as Shelly was just okay in this remake. She’s a singer, she hasn’t really acted much and it really shows here. Danny Huston was great as Vincent Roeg. He always been a quality villain and this is no different. He really elevates The Crow with his sinister presence. It’s the best performance from this remake. The rest of the supporting cast includes Laura Birn, Josette Simon (Wonder Woman), Sami Bouajila (The Bouncer), Karel Dobrý (Mission: Impossible), Jordan Bolger (Peaky Blinders), David Bowles (Underworld: Blood Wars), Dukagjin Podrimaj (Zonjusha), and Isabella Wei (1899). That’s another thing that’s a downgrade about this reboot, the cast is just average for the most part. That’s probably because it was filmed overseas in Prague so it really limited who they could use for this. The original was loaded with so much talent. The script and story was completely different from the original source material besides the revenge for Shelly concept. Like I said before, this really didn’t feel like a Crow entry to me. The honest truth is if it was called something else, I think it would have done much better and it would have received more praise. It’s definitely not as bad as it’s reputation. It has some top notch violence, gore, and wild deaths during the chaotic finale. I was very impressed when it comes to all of that. If you look at this as a straight up revenge flick then it’s actually good. Unfortunately, it’s called The Crow and it doesn’t really live up to that. I still think it’s very entertaining and lots of fun, it’s worth checking out!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Lionsgate! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 looks amazing in 4K. Visually, it’s one of more impressive movies of the year so far. The cinematography, special fx, visual fx, and locations really shine here. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on the UHD. The audio is great for this home video release, it’s something to show off your sound system with. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the vengeance is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English SDH and Spanish subtitles. It has the 65 minute full length documentary “True Love Never Dies: Making The Crow” that’s broken down in multiple segments which includes. It has interviews with the cast and crew. It’s packed with all kinds of information and behind the scenes material from The Crow. It covers a little bit of everything including the cast, characters, production design, costumes, locations, action, stunts, and all their personal thoughts on it. They bring up the origins when they found out the rights were available. They chat about having a whole different script before an important production member passed away. They decided to start from scratch and they put together a completely different story for it. They show their appreciation for the original. They talk about how they wanted a modem version of The Crow for this re-imagining. This is an excellent extra, I love seeing that home video releases still provide stuff like this to make it’s hard copy still special to the digital obsessed public. It has the little over 11 minute “Dark Romance: The Score”. It focuses on composer Volker Betelmann and the music for The Crow remake. It shows them recording the score for certain scenes. It breaks down the various styles and process for it. It has the little over 2 minute “Reborn Through Revenge: Main Title Sequence”. This highlights the visual and stylish beginning for The Crow. They explain why they added specific things and what they meant for it. It has the little over 11 minute “Every Film is a Miracle: A Tribute to Edward R. Pressman”. This is dedicated to the late producer that helped push the entire franchise for all it’s different variations. They go over his history a little bit for this. It lists all of the amazing projects that he worked on. He passed away before this was released. It has almost 6 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” with 4 different scenes from the cutting room floor. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. It comes with a slipcover, a digital code, and a blu ray copy of the release. If you are into steelbooks, Amazon has an exclusive version. This standard 4K is available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!