The Crow (1994)

Tagline: It can’t rain all the time.

Curiosity: Because it’s super goth. Because the soundtrack is amazing. Because the story behind its creation is pretty messed up.

Plot: One year after he and his fiancé are murdered by arsonists, Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) returns from the dead to claim vengeance. He has allies in his quest to cleanse the streets of Detroit – good cop Sgt. Albrecht (Ernie freakin’ Hudson), good girl Sarah (Rochelle Davis), and a supernatural crow that makes him invincible – but Eric’s road is mostly a lonely one. Driven by grief and pain, he hunts down his killers one by one, eventually working his way to the top of a crime syndicate. Also, he’s a sexy dude who shreds guitars and quotes Edgar Allen Poe.

Thoughts: Good grief, where to start? The Crow began as a comic book written by J. O’Barr. After his fiancé was killed by a drunk driver, he channeled all of that rage and sadness into a mini-series. It is way more violent and angry than the movie, and it makes sense that it took O’Barr nine years to complete (Plus, he had to deal with a day job and med school). When the book was optioned for a film, the cycle of death began anew. Lee was accidentally killed in an onset accident – someone decided to use real cartridges without any gun powder to save money, someone else accidentally lodged a bullet in a gun, and someone else forgot to check that gun before it was used for a scene – 17 days before he was due to be married. Hudson lost a relative around the same time. Davis swore off acting after witnessing Lee’s death. And while you don’t need to know about the deaths that began The Crow the book and concluded The Crow the movie – or the fact that the Devil’s Night fires are a real thing – the stories are a lot more affecting because of them.

Now, in some ways, The Crow hasn’t aged well. It’s pretty obvious which scenes were filmed with a stand-in following Lee’s death. The creation of a new, more supernaturally aware villain gives the story extra length, but it makes the mythos a bit more tedious. Part of the reason why the book works is because of its directness – Draven knows his destiny, and he goes about killing like a true spirit of vengeance. The reduction of Tin Tin (Laurence Mason) and Funboy’s (Michael Massee) arcs are also regrettable, especially since their parts were stripped down to make room for Bai Ling’s awful performance as the whacked out Myca. In fact, reducing Tin Tin’s role from that of the gang leader to first grunt offed may or may not be racist. Just floating that one out there, ya’ll.

Yet, these changes give the film an identity that complements the original book. Sgt. Albrecht and Sarah’s roles are greatly expanded here. Lee’s performance is chilling, and not just because of what happened to him. He perfectly captures Draven’s alternating fits of pain and fury and his dedication to the book anchors the film. While the film toys with the book’s plot, Lee honors the book’s emotions. Of course, it helps that the visuals still pop, the soundtrack still rocks, and majority of the cast is stellar. Outside of maybe Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, this is the best comic book movie of the ’90s.

Reflection: The Cure’s “Burn” is such a great song.