The Crow

Released 1994
Reviewed April 21, 1998
Stars Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, David Patrick Kelly, Rochelle Davis
Directed by Alex Proyas

"People used to think that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes...only sometimes the crow brings that soul back to set the wrong things right."

I love action movies. The only problem is there are so few good ones. Mostly, they're a mass of clichés as they rehash the good movies before them (see "Air Force One"). Hollywood knows all they have to do is blow up a bunch of stuff, and their movie will make money. It's made them lazy. Occasionally, a good story will come along, though, and they'll actually put forth some effort. "The Crow" is a good story, but not exceptional. What sets it apart are its hero, villain, cinematography, sets, and the soundtrack. It's a feast for both the ears and the eyes, and, oh yeah, the action is superb.

The story is based on a comic book, and the movie does a wonderful job of creating the correct atmosphere. It has the feel of film noir and is reminiscent of Tim Burton's "Batman." It's dark, gloomy, and always raining. The film is set in the near future in Detroit, which is a scary place in today's world. In the Crow's world, it's even scarier.

The story involves the murder of Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and the rape and murder of his girlfriend Shelly (Sofia Shinas). Eric's soul is restless, and a crow brings him back one year later to exact revenge. The crow gives him power and makes him invincible. We've seen this type of thing before. It's a return-from-the-dead vengeance film, but the filmmakers show how you can breathe life into an old story. All you have to do is care and give some effort.

The most important elements of an action picture are not the special effects or fight scenes; they're the hero and villain. If you have a boring hero and/or villain, you're going to be bored for most of the picture. Here, we have Eric Draven. He's an average guy who got caught up in something he didn't understand. As an average guy, he's able to experience all of the emotions. Frequently, heroes are too heroic, and they're not real. Draven is angry and scared (action heroes are rarely allowed to be scared). He's confused, happy, and sad. He's melancholic and actually cries. He mourns the loss of his life at such a young age, but mostly he mourns the loss of his fiancé. What I like about him is he's a real person thrust into an impossible situation, and he reacts like we think he would.

Our villain is named Top Dollar, and he's a lot of fun. His dialogue is witty and intelligent, and he's a murderous psychotic. Michael Wincott is the actor, and he has that deep voice and world-weary attitude that portrays Top Dollar perfectly. He sounds as much like a philosopher as a crime boss. He's bored with being the top dog and having no one to challenge him. Draven's appearance gives him a challenge, and he relishes it.

One of my favorite things about "The Crow" is the soundtrack. It features some of my favorite bands: Stone Temple Pilots, Helmet, Rollins Band, For Love Not Lisa, Rage Against the Machine, and Nine Inch Nails (covering a Joy Division song). There is no bad music here, and it raises the action scenes to a frantic level. My only criticism of the movie is they short-change the songs. Generally we get 30 seconds or so of each song--that's not enough. They quickly fade them out so they don't walk on the dialogue. Instead, they should fade the level low and let it play under the dialogue. The music in this movie contributes strongly to the mood, and they should let it play. That was the only thing I found disappointing in this movie. To actually hear the songs, buy the soundtrack.

Unfortunately, the most notable item about "The Crow" doesn't concern the movie. It's that Brandon Lee was killed during its filming. Brandon was the son of Bruce Lee, and they both died too young. During a particular scene, Brandon was supposed to be shot with a blank, but the gun had a brass cap instead. It's a shame when people die in their youth. Here, we lost a young actor who was coming into his own. I had seen his previous movies, and I think he was poised to be a force in the action scene. He had a lot of charisma, and he knew how to bring humanity to an action role.

There were still a few scenes left to shoot after Brandon's death. They used a double to create his body for most of the scenes, and they used computers to digitally impose Brandon's face onto the double's. In some scenes, all of Brandon's body was created digitally. Their work is flawless, and you can't tell which scenes are which. In the big picture, this scares me. Someday we may actually see actors fazed out. Scarier than that, someday we won't be able to trust videotape. Is it real or was it doctored?

"The Crow" was Brandon Lee's best picture. It's an experience for the eyes, ears, and heart. It's also for the brain. Listen closely, and you'll hear some obscure quotations. For example, T-Bird twice recites the same quote from Milton's "Paradise Lost:" "Abashed the Devil stood and felt how awful goodness is, and saw virtue in her shape. How lovely, saw, and pined his loss."

Reviewed by Bill Alward  Home

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