The Crow First Reactions are Terrible
📗 SUMMARY
- The review embargo for the new Crow film is lifted
- Reviews are not great, with the quality questioned
- The remake has been lablled a head-in-hands disaster
When Alex Proyas’ The Crow hit theatres in 1994, it quickly became a cult classic. With its dark, gothic aesthetic and a haunting performance by Brandon Lee, the film captured the imagination of audiences and critics alike. Sadly, the magic that made the original so memorable seems to be missing in the latest reboot.
Released amidst much anticipation, the new Crow film had fans hoping for a revival of the brooding anti-hero who seeks vengeance from beyond the grave. However, early reviews suggest that this iteration falls flat, failing to capture the essence that made the original so compelling.
Is it possible to recapture lightning in a bottle, or should some stories remain undisturbed? The new film may provide an answer, but it’s not the one fans were hoping for. With the embargo lifted, initial reactions to this year’s reimagining of the beloved Gothic comic book movie have surfaced, and they are not great!
Unfortunately for a film already facing considerable scepticism, critics have not been kind. The movie debuted with a dismal 22% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of writing). While this could change—considering it initially stood at 0% before more reviews came in—the consensus is clear: The Crow 2024 is unlikely to take flight.
David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter leads the wave of negative reviews, labelling the movie a “sluggish, overly self-serious gloomfest.” The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee goes even further, describing it as “a total, head-in-hands disaster, incoherently plotted and sloppily made, destined to join the annals of the very worst and most pointless remakes ever made.”
These sentiments are echoed throughout the initial batch of reviews. Critics consistently mention an incoherent plot and criticise the film for replacing the original’s “sense of anguish” with gratuitous gore. Many also question why a new version of The Crow was needed at all.
Even for those without any particular affinity for the 1994 Brandon Lee movie, The Crow (2024) seems to fall short. How it performs at this weekend’s box office—competing against Alien: Romulus, It Ends With Us, and Deadpool & Wolverine—will ultimately show how much audiences agree with these early assessments.
Hilly Horror
Hilly love of horror knows no bounds. As a massive fan of slasher and ghost films, she has watched all of the Wrong Turn and Paranormal Activity films. Now that’s bravery at a scale we can’t beat.
