Description
The Crow set the standard for dark and violent comic-book movies
(like Spawn or director Alex Proyas's superior follow-up, Dark
City), but it will forever be remembered as the film during which
star Brandon Lee (son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee) was
accidentally killed on the set by a loaded gun. The filmmakers were
able to digitally sample what they'd captured of Lee's performance
and piece together enough footage to make the movie releasable.
Indeed, it is probably more fascinating for that post-production
story than for the tale on the screen. The Crow is appropriately
cloaked in ominous expressionistic shadows, oozing urban dread and
occult menace from every dank concrete crack, but it really adds up
to a simple and perfunctory tale of ritual revenge. Guided by a
portentous crow (standing in for Poe's raven), Lee plays a deceased
rock musician who returns from the grave to systematically torture
and kill the outlandishly violent gang of hoodlums who murdered him
and his fiance the year before. The film is worth watching for its
compelling visuals and genuinely nightmarish, otherworldly
ambience. --Jim Emerson
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