“The Crow” film was first released in 1994, five years after the comic book created by James O’Barr and published by Caliber Comics. The original film follows a musician, Eric Draven, played by actor Brandon Lee, who is brought back to life to get revenge against the gang that killed him and his fiancée, Shelly, played by Sofia Shinas. 

   The movie grossed over $94 million on a $23 million budget and has been classified by fans as a cult classic. While it may have been a huge hit, not everything went according to plan when filming. While wrapping up the film, Lee severely injured himself with a prop gun on set, resulting in his death on March 31, 1993. Producers decided to continue production though, using a series of script rewrites, a stunt double for the rest of Lee’s scenes, and a lot of special effects. 

   Despite the tragic production circumstances, the 1994 version was hugely successful. However, the 2024 remake isn’t doing quite as well. As of Sept. 4, 2024, it has grossed $15 million with a $50 million budget, and fans call it a box-office bomb. The remake follows the same plot as the 1994 version, with a few minor changes.

Actor Bill Skarsgård, who plays Eric, portrays him satisfyingly in the film and captures his character beautifully. His acting is almost perfect for this role, but it is not enough to save the writing that makes the movie bad. Not all remakes are perfect, nor are they an exact replica of the original, but this film could’ve been better.

It felt like the plot of the first one was almost like a subplot in this one. The remake focuses on Eric and Shelly’s relationship more than anything else. It shows how Eric and Shelly met and why they were so in love. The 1994 version didn’t dive into the background of their relationship the way the remake did. On the contrary, it felt unnecessary and made the whole revenge plot a subplot. There was also a subplot about Shelly’s friend being killed by the same gang, but they brushed past it and forgot about it. The remake added a couple of subplots like that and made the movie feel bland and jumpy. 

   This remake was one of the worst of this summer. While it was interesting to see how they would change the original,  “The Crow” is just one of those movies that didn’t need a remake because of how well-written the original was.