live_tv
Livestream Starting Soon
00
Hours
:
00
Minutes
:
00
Seconds
Up next in 10
The Crow is a franchise beloved by countless fans across the globe. When the first installation of The Crow came out after the tragic on-set accident involving Brandon Lee, the character took on a cult like status. Adapted from the comic series by Frank Miller, the Crow was not a film fans saw being sequalized to the degree it has been. With each itteration being worse than the last, fans everywhere are wondering if the new 2024 reboot of The Crow will break the streak, or prove once and for all that you can not recast The Crow.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
I heard a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door
0:05
Brandon Lee is The Crow. There's no denying it. Even after his tragic death during production, Lee's performance as Eric Draven lives on
0:13
With a history of weak sequels and a long-in-development reboot on the horizon
0:17
we're left to wonder, how do you fix a broken franchise like The Crow
0:22
A franchise that, in more ways than one, was broken to begin with
0:25
Are you some kind of ghost? When The Crow was unleashed in 1994
0:33
moviegoers had never seen anything quite like it. But before the original film, The Crow began as a comic series with its own tragic history
0:40
Created by illustrator and writer James Obar, The Crow comics came to life in 1981
0:46
The comics were a direct response to another untimely death after Obar's fiancé was tragically killed by a drunk driver
0:52
This horrible personal loss would have an unexpected effect and inspired the young artist to create the character, Eric
1:00
Obar's comic would then sit unpublished for seven years before finally coming to life
1:05
Eventually, word of mouth spread among devotees of gruesome 80s comics like Teenage Mutant Ninja
1:10
Turtles and The Crow found its niche audience of disenchanted superhero fans. The Crow's original
1:16
four-issue run is a gloomy testament to one artist's pain, but the narrative itself is a
1:21
simple revenge story. In each issue, the reanimated protagonist hunts down the men who literally
1:26
destroyed his life. It's a pretty basic formula, but The Crow's soul and vibe thrilled underground
1:31
comics fans. Many attempts were made to rekindle the magic of the grisly four-issue run, but the
1:37
new books would never reach the same heights again. Fortunately for diehard fans, much of what
1:42
the original comic series established was reflected accurately in the dreary, nightmarish
1:47
streets of Alex Proya's monumental movie The Crow. In the 1994 film adaptation Brandon Lee gave what was to be his final and most enigmatic performance
2:03
as Eric Draven. Brandon, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, had only been in four films before being cast
2:09
as the ghostly vigilante seeking justice for the death of himself and his fiance
2:14
Brandon Lee's turn as the titular crow does feature tons of bloody anti-hero action
2:18
but there is also sorrow and trauma. It's as much an action flick as it is a tearjerker, and this is The Crow's greatest strength
2:27
Hold still. Each one of these is a life. A life you helped destroy
2:35
The brooding darkness that shrouds the film wasn't just smoke and mirrors, either
2:40
That's due, in part, to the real-life death of the film's rising star
2:44
During filming, a prop gun malfunction occurred, and shortly after, Brandon Lee was pronounced dead at only 28 years old
2:51
Lee's accidental death took a deep emotional toll on The Crow's director
2:54
Again, these unfortunate aspects combined are the jagged pieces that make The Crow work as a whole
3:00
Rarely has a film shed as much blood, sweat, and tears as the original did in 1994
3:05
and it shows. It's an uncomfortable truth. With its offbeat aesthetic and newsworthy headlines
3:11
The Crow was a box office smash, and a major hit with disaffected youth from all walks of life
3:17
This, of course, was enough to spawn a sequel. Are you gonna vanish into thin air again
3:23
I thought I'd use your front door. The Crow, City of Angels, was the feature-linked directorial debut of Tim Pope
3:30
Pope had earned his dour chops directing goth pop classics like Boys Don't Cry and Tainted Love
3:35
On paper, he seemed like the perfect breakout talent for the project. Pope's City of Angels is a redundant remix of the 94 masterpiece
3:43
Sure, they changed some names around. Eric Draven is now Ash Corvin. and Vincent Perez is doing his best Brandon Lee impersonation
3:49
We killed you man You dead Sorry to disappoint you But the whole thing is a mess that completely fails to capture the emotional beats of its source material
4:00
City of Angels did squeak in at number one in its opening weekend, but its brief success was likely the result of a rabid following that began to form around the original film
4:09
Regardless, audiences had proved that they were hungry for more. There's nothing but pain for you now
4:16
Pain is my power. And thus, The Crow, Stairway to Heaven, was born
4:21
And no, not another film sequel. This time, Eric Draven came to Canadian television
4:26
Stairway to Heaven is marred by amateur performances. You're really starting to get on my nerves, man
4:32
Give it to me. A Cheap Goosebumps-esque vibe and ridiculous additions to the lore of The Crow that completely
4:38
miss the mark. I don't have time for your act. I have to find that kid
4:43
Help me. The macabre characteristics that make the property so perfect are completely absent in Stairway to Heaven
4:50
And after one season, it was unceremoniously dumped by the network. You're crazy
4:57
No! I'm already dead! After the failed TV show, the Crow franchise took several stabs at finding a new direction
5:04
At one point, horror director and shock rocker Rob Zombie was even brought in
5:08
to develop a project known as The Crow 2037, though none of these shots in the dark proved fruitful
5:14
Eventually, the fight to make more content from the mascara-loving crusader prevailed in 2000
5:19
with The Crow Salvation. Two down. Two to go. This deranged threequel had a limited theatrical run
5:27
but is probably best known as a direct-to-video snoozefest. Salvation is a new metal hodgepodge that does try to adapt the chilling murder scenes in the comics more accurately
5:38
but otherwise bears little resemblance to the goth rock classic. Guess it's true
5:42
Guns don't kill people. Think maybe knives do Well keep that thing away from me The Crow took flight again in 2005 The Crow Wicked Prayer This almost straight flick stars Edward Furlong of Terminator 2 fame in a
5:58
continuation of the previous film's miserable storyline. Furlong barely looks the part and did
6:03
little to convince fans that their dormant cult favorite could ever be brought back from the grave
6:08
You sure got a lot of life in you, but I gotta mean it ain't life. The Crow property changed
6:15
hands for almost two decades, the studios hustled to find the next Eric Draven. Mark Wahlberg
6:20
Bradley Cooper, James McAvoy, Jason Momoa, DMX. But yes, The Crow has had many bad reinterpretations
6:27
and cursed proposals over the years. But in August of 2024, The Crow will soar across rainy streets
6:33
once again. This time around, The Crow is receiving the full reboot treatment with
6:40
Ilskarsgaard taking up the Eric Draven mantle. Fans of The Crow were quick to voice their concern
6:45
over the, let's say, controversial first look and trailer footage. You have no idea what hell awaits you
6:50
No, I don't. The real problem here cuts pretty deep. How could anyone possibly carry the Eric Draven torch after Brandon Lee
6:58
Brandon Lee was successful because no one expected what he would bring to the role in life or his tragic death
7:05
Alex Proyas, director of the original film, has even gone on record stating his distaste for the idea of a reboot
7:11
Brandon Lee made that movie what it is, right? He paid the ultimate, the worst price anyone could ever pay making a movie
7:20
It's his legacy. With every new iteration of the franchise, it gets harder and harder to disagree
7:26
In the end, the magic of The Crow lies in its ability to fly past our expectations of standard action flicks
7:33
It's a movie that wears its bleeding heart on its sleeve like a badge of honor
7:37
And for all its gallows humor and brutal brawls, The Crow is also a film that asks us to grieve
7:43
While we remain hopeful for what's ahead, it's certainly hard to mend a wing that's already been clipped
7:48
But hey, it can't rain all the time