The Crow gets a bloody and cruel reboot that stylized with a gothic flair, but woefully lacking in every other category that made the original such a revered classic. The always convincing Bill Skarsgård overshadows his co-star FKA Twigs in an obvious way that undermines the central premise of the plot. They both look expectedly inked, pierced and tattooed chic. The problem is their weak chemistry in a sluggish script that offers little character development and is full of exaggerated theatrics. The pacing will test your patience as it takes forever for an already familiar narrative to develop.

The fifth installment in the series defuses the brutal crime that leads to a supernatural awakening. Demonic roots are explored with a breezy introduction of a forgettable villain who is never that threateningAt the beginning, Shelly (Twigs), a talented pianist with a mysterious past, has already gone into hiding. She receives a panicked call from a friend who provides evidence of the true abilities of crime boss and classical music lover Vincent Roeg. A frightened Shelly realizes that she and Eric (Skarsgård) must flee again.

True love broken

Some time after their first escape, Eric and Shelly live together in passionate bliss. She writes music to accompany his haunting poems. But her dreams are violently ended when Roeg’s henchmen find her. Eric wakes up in a strange purgatory, surrounded by black crows and a surreal mentor (Sami Bouajila). He is distraught when he learns that Shelly’s soul is damned for all eternity. But his pure, undying love for her has given him the chance to right the wrong that cost them both their lives.

Skarsgård possesses an innate dignity and physical stature that allows him to dominate the screen despite little or no dialogue. Anyone who has seen It or Boy kills world knows what he can express with a look. Skarsgård plays Eric credibly as shy and reserved.

Shelly has an outgoing personality burdened with shame and regret, but Twigs simply does not have the acting talent to play the role with so little explanation. The palpable attraction that should be easy to see between them feels one-sided. You can feel it with Skarsgård, but Twigs doesn’t have nearly as much acting talent (but you should listen to her music). That divide rings hollow as Eric’s hell-bent quest for revenge takes shape.

Molasses in the first half, blood in the second

The Crow The first hour is painfully slow. The script by Zach Baylin (the Oscar-nominated author of King Richard And Bob Marley: One Love is a strange choice) and William Schneider (Return to Silent Hill), lingers and drags along when it should have been humming along. Director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsmanthe whitewashed Ghost in the Shell) has obviously understood this and tried to break up the monotony with montages that are sprinkled like pepper over a bland soup.

Unfortunately, scenes in which Eric and Shelly dance, fool around and are intimate liven up the Molasses-slow first act. Sanders should have shortened the beginning to make it more streamlined. The audience already knows why Eric and Shelly are being pursued and what Roeg means by evil intentions, but the pace is snail-like until the real action and carnage begins.

A river of blood, guts and severed limbs flows as soon as the tap of brutality is opened. This is by far the most violent film in the series.. It will turn your stomach as Eric pushes his intestines back into gaping wounds, broken limbs fuse together, and skulls are cracked open like brain candy. Eric is the proverbial bull in a china shop once his rage is unleashed. The fight choreography is full of brawls, but the execution is blunt. This actually makes sense, as Eric is not a trained killer. Gore fans will be pleased, while action junkies may find the extreme violence unimaginative.

“The Crow” from 2024 is a cool cosplay and a bad movie

Gothic cosplay fans will get their money’s worth with the makeup and costume design. Eric wearing a trench coat, walking in the rain with black paint dripping down his face and onto his sinewy muscles is definitely a hit. But this isn’t a Halloween contest for the best Crow costume. There should have been a much better film about the character. It is particularly devastating because Skarsgård improves every weak point in vain. With a weaker actor in the lead role, this film would have been a complete disaster.

The Crow can be looked at two ways and still comes to the same lame conclusion. Forget any comparison to the original. Judge this film on its own merits. Despite this, it’s still a poor adaptation of James O’Barr’s comics. Fans who compare it to Brandon Lee (RIP) and Alex Proyas’ 1994 masterpiece will be very disappointed. It’s not remotely as good as that film. As for how it stands compared to the other three terrible incarnations, that’s a discussion this reviewer is happy to stay out of.

The Crow is a production of Edward R. Pressman Film, Davis Films, The Electric Shadow Company and Ashland Hill Media Finance, et al. The film will be released on August 23 by Lionsgate.