The Crow (2024) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Rupert Sanders

Cast: Bill Skarsgård, FKA twigs, Danny Huston

Release Date: November 5, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 5.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

Bill Skarsgård takes on the iconic role of The Crow in this modern reimagining of the original graphic novel by James O’Barr. Soulmates Eric (Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.

‘The Crow’ invites viewers to experience a modern reimagining of the cult classic graphic novel and film. The new film tells the tale of soulmates Eric and Shelly who after meeting in a recovery facility fall madly in love, yet just as they are beginning their lives together elements of Shelly’s past return and the pair of lovers is brutally murdered. Given the chance to save his true love’s soul by his own sacrifice, Eric returns with the gift of rejuvenation and sets out on a bloody quest to kill everyone involved in their deaths, but along the way the path to vengeance will test his true feelings and possibly even his love for Shelly as secrets are revealed and everyone’s real demons are brought into the light.

Directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghost in the Shell 2017) from a screenplay written by Zach Baylin (Creed III) and William Schneider (Return to Silent Hill) which was based on the comic book series by James O’Barr, Sanders does a capable job at the helm of ‘The Crow’ guiding along the new film with its share of brutal action and style. The film’s cast includes Bill Skarsgård (John Wick: Chapter 4), FKA twigs (Honey Boy), Josette Simon (Wonder Woman), Laura Birn (TV’s Foundation), Sami Bouajila (TV’s Ganglands) and Danny Huston (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1), with some offering quite solid performances in their respective roles while others are somewhat more lackluster.

‘The Crow’ offers a fairly different take on the tale compared to the previous film adaptation and delivers a wildly violent, blood-drenched and at times quite heartfelt new tale that is boosted by some talented cast members, yet it’s never able to escape the shadow of the iconic 1994 film due to its use of the same characters. Even with its share of positives and some notably brutal and thrilling action sequences to back it up, the film never excels very far beyond mediocre and struggles to find a reason for its existence which it never quite manages to acquire along the way.

The new film wisely chooses to take a different direction than the beloved 1994 film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his tragic final performance, and while the characters here do retain the same names, the majority of the storyline and the progression of events does differ quite significantly by not only offering a more thorough exploration of these two soulmates and the beginning of their love as they find each other in a treatment facility but also in the villains themselves and the ability that the lead baddie possesses.

This new reimagining of ‘The Crow’ certainly doesn’t hold back in the blood and violence department and it’s probably the one area in which it surpasses the other film adaptation, and while there are plenty of thrilling and graphically violent moments and showdowns that are quite capably done, it’s unfortunately almost impossible not to compare it with the iconic film featuring Lee and in comparison it sadly doesn’t hold a candle to it. That’s not to say that this new take doesn’t have its share of rewarding and positive elements within such as solid performances by some of the cast including Skarsgård in the lead and Danny Huston who makes a truly terrifying lead villain. If you’re a dedicated fan of the source material or the previous film and are at all interested in this new adaptation then it certainly couldn’t hurt to give it a chance whenever convenient, but for anyone that hasn’t already seen it I would strongly urge you to rent it prior to purchasing a copy for good measure.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Crow’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks spectacular and delivers a clean, sharp and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that’s never plagued by any unexpected faults or issues to be located throughout. Detail is outstanding and everything from character specifics to the interiors and exterior shots look sharp and immaculate, while the Dolby Vision HDR complements a great deal of it by contributing more lifelike and full-bodied colors which are also boosted by deep, clean and problem free black levels and shadowing. Overall, this is a marvelous Ultra High Definition presentation that impresses at every turn and should not disappoint whatsoever.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is equally outstanding and it provides a crisp, clean and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send a plethora of music, gunshots, action and vehicle effects, rain and much more zipping repeatedly throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a magnificent Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that’s an absolute treat from start to finish and should thrill viewers.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Crow’ features a nice collection of bonus content. Included on the release are some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film (running approximately 6 minutes in length altogether), along with the multi-part Documentary ‘True Love Never Dies: Making The Crow’ (running approximately 66 minutes total) which dives into the various aspects of bringing the new adaptation to life and features interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. Also included are various Featurettes and videos including ‘Dark Romance: The Score’ (approximately 1 minutes), ‘Reborn Through Vengeance: Main Title Sequence’ (2 minutes) and ‘Every Film is a Miracle: A Tribute to Edward R. Pressman’ (11 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (3 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 5.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘The Crow’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Lionsgate

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You can purchase ‘The Crow (2024)’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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