THE CROW
An alternative film review by Scott Essman
Copyright 1994 Scott Essman
NO PLOT SYNOPSIS OR CAST/CREW LISTING, BUT INSTEAD A CRITICAL ESSAY:
Having been fairly well scorched by other reviews on this post, I'd like to say a few words on behalf of THE CROW, recently released amid due controversy. While it is true that the film is limited and justly scrutinized as a result of the death of BRANDON LEE, the final film which appears on the screen is tight, suspenseful, craftily composed and thoroughly realized by director Alex Proyas. It's lack of story element is fluidly complemented by it's wealth of interesting visuals, performances and conceptualization.
First off, yes, the story leaves one less than fully intrigued, given its fairly simple execution of a revenge story, most reminiscent of ROBOCOP, more so than BATMAN. Once the origins sequences have passed and the Ernie Hudson character is firmly established (the renegade cop), THE CROW falls into its familiar plot of seeking and destroying those which are responsible for the Lee character's death. At this point, the film comes down from its early energetic cycle, and we are left with lowered expectations.
However, what accompanies the remainder of the film is as boldly compiled and sequenced a comic-book rendering as has come onto into movies. Lee is physically an impeccable image every moment he is on the screen, and Proyas has shot him in such a way as to captivate and stimulate you as the film flows. Lee's emergence from the grave, followed into his old apartment and his inter-cut discovery of his own murder is shot with grace, style and unique motion. I don't recall such an undeniable entrance into a film for a main character, in terms of both presence and dynamic framing. Other examples, such as Bruce Willis' tracking entrance in THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, or Harrison Ford's trek through the jungle in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK pale in comparison. I found myself glued to every nuance and length of his amazing figure each time he carried himself within that character. He successive elimination of his murderers each were visually stunning and most economically effective; I hardly found an excessive, uninteresting or superfluous shot in Lee's sequences.
Proyas has outdone both Ridley Scott and Tim Burton at their own games. It is certainly true that he is borrowing heavily from the precedents that they set for dystopian urban underworlds, but in both BLADE RUNNER, and BATMAN, the visuals overwhelm, if not supersede the story. In THE CROW, Proyas is seamlessly letting his visuals *fit* the story that he is telling. The notion of finding your own killers and exacting the grim treatment upon them that was done to you and your beloved fiance is a dark and ringing one, and Proyas has dictated that mood without letting his ambience crowd his theme.
With his editing, Proyas could have handled the confrontation between the evil urban overlord/sidemen thugs and Lee's Crow with the same sharpness, verve, and quick poignancy as his other scenes. But the point during that pre-climactic shoot-out was mayhem, and the editing reflected that, though it was a difficult scene to follow closely. It is a tribute to the stimulating pace of the first 2/3 of the film that one *expected* and *wished* to see more during the massive shoot-out, and I found myself *wanting to see more* during that scene.
A last gracious touch in the film, one so lacking in other studio pictures, was the color, ethnic and gender-blind casting, on both the "good" and "evil" sides. While Lee and the femme fatale character were Asian-based, there were African-Americans, Anglos and Latinos all cast in key roles throughout the film. This equivocal approach was refreshing and added a significantly unique perspective to the picture, which has been missing in so many major films.
Thus, I would recommend the film to those who wish to see a very intelligent fantasy, shot with passion and energy, and featuring a truly *star* performance by Lee, an individual who would have certainly been destined for great things. My immediate reaction as the end credits rolled was a sadness that we will see no further work from Mr. Lee; it puts an eerie pall over the film that could not have been foreseen, even by fans of the late actor's father.
--- Please forward comments/reactions to: --- SESSMAN@ibm.mtsac.edu
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