After the disappointing trailer, I lost any hope that they were going to do anything special here. However, I was hoping that because my expectations were low, and I was certain that it would in no way even come close to how great the 1994 original is, I still held out hope that it would be entertaining in some form. Even bad movies can have their charms.
Unfortunately this turned out to be way off base. The only thing this had going for it was violence, and a few action scenes. However, if you've seen the trailer, you've already seen almost all this movie has to offer. The rest was toothless, boring, and an insult to the original.
Eric Draven was perfectly developed in the original. Every scene with Brandon Lee greatly captured the sadness, anger, and determination of Draven. How did they showcase more of Eric and Shelly's relationship in this one, yet make it less interesting and believable?
The original made you feel Eric's determination to avenge Shelly. It captured his pain, and anger so well, which made it all the more satisfying as he fought his way to Top Dollar. This movie inspires no enthusiasm for Draven's plight. All of the changes they made were just silly.
I heard early reviews calling it "unwatchable." I would not say that is an accurate assessment of this version. More like forgettable, and totally uninspired. Which is a shame, because they could have stuck closer to the source material, which was supposedly the original plan, and it would have been different enough to be enjoyed separately from the original, without sacrificing the quality of the story.
There are no redeeming qualities in this version. I was hoping to walk away being able to say I did like something about it, but everything they tried to do to connect with audiences, or make you feel like you're a passenger with Draven on his journey, fell flat.
I wouldn't even use the words "cheesy" or "over the top" as I would describe the other attempts to make an enjoyable Crow adaptation. The words "bland" and "lackluster" come to mind when trying to find a way to describe this version.
See it for yourself if you're curious, as movies are subjective, but don't say you weren't warned that the story is just poorly constructed. Especially since it has a concept that proved to be successful at connecting with the audience once before. However this one was absolutely was poorly executed.