First Reviews of ‘The Crow’: Critics Call Rupert Sanders’ Reimagining a Flop

Rupert Sanders’ reimagining of Alex Proyas’ 1994 film, The Crow, is now in theaters. Fans who were excited to see Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs as Eric and Shelly found themselves puzzled due to the lack of reviews or reactions until this morning.

With the review embargo now lifted, the concerns appear to have been warranted. The Crow currently holds a dismal score of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes from 41 reviews, most of which are negative. Critics describe the remake as “lackluster,” “tedious,” and “uninspired.”

Kristy Puchko from Mashable labeled the film “Ugly, incoherent, and ultimately cynical.” Witney Seibold at Slashfilm criticized its “sloppy editing and a general lack of basic storytelling acumen.”

Ryan Lattanzio from IndieWire went further, saying, “The Crow is not a waste of talent or resources; worse, it just hangs there on the screen, as undead as Eric himself.”

Amidst all the negativity, there are some glimmers of hope for fans. Nerdist’s DarkSkyLady mentioned, “The Crow finds a way to build a world different from the previous film, and it feels like the best decision. It has faults but manages to carve out a moving story with shocking action that feels genuine.”

Ricky Valero at FandomWire offered lukewarm praise, calling it “an imperfect, perfect love story with the sweet taste of revenge.”

Ultimately, The Crow seems to be a disappointment, but it’s now in theaters for audiences to form their own opinions.

Here’s a roundup of what other critics had to say:

• Collider: Struggling through an identity crisis, The Crow is doing too much and, as a result, doesn’t do enough to serve its core narrative.
• Hollywood Reporter: The Crow is a sluggish, overly self-serious gloomfest that never takes wing.
• We Live Entertainment: With little stylization, a generic plotline removing much of what made the original comics standout, and the clearest feeling of “why watch this when I can watch that,” this is less of a bird that got away, and more like a bad egg altogether.
• Bloomberg News: A genuinely perplexing film. How did Hollywood struggle for decades to reboot this property and end up with such a lackluster product?
• Screen International: Brandon Lee’s original was hard to shake because of his untimely demise. This forgettable new version doesn’t just fail to honor his memory — it never justifies its existence on its own merits.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Mashable, Slashfilm, IndieWire, Nerdist, FandomWire, Collider, Hollywood Reporter, We Live Entertainment, Bloomberg News, Screen International