The Crow is the story of Eric Draven, who comes back from the grave to avenge his death and the death of the girl he loves. Based on the comics by James O'Barr, it is an extremely dark and sometimes disturbing film. Exploring the pain and loss of death, The Crow is one man's attempt to make sense of that pain. This is somewhat more obvious in the comic, which does a better job of expressing these themes. For example, the anger at God that Eric expresses in the original comics is watered down in the movie enough to come through as random sacrilege, rather than an attempt to show the anguish Eric is experiencing. In the introduction of the graphic novel that contains the original stories, the idea is hinted at that this was O'Barr's attempt to work through loss he was experiencing in his own life.

The Crow is an example of one of the earlier better-made comic book films. It's an intense film with an amazing visual presence (one area where it nearly one-ups the comic), and it's obvious from the critical acclaim that it received that it was much more well-liked than some of the comic book films of the same era. (Batman Forever came out the following year.)

			See it if you don't mind your films dark and intense. Don't see it if you like your fare a little bit lighter.

© 2006 Jim Manchester