I was a big fan of “The Crow” (circa 1994 with the epic Brandon Lee) and “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven” (circa 1998-1999 starring Mark Dacascos).
I saw a few of the sequels to the 1994 movie that happened between then – but little could live up to the original in my opinion. It was dark, and gritty, but had a lot of heart under the surface. It was the perfect mix of urban fantasy and gothic aesthetic. Add in the cultural phenomenon of Brandon Lee and his tragic passing and it felt like it was a right of passage in my youth. It was one of those things that passed into nostalgia.
The television series in 1998 was a slightly lighthearted take on the story – but it still pulled at my heartstrings and brought depth to the story for me. It was a short series, I believe it only lasted about 22 episodes. It was a Canadian series, so I’m not sure how familiar people outside of Canada would find it.
So when I heard there was going to be a remake of such an iconic film I was intrigued and excited! It has been decades since I’ve seen anything from that world! It made me crave the dark gritty city vibes.
I must say though… the trailer so far has really let me down.
Now before I get too far into this – I’ve already heard from some people that perhaps they are following along a lot more closely to the original comic version of “The Crow” rather than the cinematic and small screen versions from the 90’s. That is entirely possible since I’ve not had a chance to look through them.
But it does follow along with Hollywood’s latest trend of remaking older nostalgia-filled classics and dumping a lot of the storytelling/heart aspects for full-on dark, gritty, blood-filled violent versions. And that is highly disappointing and (in my opinion) points to a greater issue with not enough fresh blood and new ideas coming into the media ecosystem.
I get it. It’s likely a lot easier to bank on people holding sentimental attachment to already established IP, Characters, and Worldbuilding then doing the hard work yourself – but if you are just going to use that nostalgia against them and toss out the main components of what made that such a beloved brand… then all you are doing is using and abusing that resource.
In reality, you aren’t adding anything worthwhile to it if you have to strip away too much of what the original was. All you are doing is hollowing it out, filling it with cheap gore effects and flashy shock value – then packing it up and hoping to make a few bucks.
That’s it.
I seriously hope that I’m jumping the gun and that this trailer was just a first look that didn’t reflect what the final piece will look like. With plenty of other old favorites of mine slated to show up next on Hollywood’s chopping block (Highlander, I’m looking at you…) I’m hoping people remember what made these movies / series so popular back then and find a way to help these new versions live up to our memories of them.
That or go the easier route and create new and fresh Sequels or companion stories that take part in the same universe without trying to rewrite a classic that doesn’t need the glow-up treatment.
There has to be plenty of awesome new tales still yet to be showcased. Heck, approach some new and upcoming awesome writers of genre fanfiction for ideas. Some of those stories would make epic movie sequels and would propel new storytellers into the limelight.
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