Some flaws, but a pretty well paced movie that's usually entertaining. The iconic bird helps a wrongfully executed man, who was framed for his girl friend's murder, return to exact revenge against those responsible.
So it blends the horror theme of the franchise with a murder mystery story, and the mixture is accomplished reasonably well. The opening execution scene skillfully sets the mood. There are a few well used metaphors, but the bird's appearance may not make sense if you haven't seen the original film. The guilty conspirators and their motive is way too obvious and transparent, but the plot works in spite of this.
William Atherton as the victim's father and Fred Willard as a militaristic police captain do the best acting jobs. The flashback sequences showing the ill-fated Romeo/Juliet style couple's back story are executed very poorly; the 360 degree pans are intrusive, and the girl playing Laura overacts painfully. These scenes, intended to be romantic, and establish pathos for the victimized characters, are just irritating. The copter explosion looks as phony as a politician speech and it doesn't even fit, given what the film spends so much time telling us about the main character.
There are some routine clichés, such as shooting a guy a thousand times who won't die (lol), and the makeup on the vengeful Crow guy changes from scene to scene. But, if you can overlook these goofs, it's a good popcorn flick.
So it blends the horror theme of the franchise with a murder mystery story, and the mixture is accomplished reasonably well. The opening execution scene skillfully sets the mood. There are a few well used metaphors, but the bird's appearance may not make sense if you haven't seen the original film. The guilty conspirators and their motive is way too obvious and transparent, but the plot works in spite of this.
William Atherton as the victim's father and Fred Willard as a militaristic police captain do the best acting jobs. The flashback sequences showing the ill-fated Romeo/Juliet style couple's back story are executed very poorly; the 360 degree pans are intrusive, and the girl playing Laura overacts painfully. These scenes, intended to be romantic, and establish pathos for the victimized characters, are just irritating. The copter explosion looks as phony as a politician speech and it doesn't even fit, given what the film spends so much time telling us about the main character.
There are some routine clichés, such as shooting a guy a thousand times who won't die (lol), and the makeup on the vengeful Crow guy changes from scene to scene. But, if you can overlook these goofs, it's a good popcorn flick.