Very disappointed with the Crow reboot

So I left this comment on Amanda the Jedi review video on the movie and I wanted to share here on reddit:

I saw this opening weekend and I've had some time to think about it. It was trying too hard and was all over the place. Edgy avant garde wannabe, and absolute cringe, not just the dialogue between eric and shelley but also eric's crow makeup. Its like the hot topic version of the crow. Not scary at all, just felt like it was trying to be a cool aesthetic and that's it. Thats not really the point from I understand.

I usually don't mind these kinds of stories, if executed properly, but this one just didn't work. Especially since this was a very poorly executed reboot and pretty much insulted the original. The only parts that were good were the fight scenes and Bill's acting. FKA Twigs was fine but she didn't have enough to do in the movie, so I feel like I can't really judge her acting.

This movie should have taken a page out of " Boy kills world", as in just present the story as a story that's not connected to any piece of media, but inspired by video games or something else pop culture related and just go all out and have a fun time. I saw Boy Kills Word three times in the theater within the same week. Maybe I was a little too obsessed but it was genuinely good and I'm sad it didn't do well overall. I dont recall seeing any marketing for it and it was released the same weekend as Challengers. Unfortunately it wasnt going to stand a chance. That was the best movie of 2024 so far for me.

If they really wanted to connect this to the Crow universe, don't use Eric and Shelley, just use different characters or create new ones. I mean, at this point, we're already in fanfiction land and on the way to failure anyways. I got serious early 2000s emo vibes for this movie that I immediately thought of "What it is to burn" by Finch. And I was mad that it worked and also it's classic emo song that doesn't deserve to be associated with this movie.

Now onto the relationship between this version of Eric and Shelley. Both actors have chemistry and honestly deserve to be in a much better movie. They don't actually know each other. In the original, its clear they have a much more deeper connection and know each other pretty well. In the new one, It's just a meet cute situation and pretty much plays out like a standard YA novel. I got romeo and juliet vibes, love at the first sight sort of thing. I get Shelley doesn't want to divulge her past to Eric but she's ultimately the reason they both die. Narratively, I think it would have made more sense for her to become the Crow and be given the chance to make things right and avenge Eric, since the story revolves around her past. It could have been her learning to overcome her fears and learning to stand on her own because of her love for him. Eric in this version feels more like a fish out of water and bit like an outsider.

Well there's my rant. Not sure if shelley was the crow instead would have been better but I was attempting to fix something that probably was doomed to be broken from the start. Overall it's basically just a fanficiton story that didn't work ultimately and made a lot of people upset, including me. They were better off not making this movie and putting the main actors in a much better movie.

Edit: just realized something. The tag line for this movie is "True Love never dies." Phantom of the opera 2: Love never dies. I don't know if the team got inspiration from one of the worst musical sequels, if not the worst, but I can't stop seeing the connection lol.