In the 90s, something strange happened with superhero movies. On the eve of the beginning of the decade, Tim Burton had reaped immense success with his batmanSo it would have made sense for Hollywood to coordinate to continue releasing films under the licenses of the main comic book duo, Marvel/DC. But that’s not what happened. In other words, the inevitable consequences of batman They arrived in an orderly manner, but around them the industry preferred to opt for adaptations of comics that were a little less well-known, perhaps influenced by the tone between baroque and pulp of Burton’s approach. The Raven, The Shadow, Rocketeer, The Masked ManSam Raimi with black man (a vigilante of his own invention)… Famous superheroes had to wait.
The comic book adaptations that followed at this time symbolised, rather than an early implantation of the cartoon in the blockbusteran alternative to the optimism of the bright 1990s. A short distance from the embarrassing outcropping of rogue corporate mascots: Sonic, Fido Dido, Chester Cheetos, Poochie de. The Simpsons as a very beautiful parody of the phenomenon – it is perhaps this deviation from the logic of exploitation which organically led to Blade And X-Meninaugurating films of the current era of superheroes. By the late 90s, these films abandoned any coloristic impulse in favor of maintaining dark tones, with something akin to adolescent apathy. own X-Men I made jokes about it, so some time later Hugh Jackman finally appeared in the bright yellow uniform in Deadpool and Wolverine.
So it seems interesting to compare today’s superhero cinema with that of the 90s, or even to compare today’s superhero cinema. blockbuster as such, what was done then versus what is being done now. And so we encounter recent efforts to emulate the sense of wonder of the 90s in Twistsor with Burton himself returning to his origins imminently with Bitelchus Bitelchus. There is also the The Ravenclear. Has anyone thought it was a good idea to make a remake of this film released by Alex Proyas just 30 years ago, while ensuring of course that it is not so much a remake as a new adaptation of the original comic strip, created by James O’Barr. The problem, however, is that once again The Raven It’s much more complicated than simply trying to reinsert this depressive, almost self-parodying emo attitude into today’s entertainment cinema.
The Ghost of Brandon Lee
There is another sinister connection – and this one is truly sinister, without posturing – between the Hollywood that has received The Raven in the 90s and the one who creates his remake in the 2020s, when in October 2021, Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a gun while filming. rustMany people remember the first one CrowThe bullet injured the director of this western independent filmmaker Joel Souza and instantly killed the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins. What happened, in addition to triggering a turbulent legal process that continues to this day, has reignited the debate over the presence of firearms in the country. sets Hollywood, in the same way that happened with the death of Brandon Lee in March 1993, while filming a scene in The Raven.
The Raven tells the story of a man, Eric Draven, who witnesses the murder of his fiancée shortly before being murdered himself, and a year later is resurrected with superpowers and seeks revenge. The film’s lead actor, Bruce Lee’s son, had filmed most of his scenes before the fatal accident. Alex Proyas was therefore able to complete the film using digital effects and shots with his double, Chad Stahelski (later responsible for the saga John Wick). Proyas had decided to make the film as a tribute to Lee’s memory, and although Paramount later refused to distribute it for fear of bad press, Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax wanted to pick up the project and release it, to considerable box office success.
This has favored The Raven became a franchise, but subsequent installments were kind enough to leave Eric Draven’s character behind. In 1996, 2000, and 2005, new films were released that maintained O’Barr’s comic book structure, each featuring a different Avenger. None were particularly well-received, nor was a 1998 Canadian series that attempted to re-adapt the original story just five years after Lee’s death. The Raven must have remained a strictly 90s myth. Proyas, an Australian director with a very particular imagination, so capable of delivering in dark city, a shocking glimpse of Matrix, like entering the most irreverent B series, with that Gods of Egypt who buried whatever prestige he had left in 2016 – had made sure that was the case.
The Raven is as inseparable from Lee’s tragedy as from a certain conjunctural, pure aesthetic the spirit of the times 90s When readapting the story, both elements had to be taken into account. In the first section, there was no luck: even though Bill Skarsgård’s new version directly refers to the comic strip and makes notable changes to the story, the production faced Proyas’ furious rejection from the start. On his social networks, the director of Me, robot has repeatedly attacked the film, accusing its creators of being cynical neighborhood shooters who disrespect Lee’s memory. Once the film was released in the United States, to poor reviews and a disappointing box office, Proyas could not and would not hide his satisfaction.
In the second section, linked to the cultural enclave of The Raven And how to answer that, the truth is that it’s miraculous that the film ended up having a distinctive identity. Hollywood has wanted to readapt O’Barr’s story since no less than 2008. A multitude of directors and actors paraded around the project before the final hiring of Rupert Sanders and Skarsgård, with the corresponding changes of direction. However, it has been several years since O’Barr commented on his desire for a more realistic film, citing Taxi driver. Indeed, and with all the problems the film may have, no one could accuse this remake/new adaptation of not having a personality, and that it also moves away from that of Proyas.
A New Urban Avenger
A look back at a cult title of the caliber of The Raven It seemed like a suicidal intention, but it’s not the most difficult situation Rupert Sanders has faced as a director. After all, he’s the one who became a classic animated as Ghost in the Shell in a Hollywood spectacle to the greatest glory of Scarlett Johansson, consolidating the problem of whitewashing —by hiring white actors for characters originally belonging to other ethnic groups—into the public debate while continuing to engage in detail and meticulousness with a work that he knew was completely beyond him. Fortunately, with The Raven put aside this reverential attitude, entering into a dialogue with Proyas’ film on its own terms.
The packaging of The Raven The 90s were not only influenced by Tim Burton, but also by an imaginary between glamour And heavy metalconceptually supported by Draven’s profession (who was a musician and appeared on several occasions with an electric guitar). This aesthetic distorted the inhabitants and buildings of Detroit precisely coinciding with a Devil’s Night (Halloween variant) in which the resurrected Draven consumed his vengeance, underlying an iconographic bomb that Sanders, in fact, preferred to leave aside. So your Crow opts for an urban land that is less realistic than equivocal – the limbo in which Draven arrives after his death is very successful, marked by architectural indeterminacy – and replaces the heavy metal for music postpunk when it comes to framing the protagonist’s adventures.
Joy Division becomes the soundtrack to Draven’s romance with Shelly (singer FKA twigs), shortly before distorted bass and languid screams guide some extremely gory action scenes. It’s another good decision by The Raven: There is blood give and take and it is certainly a blood festive, but taken from such a supposedly serious setting, it manages to be quite suggestive. It is not The Raven a hooligan absurdity in the style of another action movie that Skarsgård also starred in this summer —Kill a boyalso turned towards the theme of revenge, but rather towards jubilation exploit in an attitude of existential pessimism, no less absurd because intense. It becomes very funny, wow, especially during a long battle sequence taking place in an opera, with Skarsgård’s katana ready.
Certainly The Raven It has attitude, which is more than can be said for other 2024 shows that have been less maligned by American critics. But that’s not enough to make it a good movie. Proyas’ original, let’s face it, wasn’t great either, but at least it had a narrative conviction that Sanders completely lacked. The new version’s script is needlessly convoluted, never coming to fruition with the idea that the protagonist’s targets now also possess supernatural abilities. And beyond the bursts of ultraviolence, it’s a terribly routine movie, where the characters’ poor charisma doesn’t seem as bad as the regrettable writing and dramatic structure decisions.
Unlike the 90s adaptation, the plot of The Raven 2024 It is told in a linear way. In other words, instead of the flashbacks that justified Eric Draven’s pain, Sanders prefers to tell us everything in strict chronological order. Developing the protagonists’ romance, killing them off, and then dealing with revenge. Since O’Barr’s story has always been extremely stupid, reliant on a tragic and corny love that tried to blur space and time – a gesture that Proyas has been able to reproduce, invoking a romantic energy capable of inspiring teenage bedrooms full of posters – the new version of The Raven He has nothing to hide his petty plot. He has only this, this attitude. It is something, but not enough to symbolize an era. Not this time, at least.
