The Crow

Matt Reeves' The Batman looks like it'll be the love (or hate) child of two films: David Fincher's Seven and Alex Proyas' The Crow. And if it borrows anything from The Crow, I hope it's its black and burning heart. Dipped in an early 1990s, punk rock/grunge soaked filter, it's without a doubt the darkest comic book film (thematically and aesthetically) ever released. A macabre and tragic love story, Brandon Lee gives a haunting final performance not too far removed from the same aura that surrounds Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker. Unflinching in just how morbid and somber it is, The Crow draws on a supernatural approach to the classic revenge story and, when the slashing guitars in the backdrop quiet out and the gunfire stops, it sends us out on a bittersweet and melancholy note. Dark, violent and moody but compassionate and tenderhearted when it wants to be, The Crow is a relatively unsung gem from the early 1990s.