The Raven

Starring: John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McNally
Directed by: James McTeigue
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) is brought in to help with an investigation into a murderer who is using his stories as inspirations for his murders.

Review:

Tim: So, when I heard that John Cusack was cast as Edgar Allan Poe, I was pretty excited. Cusack is an actor I have always liked, and Poe is one of my all time favorite authors. It seemed like such a perfect match. The film, though, was going to be a bit of revisionist history, imagining the last three days of Poe's life (which are incredibly mysterious even to today) were spent hunting down a killer inspired by his work. This sounds interesting, but a few warning bells start going off in my head at this point. Unfortunately, The Raven proves that those warnings were correct. This is a film that is average in just about every way. It's an okay fim, but it's really forgettable.

Here's the problem with movies that rewrite history- the authors obviously do a lot of research on the subject, and then weave their fictional story around the known facts. That is really, really cool, and when done well, it's quite impressive. However, you really don't realize all that while watching the film. The amount of research done is lost in the film. For example (Spoiler Ahead), in real life, Poe was found on a park bench muttering a man's name. No one knows who the man is or why Poe was repeatedly saying the name. That's all explained in this film, which is just really, really cool. Unless you do the research or know a lot about the historical figure in question, the coolness factor is greatly diminished. This was the same thing that happened with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Now, I was not a fan of that movie at all, but the research done and the weaving of fact and fiction together is impressive. Like that movie, some of the effort that went into this film is lost by audiences.

Now, all that being said, it's really only one aspect of a good movie. The film needs to stand on its own, regardless of the backstory behind it. This is where the movie falls down. Yes, it is really fun to see Poe chasing down a killer using his work as inspirations for his murders. Unfortunately, the basic plot is completely stale. Nearly everything that happens here has been done before. The mysteries aren't that mysterious. The film is surprisingly low on suspense. There's not nearly enough originality or intelligence in the script. Poe himself was so incredible because of the brilliance he brought to every piece of work he did. None of his brilliance is found in this script at all. Poe would have been horribly disappointed in this movie. Even the big twist at the end of the film was met only with a minor shrug from me. Nothing in this film was particularly exciting or memorable. That is a huge shame.

I will say that John Cusack was a terrific choice to play Poe. Cusack is a really good actor, and he brings humanity to the role. He has certainly been better, though, because he is greatly limited by the script. However, he has a few strong moments, and looks pretty cool with his Poe goatee. I hope Cusack makes more movies like this. Unfortunately, he doesn't get a lot of help from the rest of the cast.

Alice Eve is fine, but she adds very little to the movie. I'm still not convinced she has a great deal of talent. Luke Evans was pretty good, but he wasn't spectacular. I enjoy him as an actor, but his performance here was a bit forgettable. I love Brendan Gleeson, but he just didn't have a whole lot to do here. The supporting cast is average, which means this movie definitely belongs to Cusack.

As a whole, I love the idea of The Raven, but I really did not care for the execution. The film was mildly entertaining, but it was all just too forgettable. The script felt redundant and completely void of any original, fresh ideas. This is certainly not a film you hate, it's just a film you easily shrug off and forget.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter