WCB Movie Writer
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| Studio- Relativity Media Director- James McTeigue Starring-John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen Rating- 3 out of 4 stars |
I saw a rather
clever movie today with a clever plot and it was a smart murder-mystery thrill
ride. And I saw a rather drunk John Cusack, playing Edgar Allen Poe in The Raven. It won’t win best picture but
it’s an entertaining look at the fictional end of Poe’s life.
Basically a crazy guy starts committing murders inspired
by Poe's darkest poems and a detective (Luke Evans) joins Poe in a hunt to stop
him from making every one of Poe's fictional eerie stories into a reality. It
all takes place in the last few days of Poe’s life. Crappy way to spend your
last days alive huh? Well, Poe (Cusack) doesn’t mind since the love of his life
has been involved in the murder mysteries and is held as bait to keep Poe
fighting until the end until he finds who this crazed man is.
The movie has the ability to
keep your attention. It has the ability to keep you wondering who this madman
is. But with all of this, it did not have the ability to come together and be
what it could have been. It had its moments of greatness. But the rest was just
Cusack drinking and trying to desperately fit the role of Poe. It was like
watching a more PG-13 version of Saw or
playing a long game of Clue.
The Raven is directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) and while it definitely
comes second to V for Vendetta, The Raven’s plot was crafty and they had
a lot to work with. Taking place during the 1800s, they set the movie up well with
great costumes and wardrobes and good scene setting. The whole movie is morbid
and that’s the way it should have been; it made the entire movie compelling. There
isn’t too much gore, just enough to help keep the gothic theme going.
The only problem was the
ending. It was pretty predictable and since we don’t spend much time with the
characters, you don’t feel very invested in them, but either way, the movie
functioned like a murder mystery novel that kept your attention.
The Raven is a fun way to kick off your summer and any movie with
Cusack is a good time but don’t expect to be ravin’ about it, pun intended.
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