I had been afraid that this would turn out to be like the Sherlock Holmes movies, which I did not like at all, and the trailers certainly seemed to favour that. Thankfully, the actual movie is far from the showboating spectacle that Guy Ritchie has directed.
The story follows a killer who's got something for, or against, Edgar Allen Poe, bringing to life some gruesome deaths that Poe has written about in his stories. The turning point comes when Poe's girlfriend is kidnapped and becomes the bait to lure Poe deeper into the killer's madness.
The movie does a good job in hooking you from the first scene and does not shy away from blood and gore. One scene in particular is reminiscent of the Saw movies, so I did feel a little squeamish. Thankfully, there was more emphasis on the story than on gory effects so it wasn't too bad. It gets more interesting as the movie draws on. Who's the killer? How does Poe fit into the puzzle? Some questions are answered early but it does keep you guessing as to the identity of the killer till the end, which makes it necessary not to leave your seat to go to the washroom or get another bag of popcorn!
The downsides, and there are a few, are mainly in the acting area. John Cusack is well cast physically as he is well made up to look pretty much like Edgar Allan Poe himself. His performance though was a bit on the hammy side, as Cusack tended to rage in a guttural tone at the top of his voice several times which tended to be rather irritating. Alice Eve's performance can best be described as muted. Her voice was timid, her actions limited, her emotions checked. It was as if she was forcibly restrained from emoting anything lively, and that was sad as she's anything but timid and restrained...not with that smile of hers! I also felt that the unmasking of the killer and the rationalization for all the deaths was rather weak. It made the intrigue fade slightly and that is a sore negative point.
But Poe fans, those who know about the man, and his stories, should be happy with the story. There are lots of references to his stories and characters and that should keep them happily in their seats till the end. I've never read any Edgar Allan Poe stories so as an objective viewer I can say that I enjoyed watching The Raven and recommend this to anyone interested in a murder mystery!
The story follows a killer who's got something for, or against, Edgar Allen Poe, bringing to life some gruesome deaths that Poe has written about in his stories. The turning point comes when Poe's girlfriend is kidnapped and becomes the bait to lure Poe deeper into the killer's madness.
The movie does a good job in hooking you from the first scene and does not shy away from blood and gore. One scene in particular is reminiscent of the Saw movies, so I did feel a little squeamish. Thankfully, there was more emphasis on the story than on gory effects so it wasn't too bad. It gets more interesting as the movie draws on. Who's the killer? How does Poe fit into the puzzle? Some questions are answered early but it does keep you guessing as to the identity of the killer till the end, which makes it necessary not to leave your seat to go to the washroom or get another bag of popcorn!
The downsides, and there are a few, are mainly in the acting area. John Cusack is well cast physically as he is well made up to look pretty much like Edgar Allan Poe himself. His performance though was a bit on the hammy side, as Cusack tended to rage in a guttural tone at the top of his voice several times which tended to be rather irritating. Alice Eve's performance can best be described as muted. Her voice was timid, her actions limited, her emotions checked. It was as if she was forcibly restrained from emoting anything lively, and that was sad as she's anything but timid and restrained...not with that smile of hers! I also felt that the unmasking of the killer and the rationalization for all the deaths was rather weak. It made the intrigue fade slightly and that is a sore negative point.
But Poe fans, those who know about the man, and his stories, should be happy with the story. There are lots of references to his stories and characters and that should keep them happily in their seats till the end. I've never read any Edgar Allan Poe stories so as an objective viewer I can say that I enjoyed watching The Raven and recommend this to anyone interested in a murder mystery!