There is tremendous potential in the idea of Poe pitted against a killer who takes direct inspiration from his tales. Unfortunately, most of it is squandered in favour of unsophisticated slasher movie fare. “People love blood and murder, Reynolds (Kevin R McNally) the newspaper editor tells Poe. And in that respect, the movie delivers the most gruesome murder happens relatively early on in the movie, where the victim is cut in half by a lowering bladed pendulum, something out of a Saw film though Poe did it first in The Pit and the Pendulum.
Problem is, more people are likely to have seen a Saw film than have read Poe`s story.
John Cusack`s Poe is quite a disappointment. He`s portrayed as the typical eccentric artist, and there`s no mystique or danger, especially given the enigma the real Poe was. Cusack also doesn`t fit into the period surroundings at all; one would half expect him to lift a ghetto blaster over his head. At its worst, it brings to mind Nicolas Cage not a good thing.
Inspector Fields, as played by Luke Evans, is earnest, hardworking, dedicated and absolutely one-note and boring. The interesting dynamic that might have existed between the author and the policeman is all but absent. The inclusion of Alice Eve as Emily Hamilton, a love interest for Poe, is done rather lazily, considering that he had a wife but was famously asexual and apparently only loved her platonically. But that would have been too difficult to portray and would have gotten in the way of the pulpy thrills now, wouldn`t it? And so, she`s quickly put in jeopardy as a motivator for Poe, and to force Poe and her disapproving father (Brendan Gleeson) to work together.
When the identity of the killer is revealed, it is more likely to induce an indifferent “meh as opposed to the desired “gasp! And that`s the cardinal sin when it comes to whodunits. Director James McTeigue also delights in heavy-handed faux-symbolism just because the title of the movie is The Raven doesn`t mean one or more of the birds have to flutter into frame in every other scene. However, the art direction and the re-creation of 19th Century Baltimore are generally pretty good.
So, this is pretty much average Poe.
PS: We take offence to Reynolds the newspaper editor dismissing criticism (i.e. reviews) as “the easy stuff.
Summary: We`re no Poe, so the best we can come with is “you won`t be ravin` about The Raven. Hey, give us points for trying.
Rating: 2/5 stars
Jedd Jong
Opens: 26 April 2012