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| Release: 2012, Rating: R, Runtime: 110 min. |
On a dreary Tuesday evening, I pondered watching something deceiving. I wished for something with lots of lore and hoping it wasn’t a bore. Deep into that Netflix peering, long I sat there, fearing, doubting anything, but a snore. At last I came upon The Raven, could this be my haven? Read on to find out more…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality.
The final days of Edgar Allan Poe are mystery we may never know, but that doesn’t stop Hollywood from thinking up some ideas and trying to make a few bucks in the process. The Raven, starring John Cusack, in a fun role as Poe, tries to give some excitement to the Gothic poet, by throwing a murder mystery our way. For the most part, it works. Tying the works of Poe into the plot, having it be the killer’s motive, makes for an exhilarating story. Fans of Poe will be delighted to see his various works, such as The Pit and the Pendulum, which invokes a big Saw influence, The Masque of the Red Death, the films most exciting moment, where the killer could strike at any moment during a ball. There is more, but I won’t spoil anything else.
Now, I’m sure purists of Edgar Allan Poe will baulk at the ideas here, with the movie almost turning him into some sort of action hero, but don’t fret people, Poe is still very much a haunted and tragic drunk, whose chances of love are always slipping through his fingers, very tragically.
Luke Evans, plays Detective Fields, who works along side Poe in hunting down the killer. I enjoyed his performance and actually look forward to seeing him in more films, with Fast & Furious 6 being the latest he’ll be in.
If I must speak ill of The Raven, I would have to say the ending was a let down, with the reveal of the killer invoking no shocking emotions on my end. Still, the lead up to the reveal was fun and in The Raven’s case, that’s all that really matters. I thought for sure The Raven was going to be a big let down, as I didn’t hear much about the movie and anything I did hear, made it seen like it was going to be a stinker. I’m enjoy Edgar Allan Poe’s work, but I wouldn’t say I’m a hardcore fan, so maybe that’s why it didn’t bother me as much and I did have low expectations, but you know what, I rather enjoyed The Raven.
As I come upon the ending of this, I would be remiss in not showing you the final score, for I see The Raven, carrying a 3 out of 4. (Well, really 3 out of 5, but I couldn’t think of a rhyme, as I was pressed for time.)
