The Raven

Most of the points I'm giving are for its cool 1800s urban settings, reminiscent of Guy Ritchie's recent Sherlock Holmes films. The story, however, doesn't work. Just barely missing catching the killer and him getting away is only interesting so many times, and the final reveal of the solution to the movie's mystery had me going less "Wow, awesome!" and more "Ok, sure, whatever."

Whoever wrote the screenplay, Shakespeare they ain't... Wait, wha?

i wouldn't call it bad movie, not that good either. But i dare to say that it was an eye-fest (including the dialogues which i had an hard time to understand) for hardcore Poe-fans like me. Watch and don't remember it, 'nevermore.'

"Nevermore", indeed.

This would have been way better had it starred the entire starting lineup of the Baltimore Ravens, kind of like Act of Valor.

A clever concept, but the execution is dull and lifeless.

The setup and the settings work quite well, and for almost 20 minutes it does show potential. Then follows a dreary and by-the-numbers thriller-plot, with little to none effort put into making it interesting or scary. A waste of good actors with the exception of Luke Evans, who's increasingly über-intense acting style throughout the movie was a comic high mark.

Quoth the Raven, "CUSACK KICKS ASS!"

0% atmosphere.

There are many things about it that I liked, but most notably the photography, costumes, the early dialogues, and the fact that it kept me glued to the screen throughout its running time.

The Raven is an awful film. Almost nothing works, from the uninspired plot, static and one-dimensional characters, a lack of actual intrigue in regards to the murders, and a complete lack of desire to use the main character for anything other than as a bystander. This is a boring thriller that sheds no light on Edgar Allan Poe, and will just make his fans shake their head in frustration. It'll do that with non-fans, too, and will make you want to be a character in one of his stories by the end.

Some parts were a little gory. Yet the story keeps you on the edge and has interesting twists and turns.

Felt a bit gimmicky, and the plot is the kind one saw numerous times in other movies and tv shows. The changes being the murders' themes. Some interesting elements but Cusack's delivery kind of harmed them

The Raven is an enjoyable movie, its just less good. The premise is fascinating yet the plot doesn't do much to keep you invested. Poe was horribly miscast, and was just kind of disappointing overall. Yet, I will praise the attentions to detail and the Poe-like props, sets and characters. This kept the movie quite entertaining.

It doesn't capitalize enough on the Poe mystique, and instead the picture devolves into a tired, cat-and-mouse thriller that could have been about anyone. If the writers were going to set Poe up as the cat, why not take full advantage of Poe's legend and go for it, rather than let Poe simply be a man chasing a killer? Cusack does his best and cannot be faulted here, and the other actors are fine, but the plot and pacing are a total bore, and people should bother with this movie...nevermore.

http://gorgview.com/the-raven

There were parts of this that really annoyed me and the ending rubbed me the wrong way, but for the most part, I liked this. Excellent concept and the script does a great job of working Poe's stories into the plot. Cusack is a hell of a lot of fun as Poe. The reveal of the killer is lame though, because he's such a minor character that it fails to leave much of an impact.

Cusack doesn't belong within 100 years of a period piece (and I am a fan of his). Other that is is nice looking but messy delivery on a ho hum script makes for a poor experience.

I'm surprise how good this was compared to the reviews. I thought the suspense and ties to Poe in the script, which I would call macabre rather than Gothic, were well done. It was fiction but that part worked a well even the ending which has been criticized as shallow. Damn, what do you have to do, sacrifice the director's virgin daughter on an alter in a Louisiana swamp?

They found pretty Poeish locations and made some nice sets, but the director did not get much of life for rather non-successful script.

A film about the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life. I felt like it was really strange to cast John Cusack as Poe but honestly only Alan Rickman is the only other person I could see playing that part. The action was really good and it had some awesome suspense to it. The gore level was also really off the charts at some parts of the film especially with the pit and the pendulum part. I wouldn't say this is the best movie ever but it was a lot of fun, if you love E.A.P. then you should see this.

Lazy script and pretty hideous visual style. The concept is interesting but the execution is really clumsy. It's also incredibly forgettable, nothing lingers and its impact, such as it is, evaporated almost as soon as it finished.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token. Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore. Merely this and nothing more." *Preview*: #13#, exp-3*, story, (director McTeigue/1), cast, R2.

I watched it and I didn't complain, but there wasn't anything here that I was actually thrilled by. By the time two days went by I had completely forgotten I had seen this movie.

Outstanding! I had only a few minor criticisms which I won't even bring up. Great original story, excellent performance by Cusack, powerful soundtrack and images. Impressive on a lower budget. I'm really surprised and disappointed that it failed at the box office. See it on DVD or cable!!

John Cusack, if it weren't for Malkovich I would hate you so much.

Hm. Interested by the dislike for this movie. I thought Cusack's portrayal of Poe was exquisite and the reveal of the killer was done with care. I do believe that the method in which the killer "gets away" is rather... well, silly. He just... walks away. So yeah, Moriarty he ain't, but Moriarty he didn't have to be. Very very good performances I thought, though, from Cusack as Poe to Evans as Fields. It doesn't jerk you around with constant tiring twists that plague this genre. Worth seeing.

cool stuff

Not that bad

The Raven isn't as horrible as the reviews might have you believe, but it's nothing really noteworthy. It has a great concept, but the execution is mediocre.

A big mess

So poorly conducted -- McTeigue seems suffocated by the script and can't even deliver his well-known stylish tricks --, that there is not even a decent climax here: I was like, "is this really going to end like this?". Lifeless picture with some interesting production values -- Alice Eve included. That's it.

An interesting premise that never ends up getting to be more than that. I got about as much from the trailer as I did the rest of the movie.

I think this movie is better than anyone will admit, but because the idea for the movie is so good, the resulting film is a letdown.

Very much indifferent...

Unfortunately mired by an unusually weak ending. Though I will praise Luke Evans for giving the movie an unlikely heart in the form of Detective Fields, and the eventual protagonist-killer confrontation is one of the better I've seen. That being said it is a shame that McTeigue, even when dealing with gothic litterature, couldn't resist the use of slow-motion.

"While full of welcome gore and blood spatter, it's bankrupt of any creative spark." - Jaime N. Christley

Passes the time.

The premise of the movie is an interesting one but the script is not good. The actors they try hard but they can not overcame the script limitations. Overall this movie is definitely a misfire.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here, but it just seems like it wasn't well thought out. Cusack does his best to bring the enigmatic Poe to life and there's a great deal of allusions to Poe's life and works. It proves interesting but the movie seems to add stuff at random. The main dramatic thread of the movie, the hunt for Poe's captive love, progresses and stutters at random. There's some interesting ideas posited about criticism and the interpretation of a work, but it's just too muddled.

Not a bad movie overall, but the ending was really week, and I wasn't really attached to the characters by the end of the movie. I wished there was a little bit more from Poe's stories, but his themes were there, and a couple of his famous stories were present.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF55LNrHBSw

Serial killer with too much blood in some shots.

I'm not really sure what genre this movie is. Fictional biopic? Murder mystery/romance? Either way, Cusack's having a lot of fun hamming it up here, and that somewhat rescues the movie from its many flaws. Outside the principals the acting is bad, with some particularly terrible line delivery. I don't think the script handles the 19th-century speech very well., and the poetry angle ranges from decent to cringeworthy depending on the scene. I've seen James McTeigue do a lot better. (Cool credits)

This movie is going to have the greatest sequel. You know what I'm dishin' about.

The potential was wasted but still an alright movie for Poe fans.

As a parody it's off its mark, as a historical thriller it is awful.

I liked it. Really enjoyed the bench scene

The film was big and dramatic, had some great shots, and a few gory moments; but I couldn't take it seriously. The romantic interest, Alice Eve, gave a very weak and repeatedly unconvincing performance. Even the great John Cusack and Luke Evans were playing their dialog up to be pretentiously over dramatic. Ultimately, I have to blame this on the director: James McTeigue, since I know and believe in John Cusack's skill as an actor.

Not a terrible movie by any means, just very much over the top when it should have taken the time to be more sophisticated than dramatic. A fictionalized account of the final days of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven falls short of ultimately being a believable film. That could be done in by the fact that every scene felt heavy, with dialogue that seemed rushed and frantic. Perhaps a little more exploration into the murders, a deeper psychological profiling of everyone involved would have been better

very good john was great 10 out of 10

For a little while it seemed like it could be really good but ended up being just okay.

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Poe is a fucking retard.