At The Theater- The Raven - John Cusack stars as Writer/Poet Edgar Allen Poe, who teams up with a determined Detective (Luke Evans) to solve grisly murders in 19th Century Baltimore. It's too quick and underwritten to be highly entertaining, though it's nowhere near as bad as so many of the critics would have you believe. Perhaps this merely competent Drama/Thriller from Director James McTeigue (V For Vendetta- Loved it, Ninja Assassin- Hated it) should have gone straight to video- it just has that kind of "not fully realized" feel to it that those inclined may feel more receptive to as a rental.
Cusack never feels natural (or looks comfortable) in the role, while co-star Evans continues to shine in nearly every role I can remember him in- he's my pick to be the next James Bond. Alice Eve is Cusack's love interest while Brendan Gleeson makes a few appearances as Eve's father.
There are a couple of "what the hell just happened?" moments that I'll chalk up to editing gaffes, the characters are short on development across the board and the second act felt severely lacking- it's one of those movies which could use and extra ten minutes of exposition to catch it's breath. Unkle's "Burn My Shadow" kicks in with the credits which had me shaking my head.
It's an OK time passer with solid production values that never gets downright stupid.
6.5 out of 10
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