The Raven Reviews
ScreenRant
A bizarre mishmash of historical elements and subpar on-screen drama capped off with an underwhelming but serviceable performance from John Cusack
Full Review
| Original Score: 1.5/5
FoxNews.com
Despite Cuasck's occasional missteps as the writer, "The Raven" is an entertaining thriller.
Full Review
| Original Score: 5/10
CraveOnline
A formulaic murder mystery and a blasé, unenlightening look at the life of Edgar Allan Poe that could really have used an imp of the perverse.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/10
Paste Magazine
Despite the best atmospheric clichés the filmmakers could conjure (lanterns, fog, sewers), there isn't much suspense because you don't care much for the characters.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4.8/10
Irish Times
We really should end with some contrived reference to a Poe story. No burial would be premature enough. Will that do?
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Let's just be sure that from now on we let poor Edgar rest in peace until we have a really good reason to disturb him.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
What Culture
The inherently likeable Cusack fares surprisingly well in one of his darkest roles, but The Raven's clever premise is totally undermined by James McTeigue's tactless, bumbling direction.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/5
Scotsman
It's shot in the mix-mastered style of the recent Sherlock Holmes TV series, but you'd still need to be pretty weak and weary to sit through this.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
...this might be appropriate for an evening at home on Blu-ray.
Full Review
| Original Score: 5/10
Birmingham Post
[Poe] probably deserved better than this movie which turns his heritage into a sub Se7en-style serial killer thriller blended with a bit of Scream for not-so-good measure.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
TheShiznit.co.uk
The Raven is a movie with its wings clipped; a murder mystery that feels strangely subdued.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
Top Critic"The Raven," a feverish costume thriller, attempts to explain Poe's death by cobbling together spare parts from thrillers about serial killers.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
The Raven looks great and is well-paced, but a lack of a compelling resolution makes it an anemic effort.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/4
Sun Online
McTeigue's film inhabits a middle ground of being too morose for a crowd-pleaser in the style of Sherlock Holmes yet not dark enough for those wanting a seriously disturbing serial killer pic.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Daily Express
Cusack is fine as Poe but let down by a routine script that doesn't conjure up a character of great intrigue.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Doddle
Poe, not Conan Doyle? Cusack, not Downey? No wit, no fun, no engaging derring do? Beg pardon, Watson, we've stumbled into some foggy crime detective clone, 40 years too early. Best to move along ...
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/10
The director who stitched The Raven together has no idea how to frame or compose a scene, let alone 'grow' a film organically.
Full Review
| Original Score: 1.5/5
Film School Rejects
Why resurrect an American literary giant onscreen so he can help a police investigation? Sure, Poe essentially invented the detective genre, but come on.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/4
