Movie Review: "Constantine"
Apparently Constantine is based on a comic book, Hellblazier, which I have never heard of, but kind of wish I had. This was an excellent film. Plenty of action, the romance with slight and out of the way, the acting was fair enough, it has some nice special effects and an actual plot.
John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a human psychic who sees things most people shouldn't. He casts demons out of people and the like. Seems that there is a wager between Heaven and Hell on how many souls each can get. But actual demons and angels cannot cross over onto the human plane only half-breeds can--this is a law called the balance. Constantine destroys those demons that upset the balance (I guess the angels always behave?). Constantine has come upon a bad spot in his life--he is dying of lung cancer, being an avid smoker, and even though he has served Heaven by getting rid of demons on the human plane for years, he is headed straight for Hell. He tried committing suicide as a child and was dead for 2 minutes--seems suicide is a guaranteed route to Hell. So as the tagline goes "Hell wants him. Heaven won't take him. Earth needs him."
The meat of the real plot seems to be that Constantine runs into a cop Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz). Angela is investigating the death of her twin sister Isabel who seemingly committed suicide. Isabel was also a strong psychic but instead of people believing what she saw was real--everyone was convinced she was crazy. Angela is convinced her sister didn't commit suicide because she was a devout catholic and of course they understand that suicide=Hell. Constantine has already been seeing unusual things like demons trying to cross over into the human plane, and wonders how this fits in. They get involved in more than they bargain for: a battle between Heaven and Hell and the Earthly Plane is the prize.
The movie has some good effects, a good script, and some good acting. The effects and cinematography was good. Their vision of Hell was terrific. Like Earth, but with wind, fire, and destruction. The special effects were a nice touch, not that over the top stuff that doesn't usually work. The script was good, not hokey or too comic bookish.
The acting was good. Keanu Reeves plays Constantine, this is his favorite character role and he is good at it. You know, the silent, suffering hero type.
Rachel Weisz plays the twins Isabel and Angela. I thought she played a good character--lost an the idea of what she has refused to see, confused about her sister's death, but still the good cop--tough and willing to battle.
Shia LaBeouf is Constantine’s sidekick--or cab driver that shows his mettle in the end. He is sort of the comic relief—sort of.
Djimon Hounsou is Midnight a bar owner who claims neutrality in the fight, but has the ability to help Constantine if he will.
Tilda Swinton plays an awesome and intriguing Gabriel (one of the best characters in my opinion) and Peter Stormare plays the devil, which he is great--it’s a small, yet important role and he does a superb job—more of a fun then serious character. He is gleeful at the idea of getting Constantine’s soul.
All in all I enjoyed this film. It does move rather fast and you have to keep up with it, but it is a lovely chaos. It has a good plot and script and the effects are not over done.
If you enjoy this type of fantasy/sci-fi film, then you will find no disappointment here.