Film review: Constantine.

What is it with Keanu and chairs? Johnny Mnemonic? Strapped to a chair while undergoing some vague and painful process (downloading data); The Matrix? Strapped to a chair while undergoing some vague and painful process (entering the Matrix); Constantine? You guessed it (stepping into Hell).

Most of the viewers of Constantine will come to the film having never seen the comic, Hellblazer, which it is is based upon. Be assured this film stands on it's own; in fact, viewers are probably better off not to have read the comic and to encounter Constantine without expectations; comparisons to older, existing material (in any which form) have never done a movie good.

So what's it about? Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine, who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles and, hopefully, towards salvation.


The casting of the movie is good enough in some regards (Reeves and Weisz), and rather inspired in others (Swinton, Stormare, Rossdale). The archangel Gabriel is extremely engagingly done by Tilda Swinton, a classic beauty that is somewhat androgynous in appearance, but whose voice is all female. This combination, along with some very abrupt and surprising dialog provide a truly memorable character.

Up there with Swinton's performance is Peter Stormare's portrayal of Satan, which also provides us with another very, very memorable character; two big reasons this movie deserves serious attention. Stormare's characterization of Satan is absolutely surprising, but at the same time very believable. Gabriel and Satan are both given subtle costuming and makeup that strongly assists in their unusual and memorable performances.


The sets are incredible, and their juxtaposition against one another ingenious. You get scenes from of a nuclear-style hell in all it's hideous glory paired with some of the classic noir elements -the LA apartments of the main characters- as well as the bright but sterile sets of the Catholic hospital and back rooms of a shopping center, where much of the action takes place.

The movie, in my opinion, is most interesting in how it takes all the elements of well-made modern movies (excellent special effects, plays on classic movie scenes, crisp action, and a strong storyline), combines these with the fun of a seemingly (at first) comic-book-level storyline and extremely unusual takes on religion (especially with the first meeting between Constantine and Gabriel), and ties these together at the end of the movie into a truly unusual, engaging and memorable finish.

A 78 out of 100.

Cheers