 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
Constantine
Directed by Francis Lawrence
 Keanu just hates baddies trying to steal his lighter...
Hoorah! Another film based on a comic book, this time the DC/Vertigo comic Hellblazer. But for a change I was actually looking forward to this adaptation thanks to an intriguing and decidedly creepy trailer featuring Keanu Reeves as John "Constantine", a man with the ability to see the half-breed angels and demons living on Earth disguised as humans.
Yep, it certainly looked like Constantine had potential, especially if, like me, you dig films featuring exorcisms and plenty of mystical mumbo-jumbo culminating in the ultimate battle between heaven and hell. Alright!! A suitably depressed looking Constantine (Keanu Reeves) puffs away on yet another cigarette despite the fact he is dying from lung cancer. He's been seeing things he doesn't want to see ever since he was a little kid, the constant sight of demons eventually driving him to suicide. The attempt failed but now Satan (Stormare) has him marked as one of his own, much to Constantine's despair. He now spends his life, what there is left of it, trying to earn a place in heaven by sending demons back to hell. Only problem is, these entities appear to be getting more powerful. Or is the barrier between hell and Earth getting weaker?
At first he is reluctant to help scrupmy cop Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz). She's convinced that her twin sister Isabel (also played by Weisz), a devout Catholic, would never have committed suicide, that somehow she was murdered. But it turns out Isabel had also been seeing the demonic creatures all her life, maybe she just couldn't take it anymore.
This is the director Francis Lawrence's debut film, (he's best known for directing music videos like Justin Timberlake's Cry me a River) and he's done a good job. The film looks great, the special effects in particular are outstanding. Ok, I would have preferred a few more chills, a less convoluted plot and (a major gripe of mine!) a lot less mumbling, the culprit in this case being Constantine's sidekick and chauffeur Chaz (Shia LaBeouf). But I still had a good time with this supernatural thriller and as a two-hour anti-smoking commercial it works a treat! And don't be too keen to be the first out of the cinema. Hang around until the end of the credits for an extra little tit bit!
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