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''I guess God has a plan for all of us.''
''God's a kid with an ant farm, lady. He's not planning anything.''
Based on the DC/Vertigo comic book Hellblazer and written by Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Capello, Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine , who has literally been to hell and back
Keanu Reeves: John Constantine
Constantine was the Roman emperor who recognized Christianity and made if possible for the Church to move from the underground into the public arena. He did it out of convenience, thinking that it would be easier to work with the Christian church than try to fight it. He lived most of his life as a ruthless leader who gave the orders to kill even members of his family. Constantine accomplished much good in his life, even though he had what most would say were impure motives.
But the Roman Constantine is not the same as the same-named title character of the new film, Constantine from DC-Vertigo Comics and Warner Brothers Pictures. Or is he? John Constantine, from the comic novels Hellblazer is doomed to hell when he dies. His situation may be hopeless, but he operates as if he could buy his way into heaven by doing enough good by removing enough evil from the world. He's a chain-smoking, hard-drinking, rude and uncaring man who is the hero of our film.
His motivation is mysteriously shrouded. He's constantly being told that what he's doing has no effect on him going to Heaven or not, but he does so anyway, as Gabriel so eloquently puts it, ''You're Fucked!'' .
It's not like we're talking about helping old ladies do their shopping, he's fighting demons and the forces of darkness, having to lay his hands on holy water and appropriate weapons in a holy war of havoc. This is dangerous work, Gods work that has already earned the residence and number of Hell's populace. Since that's where he's destined to go, why honk off the locals who are already going to torture you for eternity anyway?
We're to believe that he is developing certain feelings towards Angela through the movie. We know this because he kisses her once. And he considered asking her to get naked, sigh. That's it, that's the lengths of the character development in this direction, and I think its a bold move, to give him a sense of humour.
I always love the part also where he traps a spider under a glass, then blowing smoke into it's confines, wittingly says, ''Welcome to my life..., it's priceless and it never ceases to crack a smile on my wryly curving lips.
Also supporting him in his adventure, are powerful greats including my fave Rachel Weisz (Angela), Djimon Hounsou (Papa Midnite), Tilda Swinton (Gabriel), Peter Stormare (Satan), and even Shia LaBeouf (Constantine's sidekick Chaz), all delivering turn up performances that range from strong to excellent.
''Angels and Demons can't cross over onto our plane. So, instead we get what I call half-breeds. The influence peddlers. They can only whisper in our ears. But a single word can give you courage, or turn your favorite pleasure into your worst nightmare. Those with the demon's touch like those part angel, living alongside us. They call it the balance. I call it hypocritical bullshit.''
Constantine packs a punch at it's respective target audience.
Perhaps also a direct relation can be made to relapsed catholics and moderate Christians. I found the story fascinating and one of depth even though I know of more extreme constituencies that would readily claim to be offended by everything portrayed within the movie.
It speaks to the daily struggle that believers have to reconcile modern lifestyles with their fledgling faith and their own state of health and mind. Even though the believer's reality is cast in a more literal, exaggerated form, the main points are not lost in my opinion. Here are some of the important ones: No one great or small should claim to know the true will or pretend to understand God. If they cross that threshold where they truly believe they have a personal understanding of God and His wishes, they are rightly deemed to be quite mad and should be confined to a small padded room as soon as possible. No exceptions.
There is a purpose and direction in everyone's lives. Death is not necessarily the final goal or destination but one where the Journey ultimately is valued more that the end conclusion.
Attentions are still bestowed upon us all on an individual basis even while globular events both bad and good are occurring all the time. The individual pieces of the world mosaic are not overlooked or forgotten. An accounting will inevitably be made of each of us because that is the way of this world. If we allow the fear of personal failures to overwhelm our lives and let addictions however insidiously fixate us to the point of complete immobility, the cost may still be our very soul, in this case John's soul, who he fights to gain a place for his soul in the afterlife to come.
John, let's face it is a cynical exorcist who only does his job to reach heaven by banishing half-breed demons that walk the Earth back to the fiery chasms from whence they came. When he is summoned upon by a LAPD detective investigating the apparent suicide of her twin sister, the two stray between this world and the next, realizing the balance between good and evil is upset and in a kind of upheaval state.
As flimsy as that premise sounds, and with no apparent villain until the third final Act, Constantine still blasts across the screen, with Director Francis Lawrence unafraid to get his hands dirty, he unrelentingly puts the camera in the middle of the action. Some scenes are simply beautifully executed. The opening scene springs to mind, or the slow-motion sequence in the bathtub, challenging the realm of acceptability in what's essentially an action movie with supernatural overtones. Of course this means some things get murky or diluted, we could without a few needless special effects, for example, or lose a silly voice now and again.
''I used to pretend that I didn't - that I didn't see things.''
But let's just say John Constantine is one hell of an anti-hero. Exorcising demons is one thing, sticking your feet in cold water and staring at a cat to go to Hades for a casual acquaintance is something else entirely. Think what you like about Keanu Reeves' acting abilities, he's always there to make your time a cool slick one, and here he makes the unlikeable likeable, despite pronouncing every syllable he's given. His tone is offhand and bleakly hilarious (shades of Neo) and keeps us distanced enough to stay rapt for the duration. Rachel Weisz however is something of a revelation, her quiet, introspective role is the best in the film and she really keeps us anchored throughout.
The hard sell of switching former blond Liverpudlian John Constantine into a well-toned LA denizen is no sin, the vast backdrop adding much-needed depth to a thin story which needs to be layered with caricatured priests, sidekicks, and wacky side characters to maintain any form of lucidity. Still Constantine is very much a love/hate movie, and even those on the negative side of the camp cannot fault it for it's artistic vision and ideologies.
''This is Constantine. John Constantine. Asshole.''
8/10
