Constantine
The movie starts off with a brooding character, who introduces himself as “John Constantine, Asshole.” Within his first few minutes on screen he is exorcising a demon from a possessed young girl. We find out from Constantine, after the exorcism, that this was an unordinary case of demon possession. This then sets the mood for the whole film, namely the theme of balance, in this case between good and evil. The players in this balance are called ‘Half-breeds,’ not fully human nor fully Demon or Angel. Constantine is one such man that can see these ‘half-breeds,’ a man that is fighting the traditional catholic views of the afterlife, a man who committed suicide and returned, one who is destined to go to hell, a man who is trying to BUY his way into heaven.
This is a typical American movie, with some very good special effects and a rather average script. As a reader of the comic that this movie is adapted from, I am horribly disappointed; as a movie fan, I thought the film was an enjoyable exploration of Demonic and Angelic themes, with the human soul caught in the middle. Keanu Reeves’ performance was nothing new, but rather a visit to his old character of Neo from The Matrix, albeit shaded differently for this movie. I recommend to any lover of sci-fi action, to see this movie for its entertainment value, but don’t expect to find much more. With Constantine on his journey of self-redemption are his understudy of sorts, Chas and detective Angela Dodson. Rachel Weisz acted adequately for this movie, though any more and she might have been misplaced. The theme of the movie can be summed up by this quote, “What if I told you that God and the Devil made a wager, a kind of standing bet for the souls of mankind?” To call this movie a masterpiece would be a lie, but to say that is was not entertaining would also be a lie. Great visuals, average script, usual Keanu quips and a smattering of action equals an average film-goer’s dream.
Alex
