A fun, thought-provoking ride

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2005)

The comments provided here on Constantine demonstrate why IMDb, and similar websites that post messages without editorial filters, are losing any real usefulness. Although this movie was receiving favorable ratings, the initial comments were quite negative. This makes no sense, except as a posting board for irresponsible adolescents (of all ages).
Constantine is a very well made movie, with an engaging story, strong acting, and excellent special effects. Strongly negative comments about the movie are nonsensical: some viewers will be unhappy with the strong horror elements (the movie plays early on with the Exorcist theme), and others may be dismayed with some of the religious portrayals (e.g., the angel Gabriel, especially in her first scene). But there is nothing about this movie that deserves strongly negative comments. For those few that read the comic book and have commented here in that regard, get a life; no one else cares about those comparisons!
The movie opens with a very well done, if somewhat short, exorcism scene; scary enough to keep my wife, and those like her, away. Keanu Reeves does an excellent job playing Constantine, who can observe demons and angels on earth. A big part of the storyline has to do with how Constantine can "earn" his way into heaven. He is cynical about the religious perspectives on heaven and hell, but has serious pressure put on him to overcome his cynicism, and figure out how to escape immortal damnation. Adding to his angst is the fact that he knows heaven and hell exist; he has visited hell on more than one occasion, and one of the many excellent scenes in the movie is when we first go with him to view this movie's vision of hell.
The casting of the movie is absolutely top-rate. The angel 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 as memorable a character as I've seen on screen in a long time.
Peter Stormare's portrayal as Satan provides 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.
These two characters, so strongly deeply embedded in our society, will provoke very mixed reactions across the audience, and many of you will not be as awe-struck as I was with Swinton and Stormare's performances. But I do believe that all of you will agree that the portrayals are engaging, surprising, and very well directed.
Rachel Weisz also is extremely good in the lead female role. She is a police officer that has to investigate the apparent suicide of her twin sister, leading her to asking for assistance from Constantine. The story provides significant tension and moral questioning for her character.
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 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.
The end of the movie makes some important statements that I believe any open-minded Christian would be engaged and interested in. But it does this in a way that allows non-Christians (such as myself) to be equally as engaged and thought-provoked. This is a movie I'll see again (soon), and be thinking about and talking over with friends and family for a long time. It isn't that the movie is truly important in a religious sense, but rather that it is so entertaining, and presented in such an unusual and engaging way. Movies like this can be thought-provoking and engaging at many levels.
I give this movie 10 stars, as all elements of it are extremely well done, and very entertaining.