Not bad for the uninitiated

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2005)

The eponymous hero of the piece John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) walks the line between Heaven and Hell, trying in his own way to tip the cosmic battle towards the light. Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) crashes into his world after the suicide of her deeply devout, yet disturbed identical Twin sister Isobel.
On the story, I'll write no more as being a spoiler junkie myself I have ruined many a film by reading the synopsis/ending before watching a single minute, and also I am sure greater minds than mine have outlined it more succinct terms than I.
My comments on this film come from a relatively uninitiated point of view. I knew nothing of John Constantine before the release of this movie and to be honest I would not have looked at it if the actors involved had not interested me.
Keanu Reeves has always been on the receiving end of criticism, but lets be fair to the guy He has been around for quite a while now and, although he is no Tom Hanks or Harrison Ford, I don't see his star fading anytime soon. The John Constantine he portrays owns a lot to his Matrix Neo (in my opinion) with the ascension at the end providing some Matrix III deja vu shivers. He is cold, emotionless and distant. He is dammed and so wishes not to communicate with mankind in general because he knows his fate unlike the rest of us poor souls. I like his character and his portrayal of the situation. Rachel Weisz's character is not given room to do anything. I must admit I read the novelisation before seeing the film and missed the background scenes used in the book to flesh out Angela and her sister. Saying that, this was an OK film for her but I feel she could have been given more room to make an impact.
Over all, I liked this film. You like, you don't there seems to be no halfway house and makes no difference to me. All I would suggest is that if you liked it, read the book it will make you appreciate it more.