Fun for what it is

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2016)

This movie does a pretty good job of combining action and effects. I enjoyed it. I can't compare it to the comic because, although I've read several of the Hellblazer comics, the series felt aimless, and I stopped pretty soon after starting them. What this film does well is to tell a bizarre story of a battle between demons and humans (with some angels to even things out) with some, albeit predictable, excitement. Unfortunately, it isn't consistent. Some moments in the film went so far beyond credibility that even the actors couldn't pretend to believe it anymore. A further problem, but a common one for the comic-book-turned-into-film genre (so we can't blame this movie for it) is some of the corniest lines ever. At one point, a demon talks about how much he wants one of the characters to die, and he uses the phrase "finger-lickin' good." Yes, the writers actually put that one in. The acting is sometimes good and sometimes not so good. Keanu Reeves does a mediocre job as usual and Shia Lebeouf plays the same annoying character he played in I, Robot. Rachel Weisz by far outshined all the others in the production, even though she stumbled over some of the more unrealistic exchanges. All in all, I enjoyed this film and would recommend it as a decent time killer at most.