Well,I can't say it's ALL Keanu's fault

Rating: 5/10 (13 December 2005)

This movie adaptation of the popular comic book of the same name is just entertaining enough to not be a complete drudge,but it's hardly perfect.Anti-hero,demon-expelling private detective John Constantine(Keanu Reeves,curious casting by those who've read the comic book,as well as to the legions of people who do not regard his acting abilities very highly)is contacted by a distressed police detective(RAchel Weisz,who is as compelling as she is lovely MHO)whose twin sister seems to have killed herself. She believes that her sister's death was not a suicide,because if it were,per Catholic tradition(actually,I believe it's fairly common of a belief in ALL major,mono-theistic religions),then her sister would go to Hell, since suicide is considered a mortal sin.
PLenty of cool imagery and a harsh music and sound effects track both add character and ambiance to this film. The stories are interesting. So what went wrong? It would be tempting to lump this all on the square shoulders of Mr.Reeves,and while he is not particularly stellar here,I don't feel that he quite ruined this either,because his brooding lack of verbosity may actually BE what a character like Constantine needed.
To be sure,Keanu DOES seem to lack the gravitas or wit that a hard-bitten,seemingly doomed cynic who just happens to be doing God's work should have. But I also think that really,outside of Weisz,Peter Stormare(as a leering Satan)and Tilda Swinton(as the gender-neutral Archangel GAbriel),the acting here is pretty spare and strangely almost incongruent with the way this film is paced. It almost feels like this would've worked better on the big screen if it were animated INSTEAD of live-action. Also,the script seems to be just filler between supernatural confrontations,bridges to the end of the story rather than telling anything particularly interesting about any of the players involved,save maybe Constantine himself.
There was an interesting story here,and plenty of eye-candy,but it seems to lack much life. I can honestly say I'm happier I rented this than went to the cineamaplex,though I think I could've waited for this go to cable and would've been no less disappointed or more pleased.