Dangerous Habits...

Rating: 6/10 (13 September 2005)

"Dangerous Habits" is the title of the Hellblazer graphic novel upon which "Constantine" is based. It is also a decent description of the pattern that Hollywood has recently been taking to adapting graphic novels. While I do accept that movies that are adapted from novels need a little trimming, Hollywood had the habit of re-writing the whole premise to make it "original". "Sin City" was really the one true exception, but in turn, it almost created a backlash for the director.
The cast is (for the most part) exceptional. Rachel Wiesz as the detective with an unknown power is charming as always. Tilda Swinton does her androgynous turn as the angel Gabriel, Djimon Hounsou as the African mystic Midnite is perfect, and Peter Stomare, a great character actor recently seen as the torturer in "The Brothers Grimm", puts a nice touch on the Satan character. Heck, even Gavin Rossdale from Bush is fun as the half-breed demon Balthazar.
But unfortunately, Keanu Reeves is cast as Constantine--mistake one. Anyone who has read Hellblazer knows that even in the dreariest of moments, Constantine has a little life in him. Reeves, on the other hand, decides to redo Neo as a psychic detective with wood in his heart. Not good. Mistake two--the script falls on its face. We never truly understand why Satan and his minions want to torture Constantine so bad. The explanation given was so weak that Satan would have a grudge on many more people than just Constantine. Also, Constantine from the novel was always selfish, and would always use magic to resolve his problems, which only created more problems for himself and those he loved. Not necessarily in this case. In this movie, he is a relatively moral character. The role of the other characters are pretty much warped from the original story. Finally, by trying to use elements of one novel with a mutation of another ("Dangerous Habits" and "Son of Man", respectively), the filmmakers cram too much in to even develop any characters.
On the whole, Constantine is a relatively fun flick, but a)check your logic in at the front desk, and b) Hellblazer fans should think twice before seeing it.