Not exactly faithful, but I'll be damned

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2005)

Constantine is a curious little creation. Prior to release, odds were definitely stacked up against it. Sworn followers of the graphic source material were slitting their wrists over character and location changes, Keanu was seemingly pulling a hat trick of duds following the Matrix sequels; and the last time Akiva Goldsman was let anywhere near a comic book movie the results were too dire to even contemplate (file under: Batman & Robin).
Then praise be the gods the final product delivered and then some. Constantine is a rugged, bumpy ride, an entirely different breed of blockbuster that hits you like facer's to a fan. Commercial films like this don't come along very often. Just the fact the main character smokes incessantly is a breath of fresh air. It's this undemanding, all-demanding, irony that elevates Constantine above the crowd, a gnarly marrying of ideas that somehow manages to pull together into a comprehensible chain of events.
John Constantine has been through hell and back. A cynical exorcist who only does his job to reach heaven by banishing half-breed demons that walk the Earth back to the fiery chasms from whence they came. When he is summonsed upon by a LAPD detective investigating the 'suicide' of her twin sister, the two stray between this world and the next, realising the balance between good and evil we've enjoyed is coming to an end.
As flimsy as that premise sounds -and with no apparent villain until the third act- Constantine still barrages across the screen, director Francis Lawrence unafraid to get his hands dirty and put the camera in the middle of the action. Some scenes are simply beautifully done. The opening scene springs to mind, or the slo-mo job in the bathtub, challenging the realm of acceptability in what's essentially an 'action movie with supernatural overtones'. Of course this means some things get lost: we could without a few needless special effects, for example, or lose a silly voice now and again.
But let's just say John Constantine is one, ahem, hell of an anti-hero. Exorcising demons is one thing, sticking your feet in cold water and staring at a cat to go to Hades for a casual acquaintance is something else entirely. Think what you like about Keanu Reeves' acting abilities, he's always there to make your time enjoyable, and here he makes the unlikeable relatable, despite pronouncing every syllable he's given. His tone is offhand and bleakly hilarious (not a far cry from Neo) and keeps us distanced enough to stay rapt for the duration. Rachel Weisz however is something of a revelation, her quiet, introspective role is the best in the film and she really keeps us anchored throughout.
The hard sell of switching former blond Liverpuddlian John Constantine into a well-toned Los Angelian is no biggy; the vast backdrop adding much-needed depth to a thin story which needs to be layered with caricatured priests, sidekicks, and wacky side characters to maintain any form of lucidity. Still Constantine is very much a love/hate movie, and even those on the negative side of the camp cannot fault it for trying.
In fact, I enjoy the roughness of the movie. Its black, bleached, dare I type Gothic, creations are something you wouldn't expect from a studio system that is becoming increasingly reliant on the cheap sell or Jessica Alba in a bikini. Through all of its detouring and fantastical set design, the film is about people. One man trying to find some form of redemption. The ending is just so brilliantly done, everything left unsaid, and if something this blustering doesn't get a sequel when the likes of Anaconda and Agent Cody Banks do, it makes me want to cry.