Roll over Neo! Constantine smokes out Evil and flips a bird at it!

Rating: 9/10 (27 February 2005)

I don't know what's the critics' problems are, maybe they recall "St. Augustine In Hell" from Sting and realise from David Foxx' monologue/soliloquy that critics are part of Hades' heavy diet, but for me this movie rocks as much as the first Matrix and the 1st half of the 2nd Matrix (the rest stunk plot-wise, but that's another story)! This was a great way for Keanu to break away from the encoding of that technobabbble, something far more organic yet just as philosophic...
Can you really blame the character of becoming a lung cancer victim before he reaches 40? After seeing all of the demons that he has? They say the cleft on your top lip is an angel's finger-imprint to remind you not to let on what you were taught in Heaven before you came to Earth, but while John may have that cleft they forgot to repress his knowledge and it nearly drove him insane - in fact, his parents thought he was and he nearly lost his life for it.
This movie is heavily Catholic, so those who get offended by that kind of dogma, run, OK? On the other hand, if you are Catholic this flick may offend you, too, it requires some real open-mindedness! For me, Rachel Weisz is highly over-rated, she lacked the oomph of sexual tension that was supposedly implied with Keanu/Constantine - she did a better job in "Runaway Jury" and the "Mummy" series - what she did show is that she can be a great replacement for the current actress handling Witchblade...
Keanu as the tortured exorcist is excellent (I understand the original character was British, so what? Sometimes ignorance is bliss! I know the original Blade in "Tomb Of Dracula" comics and the upgrade in film is WAY better) and his dismissive attitude to demons even under attack is astounding yet hilarious - the usual reaction to any Garth Ennis endeavor! Garth created "Hitman," "Preacher," among others in the comics and their content usually makes demons blush, and if he's handling the translation of his character from book to screen then step back and give him some slack! Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnite was good too but under-utilised and i hope he's exploited more if sequels are in the offing, as there should be! I liked how Hell is ruled by "Lou" who looks like a Sopranos-reject, but the classic part and essential Garth Ennis was when Constantine was floating to heaven and he gave Lucifer the finger! I would watch the movie over and over just to savour the irony of that part of the picture, LMAO/ROTF This picture is also a great way to scare people into stop smoking, I say it's a great picture all around and get out and see for yourself today! http://www.tinyurl.com/3464k/