Dude, this one ain't bad

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2005)

A pleasant surprise. Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine, an ordinary guy who leads a very extraordinary life dealing in exorcisms and the occult. According to the story, both heaven and hell are real, as are demons and angels, both of whom not only exist, but they even walk the earth. Most people can't see them, but for some reason John Constantine was born with the ability to see demons and angels for what they really are. After a suicide attempt briefly sends a young Constantine to hell, John learns more about heaven and hell than your average everyday guy was ever supposed to know. He also knows that, as a suicide, that he's damned to spend the afterlife in hell so he devotes his life to earning his way back into heaven by performing exorcisms and protecting our world from demons.
The movie gets marketed as a sort of action-horror film, but the truth is that it's neither. First of all, it's not scary. There are no real frights involved and hell is presented in too much of a matter-of-fact manner to be considered scary. And the movie is all about ideas, story and dialogue, rather than action. In situations where you'd usually expect a knock 'em out action sequence, you instead find a compelling conversation. Some people may be put off by this, but I liked it.
The biggest surprise to me was Keanu Reeves' performance. I've never been much of a fan of the actor and I walked into the theater expecting to find Keanu lacking as Constantine but I really got into his portrayal of Constantine. I suppose if I were to nitpick I might say that he looked a tad too healthy to be playing a man dying of lung cancer. An actor with a more rugged complexion might have been more believable. It's a minor complaint though.
On the down side, there's a few dangling plot threads that are never really explained. Also, the ending wasn't bad, but Constantine seemed way out of character. I just couldn't see it happening.
Overall, though, a good movie. 7/10