Interesting but flawed Gothic comic book tale

Rating: 7/10 (1 April 2005)

Apparently God and the Devil made a bet. Not the one involving Job, but you'd think that after that debacle Satan would have learned his lesson. In any case, they both promised to stay in the background and simply influence people's actions, with the fate of mankind's souls being in a cosmic toss up. But every now and then, a demon decides to sneak around the rules.
Within this neutrality agreement lie certain people with the ability to see what's really happening behind the scenes. One of these gifted few is John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a chain-smoking world-weary rogue who uses his powers as a mercenary exorcist in Los Angeles. Constantine himself has been to Hell briefly, having committed the mortal sin of suicide before being saved by doctors, and now is trying to redeem himself by sending demons back where they came from. Recently diagnosed with lung cancer, it seems that time is running out for him to get back in the good graces of the Almighty.
His life becomes complicated with the arrival of Detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police officer whose twin sister recently committed suicide. Dodson suspects some sort of foul play is involved, and Constantine reluctantly is forced to agree when he notices a high amount supernatural activity in effect.
Realizing the balance is starting to shift toward the dark side, Constantine must decide if he can earn his way out of Hell on actions alone, or if there is something more to it then that.
"Constantine" is a movie that almost gets it right in terms of storytelling. Based on the DC Comic "Hellblazer," the film has all the prerequisites for a good fantasy-action tale. But it only scratches the surface in showcasing this world that the characters inhabit, instead relying on Gothic, moody film noir atmosphere.
First time director Francis Lawrence cranks up the action nicely, but is betrayed by a screenplay that assumes the audience is already familiar with the universe in which the story takes place. While it's nice to let the crowd fill in their own blanks in some cases, giving some meaning to the rules wouldn't hurt, either.
Also strange is the weird mix of Christianity with Eastern principles such as dualism, that is that evil and good have equal powers in the universe and both are necessary to balance each other out. The two religious views just don't mesh with each other, and as a result the story doesn't really capture either very well.
Reeves plays his role quite convincingly, perhaps because he already honed his "outcast Chosen One" skills during "The Matrix" trilogy. Burnt-out and perpetually throwing another cigarette in his mouth, at least when he's not coughing up lung tissue, Reeves manages to take a selfish, disreputable jerk and make him quite sympathetic. In the ten years since "Speed" was released, he has grown into the role of action star quite nicely.
Weisz basically does here what she did for Brendan Fraser in "The Mummy" movies  play second fiddle. While she does give Dodson some much needed angst, Weisz is trapped in stock character, and can't bring her to life. Far more interesting but sadly underused are Tilda Swinton as very androgynous angel Gabriel, and Peter Stormare who camps things up nicely as Satan. While more time with the former may have fleshed out the angel's motivations, too much more time with the latter may have worn out his welcome.
"Constantine" beckons for a greater story to be told with these characters, and with any luck there will be. Just a personal nitpick, however. How come movies such as these have to be engulfed in Catholic imagery? Are there no Methodists ready to kick demon butt? Just asking.
7 out of 10 stars. Reeves acquits himself nicely and the movie is still good despite a lackluster plot.