Every aspect is well done

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2005)

From the first frame until the last, Constantine entertains. The special effects are well used and not overblown. The screenplay is very witty and the visuals compliment it well (if you are very observant of the scenes you will be awarded with some really hilarious subtle details). The film is just as entertaining as a summer blockbuster, has the intelligence of a thinking man's thriller, and has more scares (well engineered ones at that)than any of these schlocky horror flicks of the recent months (Boogeyman, the Grudge, etc.) The imagery is also very intense (a fight scene near the end in a Hospital is simply jaw dropping and is worth the price of admission alone.) The smaller roles, Midnight, Satan, Balthazar (Bush's Rossdale takes quite an impressive turn here), and Gabriel steal the scenes they are in easily (Peter Stormare's Satan in particular, one of the best incarnations of the Devil in cinema history). Rachel Weisz is solid, as is Keanu. A lot of people don't like Keanu because he lacks the seriousness of someone like like Clive Owen or Sean Penn. Well luckily, the screenplay isn't all too serious and Reeves is just as much fun to watch as the anti-hero as he was in Speed or the Matrix. I can't imagine why this film is getting as low marks as it is, even if people find Reeves unwatchable the story is solid as is the visuals. Go see Constantine and decide for yourself.