Beautiful to watch, great direction, but story is muddled to say the least.

Rating: 5/10 (11 September 2007)

Constantine is initially enjoyable, but suffers by the end and becomes a complete mess, plot-wise. But what a beautiful movie to watch. Video director Francis Lawrence makes his feature film debut with this, and I'll be watching his work from this point on. I'm hoping he doesn't burn out and become yet another Hollywood hack, as Constantine was a very promising, yet very flawed, film.
Problems: It's based on a comic series that I must assume makes more sense than the script, which is intriguing at first (guy dies, goes to hell, then comes back, can see dead people, fights crime and demons....or something), but with all the convoluted plot points it almost completely implodes by the end, throwing any and all sorts of biblical good vs. evil esoterica you can stand--and a lot you can't.
Plusses: It's a GORGEOUS film to watch, even with the dark subject matter. David Fincher's Se7en wouldn't be an off comparison. Lawrence knows pacing as well, and lets scenes play out naturally, and the film is edited well as well.
Let's hope Lawrence pays closer attention to a tighter script for his future projects.