Product: Constantine [Blu-ray] (2012)
Rating: 4.0
Decadently dashing, but decidedly doomed Demon Destroyer.
John Constantine sees demons.He argues with them, dispatches them to hell, oh yes and occasionally even sleeps with them. He's a man on a mystical mission armed to his nicotine stained teeth with gold crucifix guns, chattering fright beetles and enough holy water to float even the Vatican for a month. Despite his laudable focus on ridding our Earthly plane of the foul miscreants, Constantine isn't a very likeable guy. He's not a noble priest exorcising a pea soup swilling teen of evil nor a sunny cheerleader who stakes Vampires. Constantine prowls the streets as a tortured, demon bedding, chain smoking rude guy who pretty much doesn't care anymore, because he really shouldn't even be here. His supernatural gifts are firmly tied up with his secret past, and those decisions both haunt him and drive him forward all at the same time.Keanu Reeves is again the "chosen one", and trades in his Matrix sunglasses and black trench coat for cigarettes and a black suit. Fans of his from the Matrix movies can't get away from the feel that this is Neo battling demonic forces instead of cybernetic ones. However, Reeves performance is meatier and more confident and the "whoa" factor of his Bill & Ted days is thankfully missing here. He may never win an Oscar, but he's a decent enough actor and likable enough to get him over the rough spots. Rachel Weitz shines in a dual role and her depth as an actress is developing nicely. Art design and the visuals effects in this film are stunningly beautiful. When used judiciously and to serve the story, digital effects don't have to make a film look like an expensive video game and Constantine's visual FX crew should be praised. We've seen glimpses of Heaven & Hell many times in movies and here they've been reworked yet again and effectively so.Think of Constantine as a pumped up, action laden FX driven version of The Exorcist. This film undoubtedly will never attain that classic level, however the philosophical issues of good and evil and heaven and hell are played here with the right mixture of seriousness and entertainment to satisfy any horror fan who likes films dealing in matters of biblical proportions.