Product: Constantine [Blu-ray] (2012)
Rating: 4.0
Comic book exorcist!
If you want a really scary horror flick, look elsewhere. If you like semi-scary stuff with a conceptualized Heaven/Hell "Spiritual warfare" theme and you don't mind "comic book movies" then you should enjoy this.Reeves always gets his share of criticism for his acting or lack thereof, but he actually isn't bad in this - his character reminded me of the X-files' Fox Mulder, except darker with more character flaws. But it fit his mumbling stoic delivery better than "Neo" from the Matrix. His relationship with the female lead, played well by Weisz, is also very reminiscent of a post-X-files Platonic relationship. Their characters experience multiple fated meetings as the story unfolds which are warm and humorous.Reeves character, John Constantine, is an exorcist who seems to hate evil more than he loves good. He has experienced hell and fights against it's inhabitants, but he stubbornly rejects the self-sacrifice he knows he must make to attain paradise. Instead he embraces a suicidal lifestyle unbecoming of a true angel or saint. He becomes a boorish, grumpy chain-smoking "hired-gun" for the good guys rather than a virtuous, God-fearing hero. This is in part related by a very complex rendition of the Archangel Gabriel. He (or is it she?) is shown as being over-zealous to reveal both divine mercy and divine judgement on the entire world and plays a part in the very well-constructed climax of the film which left me guessing until the very end.There's some cheesy dialogue throughout and some incredible special effects that some may find to be over-blown. This movie is very much a fantasy of the comic-book variety and as such is not meant to be plausible; again, those desirous of a more serious treatment of demon-possession should check out "The Exorcism of Emily Rose."