Product: Constantine [Blu-ray] (2012)
Rating: 4.0
Cosmic delight!
Sorry, I don't get all the bad reviews here about this film. "Camp-fest?" No, not really. Not at all. Maybe that's someone's wishful thinking? "Juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation?" Huh? Methinks perhaps the movie hit too close to someone's bone? It's an action thriller, and a very good one. Even the bad reviews about Keanu Reaves don't make much sense to me. Yeah, it's Neo again, and thank God, he's not doing any Kung Fu this time. Those Matrix movies deteriorated from the first one into the most dismal action films of all time. I rate the third one as perhaps the worst movie of all time, so it was fine with me if the original Neo cool is resurrected out of that ashheap in a fresh new universe devoid of all that spinning-off-the-walls kick boxing. So what if it's deadpan Keanu? It works. This character is a man who understands that life and the emotions are ephemera and are to be experienced mostly for their desperate opportunity, and that redemption in the end is a very iffy proposition, so yeah, he's not flexing the emotional muscle a lot-it's not on his mind. When the movie was almost over, it suddenly occurred to me that no kiss had taken place. Wow, what a fantastic accomplishment that was and how great that Keanu didn't insist on one being written into the script! That alone says something to me about Keanu as an actor. Do you think any of the other major male star's agents would have let a pucker on Rachel's thick blooms slip away? No gratuitous romance! Thank you! I get enough of that everywhere else.On second thought, maybe I do understand the negative reactions and confusions of other viewers. You have to have some knowledge of the mythology that the Bible was initially built upon to understand the events in this movie--although of course, that mythology has been transposed in this movie--sometimes ridiculously as per the genre--into a comic book situation with a comic book main character. In this day when, for good or for bad, most young Americans probably know more about the traditions and details of Star Trek than the details of the so-called great books of their culture, it should probably be no surprise that the clues to meaning in this film are completely unfathomed by perhaps the majority of its viewers. Many of the Judeo-Christian references are probably no more comprehensible to many, if not most viewers, than if the details were based upon the Indian Mahabharata.I found the film intriguing--a really fascinating play with the Judeo-Christian mythology. I've not read the comics, nor even seen them. Why would I need to? This is a tight script. The universe of fallen angels and a uniquely redeemed mankind in a rigorously ruled chess match where some are trying to cheat. This is pure Book of Genesis undertext with Miltonian coloring. This is the universe that bred mainstream American Christian culture. Like I say, you need to be Biblically literate to understand it. The Book of Job would be a good place to start, and Genesis, of course. You might even start with Milton's "Paradise Lost." It's all part of the Genesis "myth" as it has evolved to today. And then, there are a few details which come out of the "popular" mythology rather that the great book itself.Being familiar with the mythology, I found nothing confusing about this plot, and no wasted imagery. The special effects are spectacular. The direction is fine, and some of the acting absolutely superb. Tilda Swinton was a crisp delight as Gabriel (oh those wings!) and Rachel Weisz, yes, she was great as everyone says, but Peter Stormare's Satan was pure genius. People who think this film poorly directed should really study that Satan scene. That was a difficult character and very difficult scene to pull off successfully without flopping back on the stupid old overblown stereotype and required extreme precision by both actor and director to keep it original and as intense as it needed to be. Had a great, unexpected laugh in that scene too. Maybe Keanu's not the best of actors. I don't know, and wouldn't care. Maybe he's the Gary Cooper of our day. Keanu carried me through this film from beginning to end and I enjoyed the whole trip, so he did a great job as far as I'm concerned. I was captivated by this fresh fleshing out of the Genesis-Revelations myth, much the same as, say, I enjoy the fleshing out of the vampire myths by Anne Rice. It gave it a tactile, up to date reality. A mix of "The Matrix," "What Dreams May Come," "The Sixth Sense," and "The Omen." Terrific. Recommended for viewing pleasure.