Product: Constantine [Blu-ray] (2012)
Rating: 4.0
Hella Interesting But for the Plotholes!
Sadly I missed out on the Hellblazer series by DC Comics under the Vertigo label when this film was first released. Based on these great graphic novels. Constantine is about a hard-smoking & drinking guy who is not just an exorcist, but a guy who can see the Other Side. In the film's mythology, both heaven and hell are in place with Earth. Hell looks like L.A. during a nuclear holocaust. So what else is new?Anyway, the film does have its share of plotholes which I found distracting. These guys are scavenging around a junk yard in Mexico when a board breaks and a guy pulls out a knife wrapped in a Nazi flag and immediately becomes possessed by it. The Sword is explained later in the film but not the Nazi connection. How did it get there? Did the Nazis use these artifacts?When our young possessed man walks, cattle fall dead at his feet which is a cool effect but not many others drop dead, just animals. Huh? OK, I can live with that.Rachael Weisz is the police detective whose twin sister dies jumping off a building. I did note in these kinds of movies, glass breaking and lots of water ensue. Quite interesting how the director uses these ploys to try to evoke mood and mythology. At times it works, as with the green-eyed cat used by Constantine to check out Hell. How Rachel's character's twin knows Constantine is never explained, either.Despite the insipid acting of a police detective (I mean, would you be an L.A. cop and let yourself be placed in a tub of water by a guy who lives above a bowling alley? Yes, suspension of disbelief, but really now), the on-again-off-again Gabriel angel and the under-appreciated Shia LeBoeff, the special effects, the story and the mood went at a decent pace. Enough to keep you interested in what happens next and the surprising but underwhelming ending.Keanu Reeves is his usual over-serious self, does a great conflicted character as he tries to buy his way into heaven despite the demerit suicide of his younger life. Long story.My DVD had an alternate ending which was "OK" but still left me wanting. The deleted scenes were thankfully deleted. :PI'll probably pick up the Garth Ennis graphic novels first and watch this again. Not a bad entry into the Constantine mythology.Better:John Constantine, Hellblazer: BloodlinesJohn Constantine, Hellblazer: Dangerous HabitsJohn Constantine, Hellblazer: Rake at the Gates of Hell