Product: Constantine [Blu-ray] (2012)
Rating: 3.0
Killed By Hollywood.
The premise behind Constantine is terrific. A downbeat cynic with a grudge against his creator is given the power to help maintain the balance between good and evil on earth in an effort to "buy" his way into heaven. That says a lot since most of us who do have faith pray with basically selfish motives, then act as though we're doing it to glorify God. Also, I thought the concept of Constantine's smoking captured mankind's affection for spite in a very clever and funny way. Add to that the idea of "half-breeds" living among us and "the wager", and this movie is, theologically, darn interesting.The problem with Constantine, like so many other big-budget hollywood productions, is that it tries to satisfy all audiences by blending all genres. Sometimes that works, but not here. Constantine is not scary as a horror movie, and it's humor works more in its recurring gags than its intended comic relief. Granted I never read the comic book, but even if this is a faithful adaptation, a seasoned crew should know what wouldn't work in a transfer to the big screen. Comic relief characters are overused anyway, being that they distract more from the story than they add to it.Keanu Reeves was a good choice for the lead, but the show is nearly stolen by Tilda Swinton's gender-bending Gabriel. Always classy and fun, Tilda injects the most vitality into Constantine despite her only being present in three scenes! She and Gavin Rossdale appear to be the only ones smart enough to not take their roles too seriously.