Product: Constantine [Blu-ray] (2012)
Rating: 4.0
Not Just Matrix Meets Religion
First off, don't believe everything you read about this movie. And, fans of the "Hellblazer" comics should just chill! Movies rarely stay true to their source material and if you can't handle that, then don't go to see the movie!Now, the movie, in my opinion, was pretty good. It's not the "Matrix," and it's not the "Exorcist," but its a pretty good sci-fi, horror, action, cross-genre movie. The character, John Constantine (Keanu Reaves), is a "detective-hitman" type who is commissioned by Heaven, Archangel Gabriel specifically (in this movie), to track down demons, "half-breeds" (half human-half demon), and other "ghoulie-ghosties" that come from Hell to wreak havoc among humanity. Once he has found these demons he is charged with returning them to their eternal damnation on the ethereal plane. John, its understood, happens to be very good at what he does. And, his motivation is fairly well explained in the script. This is why Lucifer himself comes to collect John's soul when he is near death.The script does play out well with a moderate plot that can adequately hold an audience's attention. The story isn't too contrived and has some foreseeable twists. I personally enjoyed the reference to the war between Heaven and Hell and how different demons and angels can be working for the advancement of their personal goals as well as for the general "good" or "evil." The "mythos" was very believable and reminiscent of other stories which deal with the "battle between good and evil."Rachel Weisz does an admirable job of playing the agnostic cop (Angela Dodson) who has denied her own ability to see the supernatural. She actually holds the script together with both her importance as a character and her strong performance. Tilda Swinton (Archangel Gabriel) gives an eerily unctous performance. She really captured the "androgenous-angelic" persona, the fervent zeal of a holy-warrior, and the prideful wrath which eventually leads to her downfall and trans-substantiation to human form.All in all, this movie was worth the student or matinee price of a ticket and was a good way to spend two hours on a lazy afternoon.