Hell wants him. Heaven won’t take him. Earth needs him.
Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine, an edgy exorcist, in this film noir adaptation of the Hellblazer comic books and graphic novels. Armed with crucifixes, holy water, and mirrors, chain-smoking suicide survivor Constantine fights with satanic minions and rescues possessed mortals in modern-day Los Angeles. After Isabel Dodson’s (Rachel Weisz) unexplained suicide, her twin sister, LAPD detective Angela Dodson (guess who), joins forces with Constantine in order to solve her sister’s mysterious death. Together, they embark on a journey that literally takes them to hell and back, featuring the angel Gabriel (androgynous Tilda Swinton), the Spear of Destiny which apparently inflected Jesus’s deadly wounds, and the man downstairs himself.
On the surface, Constantine is a special effects laden mystery thriller that for the most part unfolds at a break-neck pace. However, this R-rated flick has more to offer than CGI demons and Rachel Weisz in a wet shirt. Constantine has more depth than you would expect from a movie made by a former music video director. Francis Lawrence, who directed for example Justin Timberlake‘s Cry Me a River video clip, made this movie, rich in symbolism and interesting even for nonbelievers. On the whole, the cast is doing a good job (the most kudos have to go to Rachel Weisz) and even though we can’t help but thinking that Keanu Reeves is still the One, he does a decent job portraying JC.
Constantine delivers gorgeous special effects combined with an original and intriguing storyline about salvation and forgiveness. Start your prayers.
(2.5 out of 4 nicotine patches)