Review: Constantine

Here is a review I wrote of the film Constantine.

Constantine, in the most basic sense, is an “angels and demons” movie set in a dark, present-day Los Angeles. This film is a cross pollination of the genres of Horror, Action/Adventure, Drama and the Super Hero movie.

Keanu Reeves stars as John Constantine, a weary-eyed and cynical man who walks the streets of L.A. in a dark metaphorical Limbo. With the paranormal ability to confront and see the supernatural, John works as a self employed spiritual cop, punishing misbehaved supernatural creatures who walk the earth—a realm the film tells us is susceptible to the influence of heavenly and devilish forces, but is not controlled by them. During the film, we squeamishly get to witness John at work as he performs exorcisms, wrestles with demonic manifestations on the street, and clairvoyantly travels to the upper levels of hell.

While battling baddies, John has the help of the archetypal sidekick, damsel in distress, and an assortment of themed weapons and gadgets à la James Bond or Batman (which makes sense, since I heard that this movie was based on a comic book). I found the multiple uses for holy water particularly interesting. I also found that the juxtaposition of seriousness and cheesy jokes gave the film a fun quality, despite its darker subject matter. Sure, this film had all the special effects and well-timed plot turns to be an entertaining action film in the same fashion as The Matrix or X-men, but for me, it was the personal story of John Constantine that kept me interested.

Constantine’s personal journey is mysterious, laced with a dark past and an uncertain future. His bleak predicament and bitter outlook on life had me pulling for him as the hero, wanting to see him gain purpose and motivation. The transformation he goes through is touching; for the more sentimental of us, there is even a bit of a love story to enjoy. Amidst the gritty presentation, and the grandiose and heavy-handed religious hinge-points, I found most surprising the underlying story about redemption and self-sacrifice.

So, is this film anything new? No. Does this film accurately portray what I believe about God or Christianity? Not exactly. But its creative re-packaging of the classic hero story and mindfulness of what good and evil forces can do in this world make it worth seeing. I will warn however, that if you are easily frightened, or avoid horror films, like I usually do, watch it with a trusted friend.

My rating: 3 out of 4 stars.

Enjoy the show!