"Constantine"
Movie Review
by Eric Jeter
| *** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Keanu Reeves as JOHN CONSTANTINE Rachel Weisz as ANGELA DODSON/ISABEL DODSON Shia LaBeouf as CHAS CHANDLER Djimon Hounsou as MIDNITE Gavin Rossdale as BALTHAZAR Tilda Swinton as GABRIEL Rated R Opens February 18, 2005 Studio: Warner Bros. Directed by: Francis Lawrence Back to Movie Review Home Read more of Eric's reviews at www.permierereviews.com. |
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In the torrid tales of comic book adaptations, the physical powers of the very good and the very bad are exaggerated to ridiculous extremes, then brought to violent confrontation in mammoth morality plays. However, the new movie Constantine, based on the DC Comics title Hellblazer, disdains the idea of the usual costumed champions and cloaked criminals, putting forth instead a far more humanized world, where saint and sinner are less strictly defined and the most powerful forces lie in dark, demonic planes. For a comics-based movie, it is a potential-laden framework from which to work, and true to form the film produces a good share of astounding sights and slick scenes. But it also suffers from a madness that, quite unfortunately, holds it earthbound.
Conceptually, Constantine is strong, forging from the mystical superstitions of Catholic lore a story stained with human callousness and blackened by age-old entities of evil. John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is the film’s hero, an unchaste and irreverent malcontent, himself under the penalty of damnation but happily working out his own brand of atonement, blasting unholy beings back into hellfire. When he crosses paths with Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a cop investigating her sister’s suicide, the two fall headlong in a deep spiritual abyss, where they encounter creatures of untold wickedness.
In spite of his wayward ways, the Constantine character sparks fascination. He is the exact antithesis of the superhero; unkempt, haggard, consecrated by nothing more than his signature cigarette and open-handed mockery of all things sacred. But, it is his mission to save that somehow sanitizes his misdeeds; the freeing of souls that satisfies the penance he owes.
Almost immediately, however, Keanu Reeves limitations as an actor taint the finite appeal of this character. Perhaps better suited for roles where his natural listlessness is more appropriate (such as in The Matrix), Reeves performance is noticeably unnatural. His lines are often delivered just a few rpm’s above slurred speech, and his attempts to exude an edgy, disgruntled persona are flatly unconvincing. His weaknesses are especially apparent against the emotionally charged performance of Weisz and the smoothly delivered rhetoric of Djimon Housou, who plays a wily character named Midnite.
Fortunately, the weaknesses of Reeves are easily passed over, thanks to first time director Francis Lawrence’s ability to infuse every element of the film with style. Without borrowing too directly from The Matrix, he employs a shooting technique that conveys both cool (such as a still-motion sequence where Lucifer walks amongst icy shards of glass) and artistic (such as the unsettling suicide of Angela Dodson’s sister). He beautifully conceptualizes both water and fire, using their natural powers to create spectacular scenes awe and wonder.
Constantine’s computer-aided visuals are equally stunning. They are often delivered with an explosive abruptness, coming in short, consistent bursts, but never lacking for potency. At times they can arrest the senses, a fact attested to by the beautiful brilliance of angelic messengers and the windblown fury of hellish abodes. Although gruesome exhibits occur regularly, they lean more heavily towards grotesquerie than all out bloody gore.
Constantine may impress on many levels, but the development of its storyline is its greatest failing. The movie builds slowly, beginning with fractured characters and curious situations that laboriously make their way towards one another. With all its strange happenings and mystifying characters, the approach of an ominous outcome can be sensed. But at critical points the film spins out, straying into a forest of disarray. What was turning into a magnificent riddle, destined to solved in a spectacular finale, deteriorates into a string of odd developments that, while interesting, leave behind only foggy notions of what it all means.
At the very least, Constantine is an engaging anomaly to the comics universe, but one that leaves you with the gnawing impression that an opportunity for greatness was just squandered. It is likeable in many ways; can be loved in others, but it’s not able to fully exorcise its demons, leaving you debating the significance of what you’ve just seen.
