constantine

This film got panned in the reviews which is a shame since, though isn't perfect by any stretch, the
idea behind it and the risks taken in the film make it worth watching.

The story is really the coolest part of this movie. Basically, God and Satan are using Earth as a
testing ground to see if people are inherently good or evil. They have angels and demons that can
come to earth and influence us either way but cannot directly interfere. Everything is fine as long
as the balance between the two forces is maintained. Constantine spends his days banishing
demons back to hell who have tried to upset the balance. What makes him ridiculously cool is that
he's bound to his fate though trying desperately to escape it in a classic comic book reluctant hero
set up. You see, humans aren't supposed to see the angels and demons on earth, but some
people can... a.k.a. psychics.

They drove him so crazy as a child that he committed suicide and was legally dead for two minutes.
In the Catholic faith, suicide is a damnable sin and sends you straight to hell. Do not pass go, do
not collect two hundred dollars. Anyway, he spent two minutes in hell which exists between
moments so he basically spend a lifetime down there being ripped apart by demons. Needless to
say, he came back totally messed up and doesn't want to go back to hell. Therefore, he does
"God's work" and banishes all these demons in order to earn a place in heaven. The problem is
that because he's only doing good things to save himself, they don't really count as good deeds.

Anyway, once you get the basic rules of the world, the plot gets more complicated. I think one of
the reasons people didn't like this one is because it's really dense. There are a lot of things that
you have to focus on and think about in order to get. For instance, there are moments when a
character will suddenly look over their shoulder or run away for no reason.

If you pay attention, it will be explained later on. But you have to be quick to catch it. Nothing is
random in this film...except one part which I think got cut down and left it wanting. There's a
moment when Rachel Weisz's twin sister has killed herself and all of a sudden all the phones in her
apartment start to ring. This is never fully explained, though it definitely creates a tension and
eerie feeling.

Okay, other things I didn't like about the film. As I said, a lot of risks are taken. Unfortunately, not all of them pan out. Keanu Reeves does a really good job and
is believable as Constantine. What I was most impressed with is how he differentiated between what is common place and what is extraordinary, since it's all new
and different to the audience. For example, in one of the first scenes, Reeves performs an exorcism on a little girl and has such an aloofness to him that you
know he does this all the time. Then the exorcism takes another turn, which seems just as weird to us, but his face completely changes and you know that this is
something different. He actually manages to make this guilt-ridden, lost, haunted, unsympathetic, and rude man funny and charming despite himself. My only
objection to him is that sometimes his delivery is too slow.

There are two scenes in particular where the pacing is ridiculous. Rachel Weisz, who I normally love, is way too over the top in this. Because Reeves is so
effectively down played, Weisz comes off as melodramatic. Sometimes this works because of the old detective movie feel that is created, but most of the time it
makes me cringe. The side actors do a good job playing tot he comic book extremes. Satan in particular makes some of the coolest choices I've ever seen. The
only character I didn't like, or I should say, didn't like the choices he made, is Balthazar, the main demon bad guy. He just doesn't work for me. Also, there's a
point where Reeves gives Weisz a necklace that will protect her and she immediately takes it off and gets attacked. I have trouble sympathizing with her since
she was stupid enough to take the dumb thing off after like a minute. Weisz's character is general is the weak link. (Not necessarily the actress, but the
direction and the writing of her character don't work hand in hand.)

My favorite character is played by Shia LaBeouf (Holes) who is a young up and comer that I'm definitely going to keep my eye on. He steals the few scenes he's
in, but is unfortunately lost in a weird plot twist that is badly set up and doesn't really make any sense. (Make sure you see the tag to the movie to clarify it
somewhat...but not really.)

The choices of shots and sets are also risky, but work. Instead of black and white, there is often this green vs. red, or sometimes color vs. none kind of motif.
Also, Satan appears in an all white horrible suit which is great. I'm so tired of the slick lawyer looking devils or the ones in all red. It's tired. This is new. There's
also a running theme of advertisements with religious under tones in the backgrounds of most outdoor shots. But, again, you have to be quick to catch them all.
There is a gritty humor to everything said and done in the film that works well with Constantine's apathy to the fate of the world.

My favorite idea in the movie is that instead of having good conquer evil and God coming down to save the day in a classic deus ex machina (lame), God is
unmistakably absent from the film. Instead, the writers chose to use a "diabolis ex machina" so the devil comes down. (No I didn't know the Latin word for devil...
I had to look it up.)

Yes, this film has problems and isn't quite as thought out as it should have been, but it is highly enjoyable and something that can be watched more than once.