Review: "Constantine"

Information

Title

Constantine

Format

Theatrical release

Plot

Anti-hero John Constantine has to save the world from hell, literally.

High Point

Constantine flipping Lucifer off on his way to heaven, or dousing demons with holy water via fire sprinklers.

Low Point

The ancient lost relic was referred to as the "Spear of Destiny", I have always heard it referred to as the "Spear of Longinus" and this bugged me a bit

Context

I am vaguely familiar with the characters of Constantine from brief appearances in the Neal Gaiman Sandman comics, as such I had little attachment to the comics on which this film is based. Also I am not a religious person, by any means, and am not well enough versed in the Judeo/Christian scripture to appreciate some of the more obscure references thereto.

Scores

Story

I was apprehensive early in the movie that this was going to be another "find the ancient lost relic to save the Earth" movie, but that never happened. This is a fun, action-packed movie that doesn't shy away from interwoven threads of story and contemplation of the human condition and redemption.

Originality

The formula for this movie has been used many times, but this used the formula in a rather new way.

Effects

This is an effects-heavy film featuring several types of creature effects as well as spells. The time-dilation effects are beautiful to look at and very well executed.

Acting

I was actually able to forget that this was Keanu Reeves for periods of the film. Several of the supporting cast were quite wonderful to behold.

Emotional Response

The only characters I really cared about were some of the supporting side-kick types. This is an action movie, so we shouldn't expect too much in this area.

Production

The movie is well produced, the scenes move along well and we aren't subjected to rock-video style editing.

Marksmanship

I cannot recall a single shot that didn't hit its target.

Intelligence

There are some nice subtle moments for the astute without detracting from the general action of the film.

Overall

I think I'll pick this one up when it comes out on DVD, but only if it's $15 or so. Not a great movie, but certainly an enjoyable story that I would enjoy re-viewing every so often.