In modern day Mexico, two scavengers are rummaging through an
abandoned church in a desert wasteland by a highway. One of the men stumbles
across a buried chamber that contains the Spear Of Destiny, which was the weapon
used by a Roman Centurion to kill Christ when he was on the cross. The man,
whose name is Manuel, becomes seemingly possessed as he grabs the spear and runs
off with it--only to be hit head on by a car. Yet when Manuel's buddy goes to
check on him, he sees that the car has been smashed in around Manuel's body, as
if the car had run into a pole, rather than a man. Manuel abruptly wakes up from
his collision with the car-with nary a scratch on him-and continues running
onward with the spear as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles police detective Angela Dodson (played by the alluring
Rachel Weisz, from the Mummy and The Mummy Returns) has both a tragedy and a
mystery on her hands when her twin sister Isabel seemingly commits suicide by
diving off the roof of the psychiatric facility where she is being held under
observation. But Angela knows that, as a devout Catholic, Isabel would never
kill herself, lest she risks going straight to hell. Angela is convinced that
her sister was somehow coerced into committing suicide, or was murdered in some
sort of ritual by a satanic cult. Needing help, she seeks the advice of John
Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a demon hunter and all-round expert in the occult
who is at first reluctant to get involved in Angie's case. But when demonic
forces make their presence known during Angie's visit--breaking the careful
balance between heaven and hell--Constantine suddenly becomes very interested
in Angie's case, as well as Angie herself.
Based on the Hellblazer graphic novels published by DC Comics/Vertigo,
Constantine is an engaging theological thriller that has great style and wit.
John Constantine is a cynical, seen-it-all man who is dying of lung cancer,
(thanks to the endless cigarettes that he constantly smokes) and who is not
going to a very nice place once he dies, because he tried to take his own life
as a young man. Yet even before having been to hell and back after his suicide
attempt, Constantine has always been gifted with the ability to see demons and
other outer worldly phenomenon that the average person never notices. Keanu
Reeves pulls off the cynical weariness of his character very well. Rachel Weisz
is extremely engaging as Angie (as well as her doomed sister Isabel) and Tilda
Swinton gives another standout quirky performance as the angel Gabriel.
The DVD I reviewed is the special two disc set that comes with a comic book that
features a reprint of "Dangerous Habits" from issue #41, as well as a Hellblazer
story that deals with Constantine as a boy. The special features on the first
disc include just the audio commentaries by the director, producer and the
screenwriters, along with a music video and the theatrical trailers. Disc two
has more of the goodies, including 18 minutes of deleted scenes, along with
various making of documentaries that extensively cover all aspects of the
production. Reportedly the creators of the comic, along with many of their fans,
were not happy with this film because of the fact that Keanu Reeves was cast as
Constantine (who, in the comics, is a blond-haired Englishman) and that it
takes place in LA (the stories themselves took place in England). Not having
read the comics, I can't speak as to just how faithful the film is to its source
material. However, as a film itself, I found Constantine to be very enjoyable.
Even if you don't believe in Christian theology, it's still a fanciful ride
that's worth taking.
--SF
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