Constantine (2005) Film Review: A Hellish Delight?

When a women commits suicide, her detective sister doesn't believe that she would kill herself due to her devout Christian practices. Seeking help from John Constantine, a cynical, occult detective and exorcist, they learn that there's much more to the suicide, which is tied to the son of Lucifer attempting to claim Earth involving the Spear of Destiny. Based on the DC comics and character, the movie makes plenty of changes to the source material, but still makes the story feel like it fits the character. The story itself is a bit of a mixed bag, as it does have a bit too much stuffed inside. The Spear of Destiny is shown in the beginning, but disappears until the end of the film when it becomes relevant. There's also plenty of characters that serve some purpose in the story that makes it bloated. However, by the end, everything clicks in place in order for everything to make sense from the motives and overarching narrative. It's a story that seems confusing and muddled at first viewing, but by the end, you understand what's been happening up until now. This does create a viewing experience though that some might tackle or give up their attention on, depending on one's patience. It doesn't help for the impatient viewers that the tone takes itself very seriously, giving it a dull exterior. That doesn't mean that there's no humour in the film, as there are plenty of good lines in the film that reflect the personality of the source material, but you can tell that the film is focused more on being epic rather than fun for the audience, which once again can divide some people.

Keanu Reeves as John Constantine is one of the most miscast performances in his career. Constantine is supposed to be a blonde, British, punk who's cynical personality causes the people around him to both love and hate him. Not only does Reeves not match that criteria, but he plays the character more seriously with a quiet, monotone voice. To be fair, when the writing makes the character feel like the source material from his lines and actions, it works really well, regardless of Reeves's performance or not. However, many would just wished that Matt Ryan played the role. Rachel Weisz plays Angela, an LA police detective who has the repressed ability of a psychic who joins Constantine in figuring out her sister's suicide and her unknown role of a demon uprising. Although she does have some interesting moments in the story, Angela is just your typical, "strong" female character entering a new world of the hero, even though the two never get together by the end. Shia LeBouf plays Chas Kramer, an apprentice to Constantine who while inexperienced has studied the ways of the occult and wants to prove his worth to his master. He's not in the movie much and although he's supposed to be the comic relief, Chas never becomes irritating as you'd think. Dijmon Honsou plays Papa Midnite, a witch doctor who runs an underground club who, despite his neutral status, aids Constantine. Honsou is well-cast as Midnite and I did wish that he got more time onscreen, since he's an intriguing character. Tilda Swinton plays Gabriel, a half-breed angel who plans to unleash Mammon due to their distain against humanity. Swinton plays the role fine as this angelic, powerful figure, but the issue is that there's barely enough time of her onscreen to suggest her true nature or villainous position. Peter Stormare as Lucifer though is casting that's just fantastic. He's so over-the-top compared to the tone and characters, but his charisma is just so fun to watch and provides a very different take on the character. Also, the way he is used in the film is just so extremely well-written that it just breathes the comic. The only characters that really don't work are the characters of Beeman and Father Hennessy, allies of Constantine who get dispatched throughout the film. The issue of these characters is that not only do we have Chas as the loyal ally already, but we don't know anything about these characters. The only memorable thing about them is how Hennessy dies, which is a cool death scene as he seems to be unable to drink alcohol no matter what, but he actually drowned from all of the liquor he seemingly couldn't get a taste of. Other than that though, they really should have just made Chas fit these roles rather than having two more characters that are just going to die anyway. Overall, the casting and characters are average with some of the characters being very effective in their role and some of them being generic and bland, which mirrors the mixed-bag result of Keanu Reeves as Constantine.

Francis Lawrence's directorial debut is one that's unpolished, but shows the the visionary talent of the director. One thing that I won't defend though is the very dark aesthetic of the movie. It's very gothic and dreary and can be unappealing to look at sometimes. However, certain locations such as Midnight's nightclub and the hospital are nicely designed and lit for the mood of the scene. The hospital in general gets plenty of visual cosmetics, which is thanks to the lighting that gives context of the situation. You can tell Lawrence has the eye to make some great-looking imagery though. From the scene where the possessed Mexican walks towards a herd of cattle that die and rot as he walks near, to the sequence where Angela is pulled away by an unseen force creating holes throughout the office building and walls, or the slowed down moments as one descends to Hell. I like the design and concept of Hell, which is a windy, rustic, destroyed Los Angeles where time stops in the real world for one, and the demons are varied and creatively designed. The CGI isn't amazing though. You can tell what is made from a green-screen or from a computer, but the designs overcome the average effects. The cinematography by Philippe Rousselot is good, but misused at times. There are some great establishing and close-up shots, plenty of which offer some nice visual flair when perfectly edited, but the editing is pretty awkward at times, inserting some unneeded shots or cuts that ruin the purpose of the shot. The music by Brian Tyler and Klaus Badelt is hard to judge, mainly due to the lack of it. The score is very minimalistic and the film mainly keeps it subdued, only bringing it out during the action moments or pivotal plot sequences. When it appears though, it's decent, albeit you crave to hear more of it as soon as it goes away. The two songs used throughout the film though reeks of early 2000's, but it has its charm. The last thing to look at would be the action scenes. There's not much of it and it's very underwhelming if you came in expecting action. I for one didn't expect much to begin with, since the character in the comics is more of a detective rather than a hero that battles evil, but it's pretty disappointing. Outside of the sequence of Angela's abduction and Lucifer's intervention, the action scenes last way too shortly and generally lack a uniquely, cool impact to it. The scene where Constantine uses holy water and a crucifix shotgun is very ripped out of Blade and the scenes where he battles a specific demon such as the insect one and the generic, side-villain are very anti-climatic due to Constantine being able to stand his own by sheer luck, whether it's a car or unestablished brass knuckles. However, considering that the action isn't really in the forefront as the film is more detective-thriller, I wouldn't complain about it too much.

"Constantine" is a bizarre movie to say the least. There's plenty of bad that people can point out from the overly-serious tone, the messy story, Keanu Reeves as Constantine, the generic human characters, the mediocre CGI, the ugly gothic aesthetic, the choppy editing at times, and the short, uninteresting action scenes. However, if you have knowledge of the character and source material, or if you are able to hold plenty of patience for film in general, there's actually plenty of good things in here. The story becomes much more understandable and coherent by the end of the film as all of the pieces come together for the audience as a detective story should be, plenty of great one-liners that Constantine fans would praise, the portrayal of Constantine being very different but still engaging and carrying the attitude of the source material in some excellently-written scenes, the supernatural characters are all well-casted and performed with the stand-out being Stormare as Lucifer, certain settings and creatures being well-designed and established, the cinematography by Rousselot when it's perfectly executed, the decent yet quiet score, and Lawrence's visual directing creating some fantastic scenes and imagery. It's a film that's enjoyment really relays on your general knowledge of the source material or are into supernatural, religious action-thrillers. If not, you might not like this film due to the multitude of issues. The screenplay is really the deal-maker/breaker for the viewer and it seems as if half of it was blessed by angels while the other half was cursed by unholy demons.

Verdict: 5.5/10. Personally, I managed to find enough enjoyment to call it slightly above average. It's an extremely flawed film that is only balanced by your preferences.