I am a lover of angels fallen to Earth stories and Constantine is one of the best out there. Let’s read a little bit more about it.

Brought to you by OBS staff member Krystal

Name: Constantine
Rated: R
Running Time: 121 minutes

Director: Francis Lawrence

Synopsis
Demon hunter John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) was born with a gift, or a curse, to see demons and angels walking this earth disguised as humans.

Now a skeptical police officer Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) has come to him to solve the mysterious suicide of her sister. Their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.

Review
Based on Vertigo Comic’s Hellblazer combined with elements of Garth Ennis’ “Dangerous Habits”, Constantine is far lacking in comparison. Constantine isn’t a graphic novel, but luckily it isn’t trying to be one.

John Constantine is the perfect anti-hero, a man trying to buy his way into heaven rather than do the right thing. Keanu Reeves, of course, manages to kill that brilliant character depth by playing Neo… in hell. That’s not to say the film is bad. On the contrary, I rather enjoy the film. Despite all my gripping I have to admit the humor between Reeve’s and his sidekick Chas (Shia LaBeouf ), although piled on thick, still manages to make me chuckle. In fact the film as a whole has a good sense of humor about itself.

Artistically it’s one of the most beautiful films I saw in 2005. Director Francis Lawrence brings a dark and moody film noir look to the film which perfectly fits a world where demons lurk hidden in dark corners. The CGI (computer generated imagery) while obvious at some points manages to be subtle in other areas, but honestly how are demons not going to be obvious CGI.

Overall, a worthy film of rental if you like the Matrix films, Reeves or are just a fan of the battles between Heaven and Hell on Earth.

Rating: 9.5/10 stars