CONSTANTINE : HELL TO PAY

Fortunately a few years back my son discovered comic books. At least the card sets that were coming out about that time. In so doing, I helped him to find out what was behind all of those cards and found myself immersed once again in the brightly colored world of comics. Except that I soon discovered that comics were no longer a children’s art form but a whole other world of graphic storytelling and imagery that was unlike anything out there with the exception of film. Tales of heaven and hell battling it out for the souls of humans, secret government agencies that allowed people to extract revenge on those who had done them wrong and heroes that actually killed people because they felt it was in the interest of society were all present. And so was John Constantine.

The comic series HELLBLAZER was the story of John Constantine. And unfortunately I never found myself drawn to it. As written by Garth Ennis, it took on a legendary status among fans and helped to increase the popularity of DC’s Vertigo brand, a home for more adult oriented comics like this and SANDMAN. When I heard it was going to be made into a film I was interested. And after watching this film, I may have to take the chance of picking up some of the trade paperback copies of the series. Which brings us to CONSTANTINE.

The film opens with John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) being called to a tenement apartment where a young Hispanic girl has been possessed. With the knowledge he possesses, Constantine is able to bring the demon out of the young girl and send it back to Hell. But something was different here. It seemed that the demon was about to enter our realm and leave its own.

We are next introduced to a woman who dreams of another leaping to her death from the top of a building. It turns out it wasn’t a dream at all and police detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) saw the death of her twin sister. Called to the scene, she seeks solace from a priest later hoping that he will allow her sister to be buried in consecrated ground. At that time, her path crosses with Contantine.

Constantine is at the same church talking about the gamble between God and the devil which allowed them to put man’s own free will at stake. Either side might try and influence the actions of man, but neither was allowed to be on this plane. Someone is trying to break that deal and Constantine wants to find out whom.

The one fault of the film is in assuming we know all there is to know about Constantine and his battles here on earth. It is at this point that we finally begin to get a glimpse of what transpired in the past as Constantine and the angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) discuss John’s past and his desire to do good in the hopes of changing God’s mind into allowing him admittance into Heaven.  More details of this transpire later in the film.

Eventually Constantine’s and Dodson’s paths cross once again and they are led down the road that will help them both discover who was behind not only the death of Dodson’s sister but the attempt to enter this mortal plane as well. It’s a long path that leads them both, literally, to hell and back, but the journey they take is one filled with danger, fear and a believable story that draws the viewer in.

The story itself here makes the film, offering a battle of good and evil on this plane that was formulated in the beginning with God and the devil. No balance of power is discussed, no self righteous name calling is produced, simply the battle that is fought is brought to our doorstep with all the souls on Earth hanging in the balance.

The weakest point is Keanu Reeves. While I enjoy his work and think of him as a more accomplished actor than many give him credit for, he seem far too Neoish here. After three MATRIX movies, I see him in black and think of him there once more. He does a good job, as does Weisz, but I still have that mental image of him.

The movie is well made with some great CGI effects that startle and frighten. The images of Hell are what one would expect as are the demons. But all are done with quality here.

CONSTANTINE may not be the greatest movie ever made. But it is one movie that will entertain while you watch. And it may cause a few conversations to rise concerning God, the devil, Heaven and Hell. What more could you ask for in a movie?