So, despite mother nature’s attempt to thwart our free movie going pleasure, James and I headed out in daddy’s 4×4 and went to the movies. The weather was a pretty big factor in keeping people indoors so, although fairly full, the line wasn’t too long and we got excellent seats.
I promised no spoilers and I will keep my word. The brief summary of the plot is: John Constantine…wants to go to heaven…on his way to hell….kills demons in an effort to reverse his planned date with destiny. This is a comic book movie. DC Vertigo comics rather than Marvel this time. The DC Vertigo line is a very dark, gritty line of comics and I think they did a good job translating this into the movie. I have not read Hellblazer, the comic series on which this is based, so I did not have any preconceived ideas going in that many fanboys no doubt had.
From a technical perspective this movie was great. Great special effects, very well done, nice use of iconic imagery, etc. From an entertainment perspective the movie was so-so. James called it ‘interesting’ and I agree with this term, though not in the derogatory sense that you may think. The movie was very interesting. It kept my attention the whole time watching to see how the plot would resolve itself. I felt that they did a good job establishing who the character was without resorting to the usual voice-over routine. The film also presented some very different takes on traditional religious ideology. My only complaint is that I wanted to be more emotionally involved with the film and up until the climax the movie seemed to stay on a fairly steady course, emotionally speaking. I was ‘interested’ but not ‘involved’.
I heard some guys complaining about the choice of Keanu Reeves. There are many who feel about Keanu Reeves the same way I do about Ben Affleck….they can’t stand him. While both actors are admittedly fairly one dimensional, I like Keanu’s brooding, pensive character that he plays in most of his movies. I enjoyed him in the role and I really enjoyed Rachel Weisz. She has a very earthy beauty and she played well opposite Keanu.
If you enjoy comic book movies or dark, atmospheric movies then you may want to see this. I think the special effects warrant a viewing on the big screen, especially in the rendering of hell, which was quite incredible. I’ll be interested to see how this fares in theatrical release.
Since no one else has seen the movie it is hard to give a very good opinion without ‘spoiling’ it.
The theology in this movie is messed up bad but Constantine still falls into the same traps we all experience when wrestling with God’s ‘rules’. Constantine is doomed to go to hell. It is 100% his fault that he is going to hell but he appears to be very bitter towards God. He is angry because he feels he is doing a good job to earn his way to heaven but it is out of his hands now because of decisions he has made in the past. He doesn’t want to accept the consequences of his ‘sin’. Instead he wants God to bend the rules to suit him, even though it is his ‘calling’ to banish back to hell those demons who are breaking the rules. Constantine is a perfect example of hypocrisy.
I used the term ‘interesting’ because while the movie did keep my attention I spent a lot of time pointing out to myself how messed up the theology was.
I agree, and I think that this movie gives, albiet in a warped way, an idea of the structure of the beliefs of many people who don’t see God as a personal, caring being with more than just a passing interest in our lives.
As far as just pure entertainment value, I find myself liking the movie just a little bit more than I did immediately after seeing it.
Wait, wait, wait… you dorks saw this movie already? What makes you so special?
Local comic book store had free sneak preview tickets, it was a dork-only premiere… 🙂
I have never seen so much leather and goatees in one room before.
…and that was just the women…(just kidding, I love comic-loving women…)
Hey, Carl, do I know you? You have any pics of yourself on your blog? I feel like I met you once. I’m Jimmy’s friend.
yes, i frequently wear goatees & leather biker jackets while visiting comic stores.
Rob, I think you know my wife, formerly Mary Russell, from school or something. I’m working on some sort of appropriate picture for my site…something that won’t frighten small children. I think I posted something on your site recently. I enjoy your movie reviews. You need to put your 2 cents in on today’s post….I typed in ‘lund’ on googlism and came up with some fun ones.
And speaking of pics, SciFi Chick, we need to see those goatee/leather jacket wearing pics
guess i better mess around on photoshop tonight then. lol
Maybe the goatee and jacket are like a protective force field that attaches itself to women whenver they are about to enter a comic shop to protect them from the hordes of fanboys who may or may not have ever seen a real live woman! 🙂
hmm… disguising myself as a man.. actually, that’s not a bad idea!
especially, at a star trek convention! lol
Rob, I moved your ‘googlism’ comment to that post. 🙂
Yeah what happened with Constantine? I quickly had to ditch orthodox theology in order to enjoy the cool f/x. The mirror thing was cool but 1.) Why did she kill herself?
2.) Was his tattoo and the medallion the same design? and what was it? Source of Power? yadda yadda
3.) Do Demons and vampires have to follow the same rules?
I thought this would be a better vampire movie, not demons/angels. I was a little torqued about the use of Gabriel, not so much the form but the function. Keanu is far better than Ben I agree but he is basically a bumbed Neo here. And his smoking gave me the same feeling about cigarettes as “Super Size Me” did about burgers.
Hey, Carl, this is an excellent blog–wonderful content *and* look. Geek: the new, defintiive cool.
I shall definitely be dragging my (admittedly more grounded) husband to see Constantine. Treating angels &c. as noir mythology is powerful. Much to be preferred to those gilt little pins, anyways.
And KR is like, way deeper than BA.