Constantine

Year: 2005

Grade: C+

Country: USA

Director: Lawrence

Review

when is smoking going to cease to be cool? this film grabs you right away and generally doesn’t do anything to let you go too much. there’s a definite style to the beginning of the film which is very comic book-esque – long shots, odd angles, shots from roof tops and from the ground looking up. the film really begins with an exorcism performed by keanu reeves. it’s a make or break sequence because it comes so early in the film and because it features some of the fantastic (as in fantasy) themes you’re going to see through the rest of the film. if you don’t buy into this scene then you’d probably be better off leaving the theater. i liked the direction and, like the matrix, the story did a good job of combining myths, the occult, and religious themes. the film doesn’t get too much into the mythology behind the story, and i never read the comic book so i didn’t catch everything the film had to offer in that sense. but that’s okay because knowing the exact motivation of characters and the logistics of some of the characters’ movements, isn’t required. it’s a fairly fun film that touches on enough mythology to keep you occupied when the action and well done sfx aren’t on the screen.

Watched in theater