While I don't feel inclined to write a full review of the Keanu Reeves / Rachel Weisz film about John Constantine (based on the
Hellblazer comic published by
DC Comics), I will say that it greatly exceeded my (admitted, very low) expectations for it! All that was wrong with it were things that were well known to me before I'd even seen the opening credits:
- Constantine is portrayed as American, instead of English as he's supposed to be
- The story takes place in Los Angeles, instead of London, as it should
- Keanu can't come close to delivering the biting negativity and sarcasm that the character, under the guiding hands of no less than Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano and Neil Gaiman (to name but a few), has been imbued with in the comic format over the past couple of decades since Moore created him in the pages of Swamp Thing # 37
I knew all of that going in, and really, once you get past those points... it's a fairly entertaining movie! Vicki thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'd say that it was a good, solid 6 out of 10 for me. I could've done without Shia LaBeouf playing "Chaz" (yet another great character from the comic who's completely divested of any of his appeal here) but fortunately his role is relatively small compared to that of Constantine and Angela Dodson (Weisz). Several bits from some of the more famous arcs in the
Hellblazer series were included, although fans couldn't help but be irked (or maybe just amused, as I was) by the cop-out ending that has Constantine popping a stick of gum into his mouth.
As a transplanted, somewhat watered-down version of a groundbreaking comic book,
Constantine didn't actually suck. It just could've been a whole lot better, if it had maybe come along a few years later when being faithful to the original material might've been a more viable and trendy option.
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