Script, meet Music video Director. Result predictable. (Constantine (DVD))

Member Name: dancomp

Product:	Constantine (DVD)
Date:	30/10/06 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Keanu, for those for whom that is enough.

Disadvantages: Start at the beginning and end when the credits roll

Introduction
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Once upon a time there was a series of comics featuring a character called John Constantine. In this film adaptation, just about everything has been changed from his nationality to his morals to his outlook on life to his powers and even appearance. This will not matter to most people who would'nt be aware of the Hellblazer series though, so on with the review!

John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a bitter exorcist with the questionable gift of being able to see the "half-breeds" walking among us, representatives of heaven and hell who have been restricted in their influence upon mortals, but with the discovery of the Spear of Destiny (No, not the computer game but the spear used to kill Jesus Christ) these rules are begining to change with full-blooded demons trying to force their way onto Earth.

Suffering from fatal lung cancer, John continues battling as an attempt to force God into reconsidering condemning him to hell for his attempt at suicide when he was younger. Teaming up with Angela Dodson (Rachel Weitz) - a none-too-hardbitten and completely miscast cop whose sister has died in mysterious circumstances, will our heroes prevail?

The film
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Unfortunately, we're in perfume advert territory here. What I mean by this is that stunningly pretentious imagery replaces any attempt to structure a coherant storyline. An example of this would include Constantine's unintentionally funny main weapon, a supernatural shotgun in the shape of a cross dripping with decoration worthy of the crappiest of plastic toys.

As far as the acting is concerned, none involved with this project stand out in any way whatsoever with the exception of Tilda Swinton who plays the angel Gabriel. Whenever she is on screen, through sheer presence she blows away the other performers far more effectively than the shotgun mentioned above. Djimon Hounsou continues playing hard man bit-parts with dreary regularity while Francis Lawrence clearly demonstrates his origins as a music video director. He should have stayed there as he has no idea of effective cinematography.

The script from writers Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello is similarly farcical with some absolute howlers in the form of gaping plotlines and missing continuity. I was'nt expecting much from this film, but I was expecting a lot more than this. "Silent Hill" is ten times the film that "Constantine" is, and it's not that great.

Summary
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Offering a rather narrow view of Catholicism mixed with a long line of obvious plot devices, the film "Constantine" is badly structured with gaping plot holes and seemingly very, very poor in comparison with the original character of John Constantine from the Hellblazer comics with its pantheons of gods, godesses and afterlives not to mention a much more rounded and interesting protagonist.

Summary: It's called pain! Get used to it.