♠♠Introduction♠♠
-----------------------
Although it wasn't really advertised as such, Constantine was another Hollywood film based on a graphic novel, in this case, Hellblazer.
Hellblazer is published by DC Comics in their Vertigo 'range', which was "created ... Read review
In the grand scheme of theological thrillers,Constantineaspires for the greatness ofThe ... more
Exorcistbut ranks more closely withThe Order. Based on the popularHellblazercomic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
In the grand scheme of theological thrillers,Constantineaspires for the greatness ofThe ... more
Exorcistbut ranks more closely withThe Order. Based on the popularHellblazercomic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
John Constantine sees demons walk the earth, and he aims to do something about it: send ... more
them back to hell!As Constantine, The Matrix's Keanu Reeves fights a new otherworld foe in this eye-opening supernatural action thriller based on characters from th...
Production Year: 2005 - Horror - Director: Eli Roth - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Shane Daly, Lenka Vlasakova, Eythor Gudjonsson, Jan Vlasak
Advantages: Great film, research flawless, lots of extras Disadvantages: None.
...wasn't really advertised as such, Constantine was another Hollywood film based on a graphic novel, in this case, Hellblazer.
Hellblazer is published by DC Comics in their Vertigo 'range', which was "created as a venue for material of more mature and
sophisticated nature that did not fit easily with the traditionally
superhero-dominated mainstream comics" (taken from the DC comics website).
... ...more of the same from Constantine (named such because of the lead character, John Constantine - more on that later). Constantine is not simply another superhero story, in fact, in so many ways, John Constantine could not be further from being a superhero.
♠♠The film, with a little bit of history thrown in♠♠
----------------------------------------------------------------
Although it wasn't really advertised as such, Constantine was another Hollywood film based on a graphic novel, in this case, Hellblazer.
Hellblazer is published by DC Comics in their Vertigo 'range', which was "created as a venue for material of more mature and sophisticated nature that did not fit easily with the traditionally superhero-dominated mainstream comics" (taken from the DC comics website).
Despite the recent spate of films based on such graphic novels (see Spiderman, X-Men, Batman), you shouldn't be fooled into expecting more of the same from Constantine (named such because of the lead character, John Constantine - more on that later). Constantine is not simply another superhero story, in fact, in so many ways, John Constantine could not be further from being a superhero. ♠♠The film, with a little bit of history thrown in♠♠ ----------------------------------------------------------------
The film opens in Mexico, with a young man, a scavenger, finding the Spear of Destiny, buried in the ground beneath a ruined building.
The Spear of Destiny is an actual legendary artefact associated with Jesus Christ, and is one of the most important Christian relics, not unlike the crown of thorns. Described in the bible, John 19: 31-37, the Spear of destiny was supposedly that used to pierce Jesus's side as he hung on the cross. The Spear then passed through many hands, usually of great leaders (who were said to be invincible whilst in posession of it). Over the years, there have been various spears that people have claimed to be 'the one', but it has apparently been difficult to authenticate. As a young man, Adolf Hitler became fascinated by the Spear of Destiny when he saw it displayed in the Hofsburg museum in Vienna. Subsequently, he investigated and, believing it to be the genuine article, had it siezed by the S.S. in 1938. It remained with him, stored in St. Katherine's Church until 1945 when it was taken from him, reportedly just two hours before his death.
Going back to the film, the young man unearths the Spear and is subsequently seen crushed by a car before standing up unscathed and running away. This links in later in the film, with the man turning up in Los Angeles. The point of the Spear, and the legend behind it is that the person who in in possession of it holds the fate of the world in his hands.
Coming into L.A., we are introduced to John Constantine, as he arrives to conduct an exorcism on a young girl. Lighting up a cigarette, which transpires to be an important plot point, Constantine, played by Keanu Reeves, walks into a scene from the exorcist, but much more well executed and with a realism about it that you don't often find in films of this ilk. Usually shot in near darkness, to provide 'atmosphere',
Constantine takes an entirely different approach, with Constantine walking into the girl's bedroom and opening to the curtains to let the bright daylight in. This serves, in my opinion, to make the film much more realistic than many of its counterparts, because let's face it, that's what you'd do!
The John Constantine of the Hellblazer comics is an English character, from Liverpool in fact, and is a brash, somewhat immoral guy who developed an interest in the occult at an early age, using magic to make his father ill, and killing an animal in the process. The Keanu Reeves version of him in the film, although still a little rude, is nowhere near as brazen as this. He has also become American, of course. No doubt this is due to a consumer need to care about the main character in a film. It's no good watching a film if you hate the main character - you don't care what happens to them, and there's no sense of satisfaction or relief when they 'get out alive'.
Constantine, the film, is essentially a story of what happens when Hell and Earth meet, and Constantine himself is a person afflicted with the curse of being able to see the demons and has to fight to protect his world. In his own life, he is a disturbed individual who chain smokes - which has caused extensive lung damage, to the extent that he is going to die.
In the film, Constantine is going about his everyday life (which includes dragging demons out of little girls), but he feels like something is 'coming'. The posessions are getting worse, more unusual, and he is seeing demons walking the streets. In a chance meeting with Angela (played brilliantly by Rachel Weisz), a Catholic cop whose twin sister has just died, Constantine is dragged further into a hellish world when he realises he needs to help her. When Angela faces up to the fact that, as a child, she could also see the demons, and that this played a part in her sister's death, she is wracked with guilt at leaving her sister to face them alone when she herself denied it all, and she goes to Constantine for help.
In the process of making the Hellblazer comics into a film that was accessible to an (American) movie audience, the production company were forced into giving it a change of name along with a 'nicer' lead character. "Hellblazer" was offensive, it seems, to Southern America, having the word 'hell' in the title. Recent films, including Hellboy, had come under fire for having the same problem, so "Constantine" it became.
Constantine is visually very nice. Stylish, and with an interesting concept of hell, the majority of the film has quite subdued tones. The special effects and CG are near perfect, as you would expect with a big budget film, and it is often quite obvious, once you know, that director, Francis Lawrence, usually directs music videos - it has that stylish, slightly abstract feel to it.
Constantine's plotline, to me, is perfect - someone pointed out a few minor flaws to me, but in all honesty, you have to give films their artistic licence, and the slight 'questionables' are just that.
♠♠The DVD♠♠ -------------------
There are two versions of the Constantine DVD out there, a single disc and a two disc edition.
I have the two disc special edition, which is what I will review, and the single disc version is just the first disc of the two, with the same things on it as the first disc here.
♠♠Disc One♠♠
Disc one has the Constantine movie on it, along with options for subtitles, and with an impressive language selection list (UK is at the end, after 3 pages!). As with most DVDs these days, there are the 'standard' extras: an audio comentary (in this case with the director, producer, and screenwriters all at once); trailers and a music video. The music video is for a song that features in the nightclub scene of the film, Passive by A Perfect Circle (who happen to be one of my favourite bands:). All standard stuff, but the commentary is interesting to listen to, after you have watched the film itself. I didn't realise until I listened to it how much CG is used in the film - it blends in so well.
♠♠Disc Two♠♠
Disc two is a disc of further extras. We have deleted scenes and an alternate ending and too many mini documentaries to list. The alternate ending...well, thank god it wasn't used. There are quite a lot of deleted scenes, all of which are quite good scenes, but were taken out because of timing and pace issues, so these are worth seeing. Some of them actually do add to the story, so it's a shame they had to be lost.
The documentaries, as I said, are too many to list, and it would take a review and a half to go into every one in detail, but let it be mentioned that they are definitely worth having. In short sections, the documentaries cover everything from the original concept of the Hellblazer graphic novels, and what they took from these to the film, to the making of and special effects. They also go into the legends and truths behind the religious imagery used, including the aforementioned Spear of Destiny. These mini-documentaries run between 5 and 15 minutes each, and in all, there are nine of them.
I got my 2-disc edition in a high street shop for about £10, but it is available on play.com for an excellent £8.99, or the single disc edition can be bought for £6.99. Bargain!
Advantages: Excellant sense of imagination Disadvantages: Confused slightly
...to watch, I would put Constantine along the same lines as this (although no where near as epic as the Matrix (big fan)).
He plays a man who is born with the ability to see things which normal human beings shouldn't, and the film indulges in the idea of heaven/hell, angels/demons and half breeds which walk the earth on a mission to sway our natural instincts. This complex theme involves hints of strong ideas such as exorcism, and demons and holds ... ...by the idea that John Constantine has probably saved the earth and its contents many a time, but will still end up in hell. The story touches upon the difference between knowing there's a god and having faith.
One major good point in this film is the special effects, which I think are absolutely amazing, there are so many scenes which include demons or angels and I think the effects make it seem so real that it makes the story and the characters ...
amyloop 30.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Constantine (DVD)
Advantages: Decent Audio/Video Disadvantages: Quite a dull film, average extras
...I pressed play on the Constantine DVD I hoped I would get a decent couple of fours full of horror, shocks, action and entertaining story. This was a movie that I nearly saw on the big screen but never got round to. In all honesty Constantine is a pretty dull affair which probably had some good ideas at one stage but then forget to flesh them out when it came to writing the script.
Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine, a loner slowly dying from lung ... ...Explaining the plot of Constantine is pretty difficult, as it doesn't really explain itself at all. This is not helped by the fact that some of the characters choose to speak in very hushed tones, making it difficult to hear what they're talking about. The film seems to throw a bunch of weird satanic stuff on the screen and then see if it sticks. Part of the problem is casting Keanu Reeves, as an actor he has pretty much one expression and in this ...
utero 03.12.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Constantine (DVD)
Constantine.
**************
A Demon-Infested Delight.......FANTASTIC !!!
Keanu Reeves IS John Constantine.
Starring Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz.
Synopsis:
***********
I first saw this film on the day it was released in America whilst on a 2 week Disney holiday.
Watching this whilst having a beer, great! Only in America.
God and the Devil have made a standing wager for the souls of all mankind. With no direct contact allowed but with some ... ...found and with it the son of the devil can usurp his father.
The story follows John as he and his 'gift' hunts down Demons and sends them back to Hell.
He was born with a gift allowing him to see the world as it really is.
He can move between realities with his knowledge of the occult and in one instance, a cat, they apparently live half in this world and half in hell.
Some demon fights include,
A soldier demon chewing its way out through a ...
Maximus-Qualitus 27.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Constantine (DVD)
Advantages: Entertaining, Visual pleasing, Interesting plot Disadvantages: Confusing at times, a little scary, not for the squeamish
If your going to watch constantine go through your checklist, make sure your not weakhearted, or squeamish. This is also a film only review.
The movie is based on the story of a comic called Hellblazer written by Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Capello.
*PLOT*
Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine in this film, a man that could see spirits since his early childhood. John had lost his entry into heaven when he tried to discard his gift by committing ... ...heaven. Whiles trying to regain his entry he meets Angela Dodson played by Rachel Weisz and decides to help her find out what happened to her sister.
The plot in this film to me was very interesting, theres so many twists and turns that theres always something new to find out. And that fact that john could see spirits wasn't just left on the surface either it was backed up by amazing detail to the storyline and special effects.
*CHARACTERS*
The ...
CandySuccubus 16.01.2006 (10.11.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Constantine (DVD)
Advantages: Great Special effects Disadvantages: Hard to tell what is going on at times!
...Hellblazer Graphic Novels. John constantine is assisted by an intrepid cop (Rachel Weisz),he is a spiritual warrior fighting to win back his place in heaven , when he has already a place reserved in hell. He has a gift-He can see deamons!!!!
Their investigation takes them into the underworld of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of LA. convinced that the son of Lucifer is trying to be born into human form, Constantine must ... ...deamons. Armed will holy water, an interesting crucifix gun and dragons breath, the special effects are amazing!
This supernatural thriller will keep you gripped from start to finish and is worth a watch just for the special effects.
I'm no comic fan and have never heard of Contstantine before, The strory is somewhat confusing at times but comes together in the end.
Director: Francis Lawrence Starring: Keanu Reeves , Rachel Weisz , Tilda Swinton ...
wompie99 13.10.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Constantine (DVD)
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Advantages: the cast, special effects Disadvantages: the plot
After the success of the matrix films, god only knows why Keanu agreed to making this. In this Keanu stars as Constantine, relieving the world of as many demons as he can, and trying to overcome his own so when he does eventually die, he can work through the gates of heaven and avoid his present fate of burning in hell.
I thought the plot was very weak, and quite boring. Although the special effects were good. It didnt manage to keep me or the party of friends I was with entertained for long, as most of them lost the plot after the first thirty minutes. Personally, the only effect this movie did have on me, made me think I really should give up smoking, watching Keanu chain smoke thoughout the whole film being ridiculed with cancer and then having his smoke filled black lungs being pulled out of him by the devil himself, not nice! ...
Advantages: Not very scary but interesting and unusual Disadvantages: not very scary
This movie was based on the comic Hellblazer where a supernatural detective, John Constantine is born with the ability to see spirits. He is also an exorcist who deports demons to hell who has literally been to hell and back, and whose soul is sentenced to hell once he dies. In the movie though, he smokes a lot and begins showing symptoms of lung cancer so he also realises he does not have long to live.
John Constantine teams up with a skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson after her twin sister's mysterious suicide with the intent of investigating it and it emerses them into a world of a few corrupt angels and demons; and the two become bent on saving humanity.
It's not a very scary horror, but it is a little unusual and interesting.
DVD DETAILS:
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: 2005-07-19
DVD Features: Subtitles ...
Commentary By Francis Lawrence Akiva Goldsman Frank Cappello And Kevin Brodbin, Music Video
Aspect Ratio
2.40 Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English German
DVD Description
Having been born with the gift of being able to see the spirits that roam the Earth, John Constantine finds himself stuck between the boundaries of Heaven and Hell. Seeking salvation, he teams up with a sceptical LAPD cop who is investigating the suspicious death of her sister, and together they delve below the surface of Los Angeles and uncover the world of angels and demons that lies beneath...
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