“Constantine” (Warner Brothers)
Keanu Reeves is back in “Matrix” mode in the new film “Constantine.” The movie is based on a DC comic book titled “Hellblazer” but the moviemakers opted to go with the name of the main character. This is a movie that is all style and no substance, or at least no understandable substance. The special effects will charm you but the plot will bog you down.
John Constantine (Reeves) is a man with a bad habit – smoking. He no sooner extinguishes one than he lights up another. Because of this he has terminal lung cancer. Besides facing death Constantine is also facing going to hell. He has been promised this spot for his eternal duration, but he holds out one slim hope that if he can slay enough demons God will take pity on him and let him in the pearly gates.
Meanwhile he goes about killing demons and exorcising devils. He is aided somewhat by a cab driver named Chas Chandler (Shia LeBeouf), and a guardian of the gate named Midnight (Djimon Honsou). Midnight helps keep the balance on earth between good and evil.
A police detective named Angela (Rachel Weisz) contacts Constantine after her twin sister allegedly commits suicide. He agrees to help her but for some reason this means she has to visit hell and see the demons he sees. She does and what she sees is really grizzly.
The movie lurches on in its indecipherable way until the end comes, which somehow involves the angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) and the son of Satan (Gavin Rossdale). When its over you are no smarter about what just occurred than you were at the start.
The movie is rated R for violence and profanity.
Reeves has some charisma when he is given the right role but in this one he mainly just walks through looking gaunt and pained. There is no chemistry at all between him and Weisz but maybe there wasn’t supposed to be.
The chat rooms are probably already buzzing with people trying to figure out the implications of all that occurs on screen in “Constantine.” A large segment of the moviegoing population, however, will simply shrug and say, “Who cares!”
I scored “Constantine a devilish 5 out of 10.
