Keanu Reeves is reloaded and ready to party like it's 1999. After years of enslavement in the "Matrix" promotional machine, Reeves demonstrated his versatility in supporting, comedic roles such as arthouse-darling "Thumbsucker" and the boomer romance "Something's Gotta Give." Respite was needed, but fans of "Speed," "The Devil's Advocate" and the aforementioned "Matrix" clamored for his return to form in a big, loud action flick. "Constantine" is that film. Dripping with special-effects eye candy, populated with countless cool characters, "Constantine" is a sinfully delightful tale of heaven and hell with guns-lots of guns.
John Constantine (Reeves) has a gift, although he views it as more of a curse. Blessed with the ability to see angelic and demonic entities cloaked in human guise, he regulates supernatural influence on the earthly plane. This second sight is a bit, well, intense, for a young man and eventually drives him to attempt suicide. He fails, and for two agonizing minutes in hell, learns that his mortal sin has forever barred him from the gates of heaven.
Being damned kinda sucks, so Constantine decides to barter his way into heaven by using his second sight to dispatch demons as penance for his sin. Trouble is, the angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) isn't fooled by his heavenly aspirations, and Constantine's daily pack-and-a-half nic fix has landed him a wicked case of lung cancer. Constantine is running out of time and, when he croaks, a pissed-off Prince of Lies (Peter Stormare) will personally collect his tainted soul.
"Constantine" is everything that 1997's "Spawn" abomination should have been and a thousand times more. Since "The Devil's Advocate," no other mainstream film has depicted the war between heaven and hell with such glorious results.
Reeves' critics (and there are many) will complain that he is rehashing the Neo character-and they are partially right. Constantine is an embittered Neo who took the blue pill and eagerly vents his hatred toward this world and the ones beyond. Reeves jacks the sarcasm up to 11, spewing caustic one-liners at angels and devils alike. Frequently blasphemous, constantly hilarious, John Constantine is the hottest Hollywood badass christened in what feels like an eternity.
While the good guys are fine and dandy, evil has never looked more fun. Gavin "that guy from Bush" Rossdale bristles in a small-but-significant part as Balthazar, Satan's metrosexual earthly emissary.
When ole Lucifer finally reveals himself, veteran character actor Peter Stormare steals the show by portraying the sleaziest cinematic Satan of all time. Pacino was a smooth pimp in "The Devil's Advocate;" Stormare resembles a washed-up porn star. Constantine's banter with "Lou" is awesome and worth the price of admission by itself.
Based on the strength of its script, "Constantine" would have worked as a minimalist gothic tale in the vein of "The Ninth Gate." Thank God (or Satan), there are hella special effects to make things extra sweet.
Hell hasn't been so effectively realized since "What Dreams May Come." Action films often suffer from lackluster art direction ("End of Days," anyone?), but Constantine has atmosphere to spare. Los Angeles is a windswept, barren wasteland ripped straight from a Bosch painting. The demons themselves are a tad underwhelming, but the sheer scope of the environment more than compensates for the occasionally half-assed CGI.
As a lifelong horror fan, I've become all too familiar with Hollywood exploiting the genre to make a quick buck from its loyal devotees. "Constantine" could have settled for the status quo, but it doesn't. This is a great action film that creates an incredibly vivid, believable world that you won't want to leave.
If you're down with the devil, sacrifice a few bucks and don't miss this wicked film.
