Imagine if you will, God and Satan made a wager for the souls of all mankind. But they were not allowed to have any direct contact, only influence. This is the basic outline of "Constantine," starring Keanu Reeves.
Reeves ("The Matrix") plays the nicotine-addicted John Constantine, a man with the ability to see half-breed demons and angels walking among us. Rather than see it as a gift, Constantine sees it as a curse and tries to end his own life. After failing, he now works as a paranormal detective, sending the half-demons back to hell in hopes of getting in God's good graces. Along his journey, he runs into detective Angela Dodson, played by Rachel Weisz ("The Mummy"), who is searching for answers behind the death of her twin sister.
Together they must put their own personal vendettas aside and work as a team to stop a higher threat. The son of the devil, Mammon, is trying to cross over to the human plane.
Reeves and Weisz create a duo that could be compared to the "X-Files'" Mulder and Scully. The melodramatic tone of the movie is occasionally livened up with the quick one-liners from Reeves and his sidekick Chas Kramer, played by Shia LaBeouf ("Holes").
The shining performance did not come from Reeves or Weisz, rather in Peter Stormare, who played the role of the devil. Though his acting did not compare to Al Pacino's role as the fallen angel in "The Devil's Advocate," Stormare still gave the audience a devil worth fearing.
A great supporting cast once again made Reeves appear to be a better actor than he really is. Djimon Hounsou ("Gladiator") plays Papa Midnite, a former shaman turned club owner for the half-demons. Ex-Bush front man Gavin Rossdale took a break from his music and displayed his acting ability in his first on-screen role.
Director Francis Lawrence took a different turn in having the archangel Gabriel being portrayed as a woman, played by Tilda Swinton ("Vanilla Sky").
Constantine is based on the DC graphic novel "Hellblazer." In his directorial debut, famed music video director Lawrence took the ideas of the graphic novel and turned it into a two hour-long music video. Lawrence is well known for working with musicians such as Green Day, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani.
The setting does not take place in London like the graphic novel. Lawrence decided to bring the film to the city of angels itself, Los Angeles.
For those who can't get enough of CGI worlds and monsters, "Constantine" provides you enough of a computer-generated world of beasts to keep you over-stimulated. The special effects ride takes us all the way down to the depths of hell, and shoots upwards to catch a small glimpse of heaven. Hell was a bit disappointing, as it seemed more like a post-nuclear Los Angeles. "Constantine's" version of heaven seemed awfully similar to the Zion scene from "The Matrix" with giant skyscrapers floating atop clouds and the sun blaring in the background.
The villains of the film weren't as intimidating as they could have been. They are supposed to be demons yet, the half-breed demons appear more like well-dressed pimps with glowing eyes. Rather than creating chaos all over town, they spend their time in Midnite's club and dance the night away. The demons of the abyss also fell short, literally, as they were all missing their upper skulls.
This year has been packed with supernatural thrillers and "Constantine" is worth a trip to your local theatre. Just don't expect to see a great comic turned movie like "Spiderman" or "Batman." Expect more of a "Hulk" or a "Daredevil" quality film.
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