Constantine - Not sure on this one yet..

[Shane Martin]

48% Rotten tomoatoes right now with it only being 18% for their favored critics.

It seems like its being marketed as an action/comic book movie but from what I've seen of it, It's NOT.

From what I can tell, its much like Hellboy with better acting etc. They do say its paced pretty slow. It has some religious overtones to it as well.

So anyway, I plan to see it Monday and report back.

[Andrew Pratt]

Looking forward to your thoughts on it Shane. My first impression from the trailer was that it looks alright but wouldn't likely be a fan favorite.

[David Meek]

I have hopes, but they aren't high ones. We're going to try and catch an early showing on Saturday.

[BlazeMaster]

I just saw this at my local movies. It really reminds me of Matrix, other than that the movie isn't bad at all. Wasn't too impressed with the PQ and AQ of the local theater either.

[David Meek]

I'll just throw a quickie here. Seven of us went to see it. Two really liked it, three liked it, one was so-so (that's me) and one thought it stunk. It's an interesting concept that they didn't really carry all the way through on. The storyline was somewhat disjointed, as was the acting. PQ and SQ were good, not great. Overall, :25: out of :5:.

[Nick M]

It seems as though this movie isn't getting the best response. It was one of the movies on my must see list, but I think I'll wait until it hits the rental store.

I think Keanu is going to have a tough time shaking the image of Neo. Just like Anthony Hopkins always brings images of Hannibal, or Pierce Brosnan with Bond.

[Kyle]

I saw it at a DLP theater here last night. It was my first DLP experience and i was NOT impressed. I kept focusing on jaggy text on screen and mpeg artifacting! It didn't feel like it had any warmth. I actually think i prefer the film grain and dust that accompanies it.

Oh and the movie wasn't that great. Cool effects but Keanu, man why do they keep casting him.

[willbrosk]

Well havent seen it personally, but my brother went and loved it. This is the only forum where you will see more coments about the PQ and sound than the acting and plot. Not that thats a bad thing

[BlazeMaster]

I didn't like it at all either. Like what Nicholas said, it just really reminded me of Matrix, been there and done that. I also don't understand why the makers didn't even bother changing Keanu's looks a little bit since the Matrix. Same hairstyle and same type of clothes. The character in the comics had blonde hair, they should have at least dyed his hair blonde or something.

Not sure if anyone else noticed this, Mr. Constatine actually had a 2 channel setup in his place. The speakers looked like Tannoy's, could be wrong though.

[Gordon Moore]

Count me surprised....It has some problems but...on the whole, it was wayyy better than End of Days but reminiscent of End Of Days....I'll post more later but right now a solid :35: / :5: :T

I've seen worse movies get a sequel and this one is very deserving. :yesnod:
===============
This is a solid effort.

Just so you know where I'm coming from...I've never read the HellBlazer series.
I saw this in a subpar theater with all sorts of intital mechanical problems and subpar sound and I still enjoyed this movie.

Keanu Reeves does well with this character. His soul is damned and he's look for absolution (key note, he's not asking for it, he simply looking for it). He's a chain-smoking, self-loathing, cynical bad-ass trying desperately to buy his way into heaven (where's Neo's sensibilities in that?).

I really wasn't looking at comparing this character to Neo, nor did I find myself through the movie going..."oh he's doing Neo again". I found that they are very different in that Constantine is almost an anti-hero. Everything he does is to save his own ass. He has a very jilted view of Heaven, Hell and Man on Earth and his goal is to save his own soul not to save mankind. His works are strictly selfish....totally different from the Matrix character.
This character is sooo flawed that you know he has as much potential to do it all wrong as he does do it right.

Loved the line when Midnight is praying for their safety and Constantine loks back and very scarcastically says "come-on" (...as if prayers will help). Based on what he knows and sees in the world, Reeves delivers the line makes it work.

Rachel Weisz is respectable as Angela Dodson....a cop searching to discover the reason for her twin sisters apparent suicide. She eventually finds her way to John Constantine and the fun ramps up.

Unfortunately Peter Stomare as Lucifier was a big mistake. He plays a really sub-standard satan and his appearance really hurts the movie for me. I really wish they had of cast someone else. Gabriel Byrne and Pacino are the reference Lucifiers for me and this was an all out poor performance.Simply, miscast.

The other was Tilda Swinton as Gabriel....something just didn't jive with her performance and I didn't buy what she was selling.



The movies biggest sin is that it tries to cram too much into one film. I guess there's no guarantee of a sequel so they go for gusto. The world, mythology, theology and overall premise that they establish in this film is so vast that the movie suffers from not enough exposition. If you don't pay close attention you might be scratching your head a little because some concepts and themes fly by because they simply have to move on. It's marred a little by a slightly anticlimatic ending that simply didn't live up to the first and second act.

I wouldn't necessarily call this an action film, as it has a very even pacing and tone to it. It revs up as much as it winds down.

Dark, moody, little humour (somewhat dry) but the humour that's there is well placed and in line with the Constantine character. I like that the director maintained an R-rating to give us a proper perspective of Constatine's world and the demons he faces.

The theology is very much slanted Catholic belief and myth (I thought) but it was different enough in some concepts that it didn't *exactly* jive with Catholic belief that it's most likely consistent wit the HellBlazer world and the parameters established by the comic. However, It could simply be taken as a good versus evil movie as well.

Special Effects are not overblown and well presented in-line with the movie itself as well aas some very good practical makeup by Winston Studios as well (mucho appreciated in any psuedo-monster movie).

Stay to the bitter end (like the final credit roll) to see an interesting devlopment... I really wish they wouldn't do that sort of thing becuase this "ending" would have been much better placed in the movie (I think) and it's a shame they leave it as an easter egg of sorts. It's disappointing because it's a worthwhile denouement that should be privy to those who are willing to stay to see the accountants who worked on the film. Minor gripe.


High hopes for a sequel as there's alot of meat here to play with...The falllability implied in the movie with Constantines character could set up some interesting tragedies in a second movie.

Well enjoyed and will be adding it to the shelf.

[David Meek]

Stay to the bitter end (like the final credit roll) to see an interesting devlopment...

Dammit! What'd I miss? :scratchhead: Gordon, could you post it as a spoiler? Thanks.

[Gordon Moore]

Constantine is standing over Chas Palmer's grave and he says, "you were a good man Chas"
You then hear a fluttering sound and the outline of wings. Then a cloesup of Chas's face, slight smirk, eyes glowing gold. He flys off into the night sky. Constantine turns around quickly and walks off set. He almost looks peturbed.

Some have taken this as Chas turned into an angel (half-breed). I took it more as Chas was already an angel but that fact was hidden (presumably by God) from Constantine. Which would be a neater way off twisting the works.

That's what it was and I'm sorry they left that out of the main movie stream.

[David Meek]

I'm sorry they left that out of the main movie stream

After reading that, me too. :huh: