Short Movie Review: Constantine
I haven’t read much of Vertigo’s *Hellblazer* series, and that’s probably a good thing going into watching *Constantine* the movie, which bears only a superficial resemblance to the comic books on which it was based. It’s not a bad movie, though: it’s well-plotted, with clever twists and turns, and great production design and special effects. There’s also a pretty good cast, with the likes of Tilda Swinton, Gavin Rossdale, Djimon Hounsou, and yes, even Shia LaBeouf—which made it that much more frustrating to me to have to spend most of the movie watching Keanu Reeves plod woodenly through the title role. Jason and I differed on the quality of his performance, but I just wonder how the movie would have turned out with someone a little more charismatic playing John Constantine (I’m not suggesting you make some sort of David Bowie-Sting lovechild, but…okay, maybe I am suggesting that). Hounsou’s one of my favorite actors and even though his role as Papa Midnite is somewhat limited he makes the most of it; likewise, Peter Stormare as Satan and Max Baker as Beeman do nice work. And there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance by future leading lady Michelle Monaghan (opposite Shia LaBeouf, no less!) as a demon. Make sure you watch all the way to the end of the credits, too.
3 Comments so far
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You do know the character was actually modeled on Sting right?
By Jeremy on 12.17.08 9:01 am
Yeah, that was kind of the joke I was going for.
By Dan on 12.17.08 1:03 pm
While perhaps not the wold’s best performance, I really love this movie. Perhaps because I have no preconception of said John Constantine. I love the dry sarcastic edge. (then again I have never not watched this movies if it is on tv)
By Genevieve on 01.06.09 6:44 pm
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