Constantine

I was a fan of John Constantine back when he was just a mysterious bit character in Swamp Thing, then bought much of the run of his own comic, Hellblazer, once that arrived on the scene.

So when I found they were bringing him to the big screen, I was excited.  As well as surprised, given the possibility of his appeal being limited.  Probability, even, depending how it was presented.

Despite it being one of my “don’t miss” movies this year, I didn’t see it on the big screen.  This past week, we bought it on DVD for little more than the price of two movie tickets, despite that being more than I normally like to spend even on a DVD, even with special features and fluff.  Last night, I watched it.  This was supposed to be we watched it, but Deb had to remove Sadie from the room.

We also had to turn the big fan off in the adjoining room.  It’s one of those movies.  I still don’t know what all they said during the first several minutes of the film, as I turned it up and up, from 10 gradually to 20, and as high as 26.  We normally run the TV volume between 6 and 12.  I hate having to blast it to hear the quieter dialog, then turn it down many notches so as not to blast the neighbors with the music, then up, then down.  This got better as the movie went on, as long as the fan was off and I was alone.  Then it worked most of the time holding at 20, but I spent the whole movie remote in hand, adjusting up or down as needed.  It would have been fine in a theater.

I see it as a film existing fans should have loved, so long as they got over any hangups they might have about the script being sold to the studio by making Constantine American, not British, and set in Los Angeles.  Or about departures from the original storyline on which the script is primarily based.  It was remarkably well done, pulling some familiar scenes, people and concepts from the comics.

I see it as a film that many, but not all, non-fans could get into.  I don’t see it as something your average film critic would like as much as your average audience.

Deb saw the first several minutes.  A while later, she saw several minutes more partway through, and that was enough to suck her in and make her think it looked excellent.  She didn’t bother to come back after putting Sadie down, opting instead to watch it from the beginning, preferably soon, despite it not being the kind of thing she’d usually get into.  I think that’s an indicator of the appeal of the movie.

Keanu was perfect for the role.  I have no special like or dislike of him, but he strikes me as limited.  This was a role he fit and captured well, and as Deb observed, he has matured, looking more like a grown man.  Rachel Weisz was great, too, and as yummy as ever.  The effects were well done and fit what you’d see in the comic.

Nice job!  I recommend it.

1. I liked it, too.  I thought it was done with intelligence.

   There’s a cookie at the very end, after all the credits roll.  It’s worth the time to fast-forward to see it.

   James

   Posted by James R. Rummel  on  08/13  at  05:46 PM

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

<< Back to main

Powered by ExpressionEngine