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Constantine
2/18/05 - R - 121m
Keanu Reeves - John Constantine
Rachel Weisz - Angela Dodson
Shia LaBeouf - Chas Chandler
Director: Francis Lawrence
Story/Screenplay by: Kevin Brodbin
Studio: Warner Bros
Official
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JEF
I can’t bring myself to give this movie a green light, but I also can’t be too harsh on this movie.
Storyline: John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a chain smoking, angry, miserable demon slayer. Ok, not really a “slayer” but more of an exorcist, in that he travels around and sends these demon’s back to Hell. Well, the demon’s are getting stranger and more powerful and something strange is happening… something “big” that John hopes to put a stop to. Along the way, we meet the leading lady Angela (Rachel Weisz) who is brought into this because of her sister. Angela and John then become entwined in this plot to save the world.
As I mentioned this is basically a horror/comic book movie, so I can’t hold it up to very high standards. All in all it was a decent movie, with an interesting story to tell (though a bit confusing at times), and some good effects to top it all off. I could not bring myself to give it a green light due to the acting of both Keanu and Rachel… Both of them were flat, emotionless (other than angry) performances. I wish they would stop whispering in low tones to one another and get excited about stopping these threats. It was almost like a competition to see which one could be the coolest character, and it wasn’t working for either.
Like I mentioned the effects were pretty cool for the demon characters. The glimpses of hell, the angels, etc… A nice blend of computer/digital effects that worked nicely.
There were quite a bit of continuity issues that bothered me a little (like a teapot starts to whistle on the stove, yet it’s the kind of teapot that doesn’t have a whistle.) Or like when a demon is attacking our hero on a busy road, and no one takes notice. But these are the types of things one can be forgiving due to the type of movie it is.
I enjoyed seeing Djimon Hounsou who had a small part, along with Shia LaBeouf who also had a small part. Both of these actors can ACT and it was a shame they couldn’t show off their talents more in this movie. Also kudos’ to Peter Stormare for his portrayal of Satan.
If you like movies like “The Prophecy” you will probably like this movie. If you are looking for an Oscar performance, skip this movie… It’s a horror movie based on a comic book… just have fun and be entertained.
Jef
Side note: In spite of our reviews sounding very similar, I did not read Lyn's review before writting my own, though we did bring up the movie "The Prophecy" before the movie so that's probably why we both mentioned that movie - plus we both liked The Prophecy.
