Constantine (2005)

Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine, who has literally been to hell and back.

Director:

Francis Lawrence

Writers:

Jamie Delano (comic book "Hellblazer"), Garth Ennis (comic book "Hellblazer"),

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	John Constantine
Rachel Weisz	...	Angela Dodson / Isabel Dodson
Shia LaBeouf	...	Chas Kramer
Djimon Hounsou	...	Midnite
Max Baker	...	Beeman
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Father Hennessy
Gavin Rossdale	...	Balthazar
Tilda Swinton	...	Gabriel
Peter Stormare	...	Satan
Jesse Ramirez	...	Scavenger
José Zúñiga	...	Detective Weiss (as Jose Zuniga)
Francis Guinan	...	Father Garret
Larry Cedar	...	Vermin Man
April Grace	...	Dr. Leslie Archer
Suzanne Whang	...	Mother

Storyline

John Constantine is approached by Det. Angela Dodson who needs his help to prove that her twin sister Isabel's death was not a suicide. The dead woman was a devout Catholic and Angela refuses to accept that she would have taken her own life. She's asked Constantine for help because he has a reputation for dealing with the mystical. In fact, he is a demon hunter whose sole purpose on Earth is to send demons back to the nether regions. John himself has been to Hell - as a young man he too committed suicide and now knows that he is destined to return there on his death - but hopes that his good deeds may somehow find him a place in Heaven. As he looks into Isabel's death, he realizes that demons are trying to break through to the human world and his battles lead him into a direct conflict with Satan.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | hell | suicide | death | twin | 

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Taglines:

The wager between heaven and hell is on Earth

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and demonic images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros.

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Filipino Tagalog

Release Date:

18 February 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hellblazer

Filming Locations:

St. Vincent Catholic Church - 621 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,176,865 (Japan) (15 April 2005)

Gross:

$75,500,759 (USA) (20 May 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, DC Comics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the course of the movie, John Constantine is seen smoking 13 cigarettes, generally regarded to be an unlucky number.

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Goofs

The priest tells Angela that suicide is a mortal sin and therefore she cannot have a Catholic funeral. While the church does still consider it a sin, it is not done so in case of mental illness, which in modern times is every time, and in that case since she was in a mental institution is a moot point. People who commit suicide are no longer refused a Catholic funeral.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Scavenger #2: Manuel.
[Scavenger continues to walk away in a trance]
Scavenger #2: Manuel!

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, only the company logos and the title of the movie.

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Connections

References Prince of Darkness (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Los Recuerdos del Troquero"
Written by Salome Renteria Guitierrez
Performed by Flaco Jiménez
Courtesy of D.L.B. Records

User Reviews

The anti-hero in us all.

Constantine was the Roman emperor who recognized Christianity and made if possible for the Church to move from the underground into the public arena. He did it out of convenience, thinking that it would be easier to work with the Christian church than try to fight it. He lived most of his life as a ruthless leader who gave the orders to kill even members of his family. Constantine accomplished much good in his life, even though he had what most would say were impure motives.

But the Roman Constantine is not the same as the same-named title character of the new film, "Constantine," from DC-Vertigo Comics and Warner Brothers Pictures. Or is he? John Constantine, from the comic novels "Hellblazer," is doomed to hell when he dies. His situation may be hopeless, but he operates as if he could buy his way into heaven by doing enough good by removing enough evil from the world. He's a chain-smoking, hard-drinking, rude and uncaring man who is the hero of our film.

Angela Dodson is a pure-hearted, loving sister who is seeking the truth to her twin sister, Isabel's, death. It would seem she has nothing but the best motives, but conflicted people and incongruous motives are what make this movie interesting.

Interesting questions surrounding the death of Jesus Christ, the existence of demons on Earth, the ultimate destination of our soul when we die and even the perfect lack of all evil in angels are woven into a screen adaptation of a character and story with a cult following. It seems as though this ambiguity regarding good and evil may exist in film as well as real life. In "Constantine," it is not good verses evil -- but rather it is good and evil taking turns messing things up and making them better. In life the rule seems to be strangely similar. John Constantine's ability to do good without pure motives may give hope to the rest of us who regularly do things for all the wrong reasons.

The visuals and the sound presentation in this film are wonderful. Philippe Rousselot's cinematography and Brian Tyler and Klaus Badelt's energetic soundtrack are masterful. The acting, however, is only adequate. Keanu Reaves has long since learned how to play Keanu Reaves. He continues with what he knows best. Shia LaBeouf, after a similar role in "I, Robot," is becoming quite an accomplished "plucky sidekick" too. But the standout in this film is the emotional and endearing performance by Rachel Weisz as Angela Dodson. The movie is one worth seeing aside from her presence, but Weisz's performance take it from a "see it if you like action movies" recommendation to a "see it to admire Rachel Weisz's performance" endorsement.

Constantine is rated "R" for demonic images and violence. It opens in theatres February 18.