A perfect smoking campaign
John Constantine is cursed in two-ways. First, he has the gift to see angels and the fallen (fallen angels). He uses it to deport demons and unsavory characters back to hell. This is his regular job and one he takes seriously. The second way he is cursed is that he didn’t take this job seriously when he was younger and couldn’t stand living with that frame of mind; therefore he took his own life (or tried at least). According to the good book, by taking his life he has punched his ticket to hell. Constantine now is trying to buy his way back to heaven by doing the job he was born to do. Regretfully, this is not helping the cause. On top of this, he his dying of cancer from chain-smoking and all the demons/fallen angels he has deported back to hell are anxiously awaiting his arrival. Finally, during all this life chaos, he has found something unusual, a plot for Satan’s son to bring hell to earth. Fighting a hopeless cause, he puts everything against him behind him and tries to find a way to stop earth’s ultimate destruction.
Critics didn’t pan this film, which was the right decision. Most people get turned off by merely seeing Keanu Reeves’ name in the credit of a movie, but definitely blink twice and dive into Constantine. Reeves pulls the character off with style and lends his acting ability into a darker shade of shadow in the process. True, he hasn’t exactly turned the world’s head with some of his most recent projects, but the role of John Constantine was made for him. A loner with nothing to lose, he’s trying to survive the best way he can and ultimately his fate won’t be changed regardless of what he does. It’s a very sad scenario, one in which ends with the viewer wanting more (and possibly getting more… as there are rumors to a sequel). Outside of Reeves, you also have a very intelligent role of Angela Dodson played by Rachel Weisz (who departs from her bumbling idiot role from the Mummy franchise). She’s a cop who just lost her twin sister and can’t stand the fact that her sister won’t be properly honored by the catholic church. She doesn’t believe it’s a suicide, which leads her to Constantine. A duel role that won me over and I haven’t lost respect for her since (despite her role in the worst movie of all-time The Fountain — it makes David Lynch’s work look sane).
As for the director, Francis Lawrence, I was very impressed by his flow of the story visually. Having a main background with musicians, he did really superb work on keeping the storyline interesting and in check. He made very real characters, which is tough to do on these indie type comics book. I think his choice for Keanu was key, and ballsy at the same time. Again, I know most people nowadays can’t shake Speed or Point Break out of their heads, but he was born for this role and Lawrence seemed to know that. Excellent choice, excellent direction.
In the end, you may not love it or even like it, but Constantine (in my opinion) is a fantastic film that doesn’t fail to entertain. If you’re warped and like to see the wicked side of life, like myself, this might be the one for you. The portrayal of Hell will haunt you forever (as it hasn’t really been portrayed well in previous films). Anyway, good stuff.
Blu-ray in a red world
So, like I said about 20 or 30 times already in reviews, action films just make Blu-ray so enticing. Constantine is simply gorgeous in HD and sounds superb in a 5.1 DTS Lossless environment. The high-quality imagery, mixed with horrible (but in a good way) special effects, really brings home something that DVD and theatrical releases can’t touch. It’s personal, it’s engulfing of the senses and it’s something that shouldn’t be missed. I was biding my time for this release and I couldn’t be happier with the results.
If that wasn’t enough though, here’s what you get in terms of special features.
In-Movie Experience
· During the feature, Director Francis Lawrence will lead an exploration of the plot, stunts, characters and filmmaking process of Constantine.
Behind the Story
- Commentary by Francis Lawrence and Akiva Goldsman – Director Francis Lawrence and Producer Akiva Goldsman discuss the film scene by scene)
- Commentary by Kevin Brodbin and Frank A. Cappello – Screenwriters Kevin Brodbin and Frank A. Cappello discuss the different written forms of Constantine
- Channeling Constantine – An exploration of the ensemble cast)
- Conjuring Constantine – A look at the comic book origins and how the story was brought to the screen)
- Director’s Confessional – Francis Lawrence discusses the making of his first feature)
- Collision with Evil – Revealing the process of creating the scavenger crash)
- Holy Relics – The propmaster unveils Constantine’s arsenal)
- Shotgun Shootout – The choreography of Constantine’s climactic gunfight)
- Hellscape – Creating Constantine’s Hell)
- Visualizing Vermin – A CG creature comes to life
- Warrior Wings – Creating the half-breed’s wings
- Unholy Abduction – From pre-production to post, Angela’s abduction is explained
- Demon Face – A time-lapse look at creating the Demon Balthazar
- Constantine’s Cosmology – Noted myths expert Phil Cousineau explores the origins of Constantine’s tale
- Foresight: The Power of Pre-Visualization
- Optional Commentary by Francis Lawrence -The preliminary process of creating shot by shot animatics for complex scenes
- A Writer’s Vision – Screenwriter Frank A. Cappello explains an early animation he created to help him visualize aspects of Constantine
Additional Footage
- Deleted Scenes – Optional Commentary by Francis Lawrence
- Chas bowls
- Surveillance video
- Border patrol
- Hennessey’s apartment
- Demonic tryst
- Original Vermin attack
- Background check
- Password
- Demonic escort
- Constantine’s past
- Light command
- Last chance
- Demon’s pardon
- Alternate cemetery ending
Music Videos
- Passive Music Video by A Perfect Circle
Trailers
- Teaser Trailer – HD
- Theatrical Trailer- HD
Why yes, you can close your jaw now. I was blown away by WB’s care for this Blu-ray. It didn’t have to do it to this extent, but it did. Again, you get quite a bit here in terms of special features. They’re mostly high-quality time-consumers. You’ll love it! In some respects they’re better than the feature, but in others they’re very much on par. Good documentaries, excellent featurettes, pretty neat deleted scenes. Be happy, Warner Brothers really did a perfect job on this Blu-ray.