The way most Catholics see it, there is good and evil here on Earth, and for its inhabitants, the promise of vastly different otherworldly retirement communities depends on which virtue is embraced with greater fervor. It is this final destination angst that fuels the hole-y narrative of “Constantine,” a visually spectacular yet emotionally barren, at times gratingly inconsistent, comic book adaptation (boy, we haven’t seen one of those in a couple of weeks, eh?) from hotshot music video director turned Hollywood golden boy du jour Francis Lawrence. There’s a pervasive, effective noirishness to “Constantine,” from the shadowy production design to the Bogie-Bacall-like rapport between stars Rachel Weisz and Keanu Reeves, channeling his Neo character and decked out like a long-lost Blues Brother. But the back story is convoluted, the platitudinous moralizing quickly grows tiresome, and seemingly every time things appear to be getting interesting, Lawrence chickens out and instead offers some clichéd convention of a franchise-in-the-making.
John Constantine is a typical matinee anti-hero. Born with the “gift” to see the half-breed angels and devils that walk among us for what they really are, he reluctantly battles Satan’s minions for the selfish purpose of regaining the salvation he lost after attempting suicide as a boy (that’s a mortal sin, according to the official rulebook). He’s a drunken, disillusioned loner whose affinity for cigarettes has led to terminal lung cancer. Time is running out for him to save his soul, and Constantine isn’t getting much help from either God’s androgynous agent, Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) or Hell’s most dapper emissary, Balthazar (rocker Gavin Rossdale). He does get a hand from Angela Dodson (Weisz), a tough yet vulnerable LAPD detective who’s mourning a twin sister who might or might not have committed suicide. Weisz is an underrated talent, and here she provides some much needed magnetism to counter-balance Reeves’ phlegmatic take on the title character. Together they make a valiant stand in the war between Heaven and Hell, but the filmmakers’ didn’t provide them with quite enough ammo to make “Constantine” a winner. (Rated R for violence and demonic images. Running time: 121 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 18, 2005. Read the original PDF.