HallowScream - Constantine (2005)

          Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's hard to believe that we're almost finished with yet another HallowScream. So, for the penultimate review of this year's edition of HallowScream, let's dive into the world of DC with Constantine. Released in 2005, this film was directed by Francis Lawrence, and starred Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Honsou, Gavin Rossdale, Shia Labeouf, Tilda Swinton, and Peter Stormare. 

         So, the movie is centered around John Constantine, an expert in the paranormal, who is among those who is able to see the denizens of both Heaven and He'll who appear on Earth. You see, apparently God and the Devil made a wager years ago on which one could claim the most amount of human souls, but with the condition that neither side could influence humans directly. Indirect guidance, however, is acceptable. Anyway, we see John ultimately exercise a demon possessing a teenage girl, and ultimately return to his home. The next morning, however, we learn that John is dying from lung cancer due to his years of chain smoking, and because of an incident years earlier, his soul is ultimately condemned to Hell. 

        It's also here where we meet a police detective named Angela, who on the same day that John checks on how bad his cancer is, investigates the death of her twin sister Isabel, who was devout to the church and therefore wouldn't ever hurl herself to her death, but has apparently done so the night before. So, Angela teams up with John, and the two uncover the reason that Isabel cast herself off of a hospital roof to her death, all the while running across John's allies including teen cab driver Chas Kramer and club owner/witch doctor Papa Midnite, and also dealing with the likes of the angel Gabriel and the demon Balthazar. 

          Ultimately, it's discovered that several forces were planning to use Isabel as a doorway for Mammon, the son of the devil, to enter our plane of existence, with help from the Spear of Destiny, the blade of which has been found in Mexico, having been missing since World War II. Unfortunately, with Isabel dead, now the forces, which we learn include Gabriel, trying to bring Mammon into our world are targeting Angela, whose sight has been restored by John, who in a last dich effort slits his wrists and summons the devil himself, Lucifer Morningstar, who came to collect John's soul personally. Lucifer renders Gabriel a human and sends Mammon back to Hell. John, instead of getting an extension on Earth, willingly allows himself to be taken in exchange for Isabel's soul going to Heaven where she belongs. This sacrifice is enough for John to be taken to Heaven as well, but unwilling to let his prize go, Lucifer restores John to life and even removes his cancer. Now with his mission renewed, John parts ways with Angela, and goes off to continue the fight against the forces of Hell. 

        Okay, so admittedly, back when this movie came out, it wasn't well received by critics or audiences. However, it has gotten a cult following over the years, and I can honestly see why. The concept of the occult is always a neat one, and for DC to put their popular occult detective on the big screen is actually pretty awesome. Now, I didn't see this movie upon release, so I don't have the experience of those who saw it back in 2005. I can really only judge this movie as per my opinion of having only sennit in recent years. 

        With that said, I do find it odd how the movie was in such a weird place between PG-13 and R, but ultimately landing on an R-rating. Director Francis Lawrence did reference this and has said that whenever he gets to making a sequel, he would want to go full-blown R-rated with the sequel, not the weird no-man's land of PG-13 and R that the first movie got caught in. Interestingly enough, a sequel has been announced and it will be part of the DC Extended Universe, sharing the world of DC movies with the likes of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Batman. Cool.  

       Anyway, as far as the first movie goes, I definitely enjoyed the performances of Keanu Reeves as John Constantine and Rachel Weisz as the sisters Angela and Isabel. Djimon Honsou was really good as Midnite, as were both Tilda Swinton as Gabriel and Gavin Rossdale as Balthazar. I, personally, find Shia Labeouf pretty forgettable as Chas, but again, we are talking about pre-Transformers Shia when he was making movies like I, Robot and The Greatest Game Ever Played. But easily my favorite performance is that of Peter Stormare as Lucifer. And how hard is it not to enjoy enjoy Peter Stormare in this role? He just chews up the scenery with gusto, and I love watching every minute of it. 

        The visual designs for the various demons, as well as Heaven and Hell, are pretty unique in this movie. It's cool getting to see Hell imagined as an infernal version of the streets Los Angeles, with flames and hot winds, while Heaven looks like the rooftops of downtown Los Angeles surrounded by clouds. While not truly creative per se, it is unique and more interesting than the version of Hell we got to see eight years prior in the movie Spawn. And honestly, whose to say that Heaven and Hell don't have aspects of our world in them. 

       Ultimately, however, the writing by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello is fairly hit-or-miss. Director Francis Lawrence makes it work, but again, it's the writers who are the point of concern. Now, it looks like Akiva Goldsman is set to write the upcoming sequel, and we'll see if his writing has improved over the years since Batman and Robin. Although, Goldsman's writing on the show Titans is pretty good, so I definitely have some hope in that regard. I'm giving Constantine a rating of 4.25/5. 

        This is Chuck signing off, and join me on Halloween for the final review of this year's edition of HallowScream: the two-part animated film Batman: The Long Halloween.