Last weekend, I caught Constantine at Bugis Junction and it was, decidedly, one of the worst cinematic experiences I've ever had! Firstly, the theater smelled really musty and weird (I think the phrase "old socks" comes to mind...) and the seats were a tad too high; since I'm rather vertically-challenged, I had to crane my neck up roughly forty-five degrees to look at the screen, albeit the fact that I was sitting somewhere near the center of the theater. The cushioned seats felt uncushioned -- my poor butt was quite sore afterwards! -- while the padding on the head-rests were as thick and uncomfortable as pieces of lumber. Furthermore, the sound system really, really sucked and thus, I had difficulties following the dialogue of the movie (Chinese audiences had it easy cuz' mandarin subtitles were provided). Henceforth, I've vowed never to step foot into the cinemas at Bugis ever again...
However, all my griping about the sorry state of the cinema aside, I was quite impressed with Constantine, which was more of gothic-thriller than a fast-paced action movie. I've never read any of the HellBlazer graphic novels which this film is based on, but from what I've gathered so far (via the Internet), stalwart fans of the comic series aren't too pleased with the liberties taken by the producers/director in the making of this film. For one thing, the story's protagonist, John Constantine, is originally a profanity-spewing Briton but the film has turned the character into, unquestionably, an American played by the perpetually wooden, Keanu Reeves. But of course, that's so much better than having him try to adopt a British accent (anyone seen him in Bram Stoker's Dracula??); now THAT would be really something to complain about...It is virtually impossible NOT to compare Constantine (the film) to the enormously successful Matrix series. Both movies have tedious plot-lines that require alot of deciphering, and both revolve around a central Keanu character, who spends most of his onscreen time looking either very lost, very distracted or very stoned (I can't figure out which). When he does speak, the Keanu character is often quite unintelligible, either due to his monotonous reciting of lines or simply, just very bad scripting. To his credit, Keanu wasn't really THAT horrible (as I had made him out to be) in this film; in fact, as the cynical and world-weary exorcist cum paranormal detective, John Constantine, Keanu was quite credible... and looked really cool too~! ;) Despite his limited acting range, Keanu has his brooding magnetic presence down pat; in one scene, he was oozing cool even while coughing out blood along the sidewalk...
First-time film director Francis Lawrence didnt really bring anything novel to the screen but he did manage to keep the pacing pretty even throughout the film and his previous experience in directing MTVs is evident in his chic visual style. The enigmatic Tilda Swinton as an androgynous archangel Gabriel, and the off-beat Peter Stormore as Lucifer are amongst the saving graces of the film; they definitely deserved more onscreen time. As the token damsel in distress, Rachel Weisz was sufficiently convincing and her chemistry wif Keanu, though not sizzling, was palpable enough to be believable.
Unfortunately, Constantine ended with a near whimper, instead of the big bang that I was expecting, but then, when all is said and done, I can't wait to watch it again on vcd or dvd and am already anticipating a sequel or two ala The Matrix. my ratings --- 3.7/5 stars~!!!
