Keanu Reeves in Constantine
Here we have a fella who looks nothing like the 6’1 height that he has. He is very thin in body frame and not tuff looking. There is not much brawniness about him. Yet, he has shown enough to say he can handle an action movie assignment.
I think, that is the reason why he was so perfect for The Matrix, at the beginning of the movie he was more than believable as a regular, run of the mill, average Joe.
Then it was quite a trip, to see him evolve from a nerd Neo, to the action packed Neo that he ultimately became. At first, his deadpan delivery in movies made me not like him. After seeing him however in movies such as “The Matrix”, “Something’s Gotta Give”, “Hardball” and now in “Constantine”, I think he is beginning to grow on me. Now that we have considered what I think about him personally. Let me tell you of why I like him in Constantine.
The Movie
Keanu Reeves plays the main character (John Constantine) a chain smoking, hard drinking and desolate exorcist, in this adaptation of a DC/Vertigo comic book named Hellblazer. Plays an exorcist whose specialty is dealing with the occult. (Evil Spirits. Demons…Hell Monsters..etc.)
Constantine at one point in the movie teams up with a detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) who is unconvinced about the suicide of her twin sister (also played by Weisz), their investigation leads them through a world full of demons and angels that exists behind close doors of Los Angeles and for that matter the rest of the world. Caught in a catastrophic series of unworldly events, the two become intricately involved and endeavor to attain their own peace of mind and body, no matter what the end cost turns out to be.
Keanu The Actor
I like Keanu Reeve very much in this movie because he was the personification of the depressed, and desolate, anti-hero. I loved the lack of emotion that just seeped trough his figurative pores. The despondency of his character was interesting, because usually the heroes truly care about acting out good deeds.
They want to accomplish good, not for them selves but for others. Here he plays some one who is selfish to the core and has to fight with that inner feeling. Fighting to do good, above the fact that he really does not want to care. I found his character to be oddly inviting. This I can relate to. Must be my own depressive self, longing for a hero that is more like me. Superman.
I can’t identify with him. He is all powerful and saved the day and understands that a good deed is its own reward. Constantine on the other hand is imperfect, fallable and struggles to do what right. Really, that is something that humans deal with every single day of their lives. Constantine is an easier source, that relates to my pessimistic, imperfect, point of view.
The Story
When taking an entire view of things, the one factor that was lacking the most was the story. It has a fair ending… but the trip to getting there was quite convoluted. A twist here and a turn there, and if you don’t hold on tightly, you get thrown off this train. I would like to call it intricate, but it was more sporadic, than just having many details to keep track of. It held a pace that made it hard to keep genuine interest. In the end however, it was good enough, so as to not leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. (Like in Catwoman or Swordfish) Like they say.. wow them in the end and you’ll be all right.
The Acting
Now the acting I very much liked. Keanu is rather good at playing his depressing character. In this movie he played it to a T. I’m glad they had Shia LaBeouf playing Chas for he added great comedy relief. (I loved him in Holes and back when he was in Even Stevens… funny dude) Rachel Weisz.. now her I loved. Besides this one, their is only two other movies I enjoy her in: Confidence and Runaway Jury.
In all three of these I found her intriguing for the same reasons. In all of them she plays characters with ruff and tuff attitudes. Their is one player in the game that I did not expect to see. This fella is the rock star from the band Bush called Gavin Rossdale. He played a demon, and he was, shall I say: “Finger Licking Good”.
He was seductively low speaking, good looking, dressed as if he has fat pockets, and has the demeanor of a slow killing demon. He was a nice surprise. Now, the dude who I found to be the most devilish, funny, and strange, was the actor who portrayed the devil himself. If you ever want to see Satan portrayed in a way very different from the typical manner, then you must see Peter Stormare’s rendition of it. He is wickedly good.
Action and C.G.I.
The visuals and the audibles in this movie were wonderful. Philippe Rousselot’s cinematography and Brian Tyler and Klaus Badelt’s soundtrack are outstanding. (You only wish that the story were up to par.) A few scenes involving demons are very vivid and very much a nice dose of eye candy.
Constantine is rated “R” for demonic images and violence. Also, dialog not suitable for small children. (Or some older ones too) It is worth your time but only if you can catch it on the big screen cause if you are going to see it on video..(Unless your a big Reeves or Weisz fan) then you won’t have all the special effects, sound effects and all the glitter to distract you from the story being told.
ZeN
