Constantine (film)

Constantine is a 2005 American superhero horror film directed by Francis Lawrence in his feature film directorial debut. Written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, it is based on DC Comics' Hellblazer comic book. The film stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a cynical exorcist with the ability to perceive and communicate with half-angels and half-demons in their true form. Its cast also includes Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, and Peter Stormare.

Constantine
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFrancis Lawrence
Screenplay by
Story byKevin Brodbin
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPhilippe Rousselot
Edited byWayne Wahrman
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • February 7, 2005 (2005-02-07) (Paris)
  • February 18, 2005 (2005-02-18) (United States)
Running time
121 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States[5]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70–100 million[6][7][8]
Box office$230.9 million[8]

Constantine was theatrically released in the United States on February 18, 2005. It grossed $230.9 million worldwide against a production budget between $70–100 million, but met with a mixed reception from film critics.

Plot

In Mexico, a scavenger recovers the tip of the spear that pierced Jesus Christ from a ruined church and, after becoming possessed, takes it to Los Angeles. There, cynical occult expert John Constantine exorcises a demon from a young girl after witnessing its attempt to come through her to Earth, something that should be impossible because of a treaty between Heaven and Hell. Suffering from terminal lung cancer, Constantine meets with the half-breed angel Gabriel to request an extension to his life in exchange for his work deporting Hell's forces. Gabriel responds that performing good deeds for selfish reasons will not secure his way into Heaven.

Elsewhere, detective Angela Dodson is investigating the death of her twin sister Isabel who leaped from a psychiatric hospital roof. Angela refuses to believe her sister, a devout Catholic, would commit suicide and condemn herself to Hell. Watching security footage, Angela hears Isabel say "Constantine", and seeks out his assistance. He refuses to help until he witnesses demons pursuing Angela and fends them off. He uses a ritual to see Isabel in Hell and confirms she killed herself. Constantine tells Angela that he committed suicide as a teenager because he was traumatized by seeing supernatural creatures and, though he was revived, when he dies he is condemned to Hell.

At the morgue, Constantine's friend Father Hennesy discovers a symbol on Isabel's wrist but is killed by the half-breed demon Balthazar. Constantine and Angela discover Hennesy carved the symbol into his hand for them to find. Angela also finds a clue hidden in Isabel's hospital room concerning a chapter of Hell's bible. Before being killed by Balthazar, Constantine's ally Beeman tells the pair the symbol represents the antichrist Mammon, Lucifer's son, and the chapter prophesies him usurping his father and conquering the Earth, using a powerful psychic and divine assistance; the psychic, Isabel, killed herself to stop Mammon. Angela reveals she possessed powers like Isabel's but repressed them to avoid being deemed insane like her sister. Constantine helps Angela reawaken her powers by inducing a near-death experience, and she uses them to find Balthazar.

Constantine interrogates Balthazar and learns that the blood of Christ on the spear tip is Mammon's divine assistance, and Angela has been chosen as his new host. An unseen entity destroys Balthazar and abducts Angela who becomes possessed by Mammon. With the help of witch doctor Papa Midnite, Constantine induces visions to locate Angela at the psychiatric hospital. Alongside his driver and apprentice, Chas Kramer, Constantine arms himself and assaults the building, battling through hordes of demons to Angela. Constantine and Chas seemingly exorcise Mammon from her, but Chas is killed by the unseen force, revealed to be Gabriel. Resentful at God's favoritism for humanity and forgiveness for even the most wicked, Gabriel intends to unleash Hell on Earth so that those who survive will become truly "worthy" of His love. Gabriel tosses Constantine away and prepares to pierce Angela with the spear tip to unleash Mammon.

Desperate, Constantine commits suicide by slitting his wrists, knowing that Lucifer will personally come to collect him. Time pauses and Constantine convinces Lucifer to intervene and stop Mammon. Gabriel ineffectually attempts to smite Lucifer, revealing God has abandoned them, and Lucifer burns away Gabriel's wings before banishing Mammon to Hell. Lucifer offers to restore Constantine to life for his assistance, but he instead asks that Isabel be sent to Heaven. Lucifer releases Isabel, but Constantine begins ascending to Heaven for his selfless sacrifice. Infuriated, Lucifer restores Constantine to life and removes his cancer, believing that, in time, he will prove he belongs in Hell. Constantine punches the now-mortal Gabriel before leaving and entrusts Angela with securing the spear tip. In a post-credits scene, Constantine visits Chas's grave and witnesses Chas in an angelic form.

Cast
  • Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a chain-smoking cynic with the ability to perceive the true visage of half-angels and half-demons on the human plane. John believes himself damned to Hell for attempting suicide—a mortal sin—and has terminal lung cancer.
  • Rachel Weisz as Angela Dodson, a troubled Los Angeles Police Department Detective investigating the suicide of her twin sister, Isabel (also portrayed by Weisz). Weisz also plays Mammon, the son of Lucifer who has no patience for his father's rule of Hell and uses Angela's body as a means of escaping Hell to rule over Earth himself.
  • Shia LaBeouf as Chas Kramer, John Constantine's driver and student. Chas has a strong interest in the occult and helps John whenever possible in order to gain knowledge and experience from him.
  • Tilda Swinton as the Archangel Gabriel, a "half-breed" angel, depicted as looking androgynous, with a disdain for humanity who plots to set Mammon free from Hell to unleash demon kind on the Earth.
  • Pruitt Taylor Vince as Father Hennessy, an insomniac, alcoholic priest with the ability to communicate with the dead. He constantly drinks in order to "keep the voices out".
  • Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnite, a former witch-doctor who once fought against Hell. After swearing an oath of neutrality—unless one side should tip the balance of power—he opened a nightclub to serve as neutral meeting ground for both sides of the war between Heaven and Hell.
  • Gavin Rossdale as Balthazar, a "half-breed" demon with a special penchant for, and personal history with, John Constantine.
  • Peter Stormare as Lucifer Morningstar, a fallen Archangel who is in a proxy war with God for the souls of all mankind. Lucifer loathes John Constantine with such vigor that his soul is the only one he would ever come to personally collect.
  • Max Baker as Beeman, a friend of John Constantine's with a liking for exotic materials and insects. He serves as both a supplier of holy objects and relayer of information to John.
  • Jesse Ramirez as Manuel, a scavenger and treasure hunter who finds the Spear in a church ruin. He enters into a trance-like state which resurrects him after getting hit by a car.

Production

The character of John Constantine was introduced by comic book writer/creator Alan Moore while writing Swamp Thing, first appearing there in June 1985.[9] In 1988, the character was given his own comic book title, Hellblazer, published by DC Comics.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner began developing the film in 1997.[10] In 1999, Paul Hunter was attached to direct,[11] replaced by Tarsem Singh in 2001.[12] Warner Bros. hoped Singh could begin filming in 2002 with Nicolas Cage attached to star in the lead role[13] but Singh dropped out, resulting in opposing lawsuits from Singh and Warner Bros. Keanu Reeves became attached in 2002.[14] Alan Moore, the original creator of John Constantine, had been disappointed by the previous adaptations of his comics From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and refused credit for the film, asking that his royalties be distributed among the other creators.

Constantine was written using some elements from Garth Ennis's "Dangerous Habits" story arc (issues #41–46)[15] and others, such as the inclusion of Papa Midnite, from the Original Sins trade paperback.[16] The film changed several aspects of the source material, including a number of cosmetic changes to the lead character's appearance, e.g., Reeves played the role with his natural accent and hair color[17] whilst the original character was intentionally drawn to resemble English musician Sting and came from Liverpool.[18] The film's story was set in Los Angeles, and the director justified the move from England by claiming the comic book was not exclusively set in London.[17]

Other changes to the character were made, such as giving him the psychic ability to see "half-breeds" as they truly are. That ability, in the film, is what caused him to attempt suicide and which led to his damnation[19] rather than the key incident in the comics where he summoned a demon that killed a young girl.[20] The resolution of the lung cancer plotline in the film was also amended; Lucifer willingly saves the redeemed Constantine to give him a second chance at falling instead of being tricked into doing so as was seen in the comic book.[19] Scenes with actress Michelle Monaghan as Constantine's lover, a half-breed demon named Ellie based on the succubus Ellie in the Hellblazer comics, were cut from the film to make Constantine more of a lonely character.[21]

The film's title was changed from Hellblazer to Constantine to avoid confusion with the Clive Barker Hellraiser films.[17] The comics series itself was originally to be titled Hellraiser but was also retitled to avoid confusion with the film, released the previous year.[18]

Hell, as it is depicted within the film

Director Lawrence decided to base the idea of Hell "on the geography of what's around us now."[22] He further explained:

That was actually a combination of me and the visual effects supervisor and the production designer sitting down and sort of coming up with the biological growth that's growing all over the cars and what that looks like and the color palette. And we started to look at the nuclear test films from the 1940s of the nuclear blasts and just decided that it would be great if the landscape was not only violent with these creatures, but also the atmosphere. So we decided that it was kind of an eternal nuclear blast except nothing ever really gets obliterated because it's eternal and it's constantly going.

Music

Soundtrack
Constantine: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Brian Tyler and Klaus Badelt
ReleasedFebruary 15, 2005
Recorded2004
GenreFilm score
Soundtrack
Length51:47
LabelVarèse Sarabande
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[23]

Constantine: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a 2005 soundtrack album from the film of the same title. The soundtrack is an orchestral compilation of songs in the film, performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony & The Hollywood Film Chorale and composed by Brian Tyler, composer for films such as Eagle Eye and Fast & Furious, and Klaus Badelt.

The songs "Passive" by A Perfect Circle (released in conjunction with the film and heard in the walkthrough Midnite's bar) and "Take Five" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet (heard on a record played by Constantine) were not included. The soundtrack was panned by Allmusic, who referred to it as "clichéd and religiously formulaic".[23]

Instrumentation

  • Strings: 47 violins, 27 violas, 27 violoncellos, 17 double basses, 1 harp
  • Woodwinds: 7 flutes, 4 clarinets, 2 bassoons
  • Brass: 12 horns, 3 trumpets, 6 trombones, 2 tubas
  • Percussion: 8 players
  • Keyboard: 3 players
  • Chorus: 11 sopranos, 10 altos, 8 tenors, 8 baritones/bass

Release

Theatrical

The original announced release date was September 17, 2004, before it was pushed back.[24] Although the film was intended to be rated PG-13, it received an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association, which Lawrence attributed to its religious overtones.[25]

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD in 2005. Warner Home Video announced that the film was to be released on HD DVD on March 28, 2006.[26] It would be one of the earliest titles to be released on that media format. However, following delays to the launch of the HD DVD format (which pushed back the release of many of the initially announced titles), Constantine eventually made its debut on HD DVD on June 6, 2006. Warner Home Video released a Blu-ray Disc version of the film on October 14, 2008.

Reception

Box office

Constantine opened theatrically on February 18, 2005, in 3,006 venues, earning $29.8 million in its opening weekend and ranking second behind Hitch's second weekend.[27] The film ended its run on June 16, 2005, having grossed $76 million in the United States and Canada, and $154.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $230.9 million against a production budget between $70–100 million.[6][7][8]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 46% based on the reviews of 230 critics and an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's consensus states: "Despite solid production values and an intriguing premise, Constantine lacks the focus of another spiritual shoot-em-up, The Matrix."[28] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average, the film holds a score of 50 out of 100 based on the reviews of 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[29]

Richard Corliss of Time magazine called it "a one-of-a-kind hybrid: a theological noir action film".[30] In crediting the actors, he specifically cited Keanu Reeves' ability to "retain his charisma in [a] weird-silly moment" in addition to the performances of Tilda Swinton whom he referred to as "immaculately decadent". He also praised Francis Lawrence's usage of a significant number of camera locations and angles. He was, however, critical of the movie's climax, referring to it as "irrevocably goofy".

Ella Taylor of LA Weekly wrote, "Constantine, which opts in the end for what I can only describe as a kind of supernatural humanism, is not without its spiritual satisfactions."[31] Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Keanu Reeves has no peer when it comes to playing these sort of messianic roles—he infuses them with a Zen blankness and serenity that somehow gets him through even the unlikeliest scenes with a quiet, unassuming dignity."[32]

Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat gave the film three stars out of five, stating that "the film (barely) succeeds, thanks to impressive visuals, the idea of an uncaring God wagering with Satan for souls, and two immensely enjoyable scenes (one with Weisz, one with Stormare) in which Reeves actually plays his character as the cynical asshole he really is."[33]

Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News gave the film a 2.5 out of 5, stating, "For all its spiritual angst, Constantine is about as silly as fantasies get."[34] Michael Sragow of The Baltimore Sun also gave the film a 2 out of 5, stating, "It all comes off as a case of filmmakers wanting to have their communion wafer and eat it, too."[35] Desson Thomson, a writer for The Washington Post, had similar sentiments of the film,[36] specifically panning the film's distancing from the comic book upon which it is based:

If you are a fan of the Hellblazer comic book series, on which this movie is based, you'll definitely need a distraction. The relation between Constantine and its source material is, at best, superfluous. The disparity starts with the original John Constantine (Reeves's character) being from Liverpool, England. Reeves from the city of John and Paul? As if.

Leonard Maltin's annual publication Movie Guide gives the film a BOMB rating, describing it as "dreary, to put it mildly".[37] Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars,[38] panning the depiction of Hell ("a post-nuclear Los Angeles created by animators with a hangover"), the premise of the film itself ("You would think that God would be the New England Patriots of this contest, but apparently there is a chance that Satan could win."), plot holes, inconsistencies, and general actions depicted throughout the film. He was not particularly critical of the film's acting, only mentioning it by stating, "Reeves has a deliberately morose energy level in the movie, as befits one who has seen Hell, walks among half-demons, and is dying. He keeps on smoking." He added it to his list of "most hated" films.[39]

Novelization and video game

To tie into the film's release, a novelization by John Shirley and a video game adaption of the film was also produced.

The novelization further describes Hell's setting in that the buildings are lined with blood instead of mortar, and built with the souls of the damned rather than brick.[40]

Potential sequel

In 2011, director Francis Lawrence stated regarding a sequel:

It's interesting that over the years, Constantine seems like it's become ... like it has this sort of cult following, which has been great. It's been embraced. It would be great to figure out a sequel, and if we did, and we've been trying to figure one out, it would be great to do the really dark, scary version. We got caught in that weird PG-13–R no man's land, and we should do the hard-R scary version, which I would love to do.[41]

In November 2012 it was announced that Guillermo del Toro had signed on as writer and director for a Justice League Dark film centered around DC Comics' supernatural characters, with John Constantine featuring as a main character.[42]

By May 2019, Reeves stated that he is open to reprising the role in the future.[43]

In November 2020, Stormare announced on an Instagram post that a sequel was "in the works". Representatives for Warner Brothers and Reeves did not immediately respond to a request to comment.[44]

In December 2021, Reeves again expressed interest in a sequel, saying "I would love to be John Constantine again."[45]

References
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