He's dressed in all black again this time flirting with the boundaries of heaven and hell, but "Constantine" bears little semblance to Keanu Reeve's hits like the "Matrix" and "Devil's Advocate."
"Constantine" is a supernatural, sci-fi thriller based on the DC/Vertigo comic book, "Hellblazer." And while fans of the comic may enjoy this flick, others may leave wanting more.
After spending $8 for a ticket and having high hopes for a deep, meaningful plotline, "Constantine" failed miserably to captivate me.
Due to undeveloped characters and a weak plot, at the end of the movie I refused to leave my seat, frustrated that I'd just wasted two hours trying to find meaning in a shallow and meaningless movie.
Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine who has the ability to see half-breeds (angelic or demonic creatures that walk the earth as humans), and the power to send the demons back to hell.
The reasoning for Constantine's work of sending demons back to hell deals largely with his past, an essential part of the plot, that director Francis Lawrence just slightly touches on.
Committing suicide as a teen because of his unearthly visions, Constantine was brought back to Earth and now selfishly fights the demons on Earth to win salvation into heaven.
As the movie begins, Constantine performs an exorcism on a young woman and successfully destroys the demon. However, he realizes the hellacious beings are trying to interfere with humans on earth, which is forbidden.
Constantine's realizations strengthen as he meets Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police detective whose twin sister (Weisz) has committed suicide.
Along their way to figure out the mystery behind the supposed suicide and the overstepped borders of hell's demons, Constantine receives help from a priest (Pruitt Taylor Vince) who hears voices and Beeman, a bowling alley relic collector (Max Baker.)
The only character that offers any slight tinge of comic relief is Chaz (Shia LaBeouf), as he plays Constantine's chauffeur and hopeful novice. But stick around after the credits for a sense of completion on his character.
While Lawrence has proved his skills as a music video director, his debut film attempt is lackluster.
Even with worthwhile special effects of hell and demons, the plot begins imploding halfway through the middle of the two hours and by the end is completely deflated. Characters are short-lived and Constantine's character is altogether flat. Furthermore, themes of faith and suicide should have been further explored.
Despite a small audience for a primetime Saturday night viewing, Constantine collected $30.5 million at the box-office this past weekend and came in second to Will Smith's "Hitch."
