Calaidescope World

If I Was a Movie Critic (Part One)

I have never read the HELLBLAZER or BOOKS OF MAGIC series (British penned graphic novels), but have heard a lot about them. I went to see CONSTANTINE last night with F and he was all prepared to be disappointed. He was not. And not having any expectations and not really knowing what the HELLBLAZER storyline was, neither was I.

CONSTANTINE is not the best film I have seen, but the visuals were absolutely stunning (a "trait" apparently shared by many first-time film directors who started making names for themselves directing music videos). You MUST see this film, if only for its TECHNICAL merits. The sets, the lighting, the cinematography: perfect. I actually enjoyed literally watching this film for the visuals (yes, I will chuck that frame where Rachel Weis is standing behind green glass and Keanu Reeves occupies the other half of the screen with flourescent light to artistic license BS). And I'm partially deaf, but I know what "good sound" is like when I hear it (many thanks to my audiophile father for educating me in the art of sound appreciation and plus points to Greenbelt 3 for keeping the decibels up properly). The sound in this movie is fantastic. It's not STAR WARS on THX, but, man, I could hear EVERYTHING from EVERYWHERE as if I was right there in each scene. And the sound mix in the scene where Reeves' character puts on Dave Brubeck's TAKE FIVE...ahhh...how I miss analog.

The story is one we have read or seen or perhaps even heard before. CONSTANTINE is THE PROPHECY meets BLADE starring Neo. I was really waiting for Reeves to fly in the end and was half expecting to hear Rage Against the Machine play in the background.

With the exception of Gavin Rossdale (since when was he an actor?), the supporting cast was fantastic. Unfortunately, Reeves as John Constantine didn't exactly work for me (well, at least, not throughout the entire movie). I couldn't see his agony. I heard it, but didn't see it. It's hard to portray a very torn and emotionally weary character when you're pretty and everyone is just waiting for you to say, "Whoa! Duuuude!". The portrayals of Gabriel and Lucifer were great. They're not as stylishly "eerie" as Christopher Walken and Viggo Mortensen in THE PROPECY, but well-cast and wonderfully played out just the same. If you have read Neil Gaiman's MURDER MYSTERIES or Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, you will recognize CONSTANTINE's Gabriel as one of their genderless angels, particularly Xaphania.

There are a lot of good movies out this week like RAY and SIDEWAYS, and I'm pretty sure the lines for those two will be much shorter than the ones for CONSTANTINE. But if you find the time (and perhaps the inclination to remember that Reeves CAN act when he is well-directed and given a good script), go see CONSTANTINE. Purists, open your minds. Not all of us were completely satisfied with the BATMAN, THE HULK and X-MEN movies, but when we saw FROM HELL and SPIDERMAN, we knew there was real hope in the world of comic book-to-film adaptations. If anything, I hope CONSTANTINE inspires people to pick up a copy of HELLBLAZER. I borrowed one of F's copies yesterday. Simply amazing.

posted by Calai @ 10:44 AM