"Hell wants him. Heaven won't take him. Earth needs him."
I went into this movie with the lowest of expectations; the film had gotten bad reviews and more often than not I listen to critics. However I was anxious to see what Keanu Reeves had to offer in this particular genre following the Matrix trilogy. It is fair to say that I was not only wrong, but pleasantly surprised. I had always assumed that Keanu was going to remain typecast following his role as Neo - although there were several similarities to the characters they remain quite unlike each other in many ways.
John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a misfit and by his own admission does not belong in this world. As the plot unveils one can begin to understand the 'tagline' as Constantine has literally been to hell and back. The character is believable enough; the supernatural elements of his existance being accepted with ones own willing suspension of disbelief. Constantine is an anti-hero, the audience does not want to pity him but as his tragic life is played out on screen as he explains his 'abilities' to policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) it is hard to not feel a little sorry for him.
*Possible Spoilers Ahead*
The pairing of Dodson and Constantine is a little clumsy at first, the on-screen chemistry between Reeves and Weisz is not exactly inspired. However this can be explained away because of the fact that Constantine is naturally a 'dead-pad' very unemotional character. They come together following the death of Angela's sister - Isabel - due to Constantine's expertise in the realm of the occult. Angela always suspects that her sister did not commit suicide as was the generally accepted case and so she goes to John for help. All in all the plot is a little bit thin on the ground but, in my honest opinion, this doesn't matter because there are numerous other factors that help to better the film; the backstory of Constantine and the history of the struggle between good and evil is truly inspired. There have been many interpretations by authors over time on the nature of "Good Vs. Evil" and how that plays out in the human world - this one is genuinely very good.
The films portrays many of the 'key players' in the battle on screen, and although the Devil/Satan (Peter Stormare) is seen there is always the anticipation and mystery behind how they will present 'God' - in the end He remains anonymous. As with the majority of the backstory it is explained by Constantine - the 'half-breeds' duties on Earth to maintain the balance but at the same time influence humanity. Having all the Angels and Demons in the movie played as human is also rather inspired. At first one is presented with a black and white view of the human condition and how both heaven and hell try to influence humanity. But by having all the angels, demons and even Satan being human (in my mind) gives it a distinctly darker feel to it.
In conclusion, the film is certainly not to everyones taste. In places it is quite depressing and uses rather cheap shock tactics in order to grab the audiences attention. But there are moments that are truly inspired and these really do make the film. My main problem with it was, that because I liked it, I felt it could have gone on another hour and still not given the audience a fair insight into John Constantine and the story. There was a lot of time wasted when things should have been explained a little clearer - countless people who I know have seen it and asked what a particular section meant. With a really good film this shouldn't matter but with this it does.
(7.5/10)