"Constantine" With Keanu Reeves Is A Much Better Movie Than People Think

Now, with Reeves back in the spotlight thanks to the John Wick movies, some of the attention passed on to his older movies, and 2005 Constantine can finally get the credit it deserves.

Damjan

• Published in Film & TV
• July 9, 2020

Released in 2005, with comic book-based movies were not popular yet, director Francis Lawrence's Constantine received a lukewarm reception. Having a mega-popular star like Keanu Reeves playing a D.C. Comics/Vertigo character Constantine didn't help.

The movie differed a lot from the comic book, so the result was just 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the original comic book created by Alan Moore, Constantine was a blonde Brit, while the movie is set in L.A., and the main character is an American.

Another unfortunate circumstance was that Keanu's role was compared to his role in Matrix, and they are entirely different movies. Whatever the reason may be, it was totally uncalled for.

Now, with Reeves back in the spotlight thanks to the John Wick movies, some of the attention passed on to his older movies, and 2005 Constantine can finally get the credit it deserves.

1. You can watch Peter Stormare as one of the best movie Satans ever

At the beginning of the movie, Constantine is warned that he is the only soul Devil will come to take himself, which is precisely what occurs during the high point. Peter Stormare plays Satan, and the combination of his elegance and odd mannerisms sell one of the most memorable devils we saw on screen.

An exciting scene occurs when "half-breed" angel Gabriel confronts him. "Son of perdition!" Gabriel says. "Most unclean!" Stormare grins and purrs, "I do miss the old names."

2. Hell is shown as continuous nuclear blast

When creating hell in Constantine, director Francis Lawrence had a clear concept. "His idea was that hell is a parallel universe," visual effects manager Mike Fink described.

"It exists in another dimension as a complete replica of our world. You have the same buildings, the same streets, and the same rooms."

"The difference is that everything seems to be perpetually hit by a nuclear heat wave. This universe keeps decaying forever. It just never stops."

Seven teams worked on that effect and it was not easy, but they done a great job – ruined LA skyline, palm trees burning, wind that rips car doors and demons lurking for lost souls.

3. The movie is full of tics and gags

Some of them are subtle, like the numbers 666 hidden in the logo on the wall of the back street where John Constantine lives, and some of them are obvious, like a billboard that says "got faith."  The Spear of Destiny is the plot trigger in the movie.

That spear pierced the side of Christ, and it is found hidden below the ruins of what was most likely once a church. The three crosses are forming a nod to Golgotha.

Another time, as Constantine looks up and saw a billboard saying, "Your time is running out... to buy a new Chevy."

4. It is a paranormal Film Noir

The movie has many film noir moments. Constantine is a tired man who thinks he saw it all, and a beautiful woman shows him that he did not, as she brings unexpected trouble into his life.

Everyone is playing a long game. The stakes are much higher than they thought – what starts as a simple investigation turns into the discovery of a much larger conspiracy.

Constantine even gives a Philip Marlowe-style narration before the credits.

5. The supernatural Is preserved by vagueness

The theology of Constantine is strongly embedded in Catholicism, and the system of heaven and hell can be easily understood, but there are still plenty of baffling plot moments in this movie. And that is important for fans of ambiguity in the paranormal.

We can understand the wager's guidelines between Devil and God and what "half-breeds" and demons are. Still, it was never explained what that collection of symbols Constantine goes through throughout the first exorcism is, or what did he wrap around his hand when the demons attacked.

So, a lot of the stuff was left to our imagination, which is excellent and rare.

6. The demons are convincing

The majority of the fighting in the movie is done by Constantine and human-looking "half-breeds," but some demons are appearing too. "Vermin Man" was made up of bugs and snakes and other nasty animals, but most of the movie's demons look like human corpses that are missing the top half of their skull. It was inspired by actual pictures of autopsies and the works of a Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński. 

7. It has an impressive supporting cast

Along with Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou, Shia LaBeouf, Peter Stormare, and Tilda Swinton, the movie's supporting cast is full of familiar faces. Pruitt Taylor Vince, who had roles in T.V. shows like Stranger Things and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. plays a cleric who has hallucinations that drive him to drink.

Larry Cedar, well-known to fans of Community and Deadwood, pops in as a demon made of snakes, bugs, and crabs. Maybe the strangest casting in Constantine is Bush-frontman Gavin Rossdale as a well-dressed, coin-spinning "half-breed" named Balthazar.

8. Tilda Swinton Plays Angel Gabriel

The eccentric star played in Adaptation, Vanilla Sky, and Wittgenstein, but this role of a deranged androgynous "half-breed" angel Gabriel, helped her define her presence in other movies, like Doctor Strange, Chronicles of Narnia, and Suspiria.

The first time we see Gabriel in this movie, he (she) is standing in front of a fireplace, informing Constantine that he is going to die young, because he "smoked 30 a day since 15," and that he's going to hell "because of the life he took." Swinton then leans to him and says, "You're f*cked."

9. Constantine uses supernatural gimmicks against demons

To fight demons, you need some pretty cool weapons, and Constantine has his own Bond’s Q equivalent. A character called Beeman provides him with arms like holly water from Jordan, and screech beetle from Amityville.

And one of the best weapons is, without a doubt, the blessed brass knuckles…

10. Djimon Hounsou as an underground bar owner

Djimon Hounsou already had notable appearances in Gladiator in 2000. However, he was still ten years away from being a superstar that his roles in Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Shazam made him.

In Constantine, he plays Papa Midnite, who runs a club that serves "those who rise and those who fall," an impartial territory for "half-breed" angels and demons. In the club, we can see "half-breeds" breathing on some drinks that turn them black, or eating on something squirming in a bag…

The real treat is when he takes Constantine in the back room, full of supernatural artifacts.

11. In the deleted scenes, Michelle Monaghan is a Succubus

That year she played with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 3, and Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. But in Constantine, the scenes were taken out of the final version, so you can only see them in deleted scenes on Blu-ray or DVD.

She plays a “half-breed” demon called Ellie, Constantine’s occasional fling.  You can also see her just for a second in the final version of the movie, when the sprinkles in the hospital kick in, she says, “Holy water?”

12. Shia LaBeouf is Constantine’s sidekick

Shia LaBeouf plays a taxi driver who drives Constantine around L.A. He pulls off a decently comical supporting role, and it helped him land several leading roles after.

In Constantine, he appears briefly when the duo fights a treacherous enemy. He also delivers a funny line when he tells off Papa Midnite's bouncer, "Who's a rat in a dress now?"

Damjan