Purgatory

Around the same time that I discovered that movies could hold the key to a career in the future, I also discovered that reading comic books was a lot of fun. Heck, until 10 years ago, comics were a regular part of my reading "diet". It's rare then, that I don't know anything about those characters beforehand, that have made the leap onto the big screen. I have to admit though, such is the case with Constantine, as created by Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis, for the Hellblazer title. Other than what I could gather from the film's trailer, my knowledge of the back story was zero, which could be seen by some as a good thing. I have to say, coming at it with fresh eyes though, didn't affect my opinion about the film (one way or another) at all.

John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a world-travelling, mage-like misfit who investigates supernatural mysteries and the like, walking that thin line between good and evil. For the story Constantine teams up with a female police detective, Angela (Rachel Weisz), who wants Constantine's help while investigating the suicide style death of her twin sister. Their investigation leads them to a mysterious group called "The First of the Fallen". And what is it about Constantine that puts him in a position where he is making deals with those that represent both heaven and hades for everyone's soul?

Having finally escaped the scifi--started off great then got muddled Matrix Trilogy--My first thought was, I was a little surprised that Reeves would take on a supernatural effects heavy project so soon afterwards...I decided to read the enclosed comic book reprint of Hellblazer #41 (an exclusive for the "Deluxe Edition" 2-disc set), as a primer, before seeing the movie. The 50 page book makes a fun adult read does an OK job as a set up... As far as the film itself, the adaptation ends up as a middle of the road effort. Kevin Brodbin (who also provided the story) and Frank Cappello's script wanders a bit at times. But the film's major issues arise, thanks to an uninspired performance from Reeves, who seems to be on auto pilot. Not to mention the fact that director Francis Lawrence fell into the trap of tying too hard. Just because the source material is dark doesn't mean it can't be fun (see Sin City and Batman Begins and you'll discover that it can be done). Don't get me wrong I wasn't bored with Constantine, but, I wasn't all that wowed by it either.

The extras on the set break down this way: Disc One has an audio commentary track with Lawrence, co-producer Akiva Goldsman, and the screenwriters. Given my ho-hum feelings of the film, I still found the foursome to be quite informative and entertaining when they're kidding around. There's also a music video for the song, "Passive," by A Perfect Circle from the soundtrack. A teaser and the theatrical trailer top off the first disc.

Disc Two contains a wide array of making-of material, divided into a number of categories. it's too bad much of it is repetitive. It would have worked much better as a a single, longer documentary. In any case, things begin with a fifteen-minute featurette called "Conjuring Constantine: From Comic Book to Movie," which tells how the filmmakers tried to translate the spirit of the comic-book character to the screen. Judging by the comic book that I talked about, I'd say they went a bit left of that goal. "The Production from Hell," includes three segments: five minutes for a"Director's Confessional," "Collision with Evil," running four minutes and"Holy Relics," coming in at eight minutes. In the latter segment, director Francis Lawrence tells us he did not want the movie to feel like a comic book; he wanted it to seem more real. Um Francis, I hate to say this but even the best comic book films aren't real. Next up is a section called"Imagining the Underworld," which includes four segments: "Hellscape,"eleven minutes; "Visualizing Vermin," "Warrior Wings," and "Unholy Abduction". All of this stuff concentrates on the visual look of the film. The final section of extras is a hodgepodge. "Constantine Cosmology," is a five minute segment with with Phil Cousineau, author of "The Hero's Journey," explaining just how Constantine fits the mold of mythologist Joseph Campbell's traditional hero. Blah Blah. "Foresight: The Power of PreVisualization," is a CGI storyboard-to-screen comparison, with optional commentary by director Lawrence. There are no less than fourteen widescreen deleted scenes, including optional director's commentary. Most of this stuff is just filler folks. The alternate ending is intriguing though...An Easter egg tops off the set.

Constantine isn't a total loss. It's watchable indeed, but not as much fun as the 2 other recent dark comic book films I mentioned.