Detective Angela approaches Constantine, a demon hunter, to help her investigate her twin sister's mysterious death. As he digs deeper, he realizes that demons are trying to enter the human ... Read allDetective Angela approaches Constantine, a demon hunter, to help her investigate her twin sister's mysterious death. As he digs deeper, he realizes that demons are trying to enter the human world.Detective Angela approaches Constantine, a demon hunter, to help her investigate her twin sister's mysterious death. As he digs deeper, he realizes that demons are trying to enter the human world.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 11 nominations
- Detective Weiss
- (as Jose Zuniga)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKeanu Reeves bought the Holy Shotgun prop, and gave it to director Francis Lawrence as a gift.
- Goofs(at around 1h 26 mins) Angela fires her gun consecutively 30 times without reloading, but her Smith and Wesson Model 6906 holds a total of 13 rounds.
- Quotes
Angela Dodson: [after taking off her jacket] So, do I have to take the rest of my clothes off or can I leave them on?
[pause]
Angela Dodson: John?
John Constantine: I'm thinking...
- Crazy creditsSPOILER: After the credits, there's an epilogue to the action of the movie, with Constantine leaving his lighter on a gravestone, whereupon Chaz Kramer shows up as an angel.
- ConnectionsFeatured in HBO First Look: Constantine: Heaven, Hell and Beyond (2005)
- SoundtracksLos Recuerdos del Troquero
Written by Salome Gutierrez, Renteria
Performed by Flaco Jiménez
Published by San Antonio Music Publishers, Inc.
Courtesy of D.L.B. Records
Cop Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) just lost her sister, a patient who jumped off the top of a mental hospital; Angela thinks her sister also Saw Something, and so she goes to John for help. Did Isabel know something? Where is she now? Can Angela see, too? Well, she can, actually, because Isabel was her twin sister, and as we all know twins share everything. So, using Angela, Constantine learns that the Bad Guys (demons), who are supposed to stay in Hell, have been crossing over to the plane of the living, presumably to raise hell. But Constnatine knows there's something else afoot, something only witchcraft, voodoo, and other otherworldly things can uncover.
If there was ever a role that the adult Reeves was born to play (besides that of Neo), it's that of John Constantine. Constantine wanders hither and yon, doing good deeds and helping with crimes involving the occult, and so forth, all with a resigned and - pardon another pun - rather soulless attitude. Constantine knows he's doomed to a lifetime of doing this, partly because he tried to kill himself and partly because he has The Gift. It's this kind of dispassionate nihilism that plays perfectly to Reeves' own dull, emotionless acting range. He's perfect for the role, based on a comic book called Hellblazer.
Weisz is pretty good - believable, at least - as the clumsily named Angela, but the real standout among the supporting cast is Peter Stormare as Satan himself. Incredibly creepy; he looks like a kindergarten teacher but behaves like a pedophile. The hair on the back of your neck will rise when Stormare enters the picture about three-fourths through.
Two other things the movie has going for it are a rather simplistic plot and some fantastic special effects (for example, a demon made up of bugs). Movies based on comic books tend to overburden themselves and the viewer with far too many plot twists. It's not tough - you have a good guy, you have a bad guy, and the first must defeat the second. Throw in some ethical and moral conflicts, give the good guy a power of sorts, and you're off and running. Constantine does this pretty well.
The atmosphere of the film is riveting as well, with effects special and otherwise transporting the viewer to Right There, whether it's a voodoo bar, Hell, or the mean streets of the city.
If you watch the movie with the idea that it's a filmed comic book, you shouldn't be dissatisfied with the result. John Constantine lives in a world in which he sees unspeakable evil on a daily basis, and he himself has literally been to Hell and back on more than one occasion. His lot is to suffer for his sin; can he find redemption in a cutie named Angela?
- dfranzen70
- Aug 1, 2005
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Hellblazer
- Filming locations
- 259 S Broadway, Los Angeles, California, USA(Bowling Alley/Constantine's apartment)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $100,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $75,976,178
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $29,769,098
- Feb 20, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $230,884,728
- Runtime2 hours 1 minute
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1