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| Constantine | |
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 Promotional poster for Constantine |
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| Directed by | Francis Lawrence |
| Produced by | Gilbert Adler Michael Aguilar |
| Written by | Screenplay: Kevin Brodbin Frank Cappello Comic Book: Alan Moore (uncredited) Jamie Delano Garth Ennis |
| Starring | Keanu Reeves Rachel Weisz Shia LaBeouf Tilda Swinton Pruitt Taylor Vince Djimon Hounsou Gavin Rossdale Peter Stormare Nicholas Downs |
| Music by | Klaus Badelt Brian Tyler |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | February 18, 2005 |
| Running time | 121 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $230,884,728 |
| Official website • IMDb • Allmovie | |
Constantine is a 2005 American film based on Vertigo Comics' Hellblazer comic book, with some plot elements being taken from the "Dangerous Habits" story arc (issues #41-46) and others - such as the inclusion of Papa Midnite - from the "Original Sins" trade paperback. It was released on February 8, 2005 in Hong Kong, and on February 18, 2005 in the U.S. and Canada. It is rated R for violence and demonic images by the MPAA. It also contains mild language.
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Searching through ruins in Mexico, a young man accidentally finds the Spear of Destiny wrapped in a Nazi flag. Immediately possessed by a supernatural force, he is propelled on a journey to Los Angeles, now seemingly indestructible and causing demonic and unnatural damage as he goes. In Los Angeles, occult detective John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) exorcises a demon from a teenage girl, finding himself unnerved by the demon's unusually bold attempt at crossing over into humanity's realm. Later that night, disturbed mental patient Isabel Dodson commits suicide, provoking the sorrow and disbelief of her twin sister, L.A.P.D. Detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz). Visiting the hospital where Isabel died, Angela encounters Constantine, who is being treated at the same hospital for his terminal lung cancer, a result of his decades-long chain-smoking habit. Disgusted with the prognosis, Constantine visits a nearby church to speak with the angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton), angrily asking what more he must do to earn God's forgiveness. Unsympathetic to Constantine's plight, Gabriel rebuffs his attempts at reconciliation with God, tells him about sacrifices which can be done and then pointing out the selfish undertones beneath his good deeds. Meanwhile at the same church, Angela begs the Father to allow Isabel a church-sanctioned funeral, which the Bishop has refused, pointing out the Catholic rules regarding suicides.
Angela absolutely refuses to believe her sister killed herself and investigates a possible occult angle that leads her back to Constantine. She asks his advice on how the devoutly Catholic Isabel could be convinced to take her own life. At first, he dismisses the event as a simple result of mental illness, and she angrily leaves. As she leaves his home, Constantine sees that demons are chasing Angela, and he hurries after her. Forced hurriedly to explain himself, Constantine reveals Earth as a neutral plane between Heaven and Hell where God and Satan wagered on who could win the most souls among humans, which would one day lead to either the ultimate salvation or damnation of Earth, depending on the numbers. Though direct intervention by angels or demons is prohibited, 'half-breeds,' humans with mixed angelic or demonic ancestry, are able to provide influence. Angela dismisses him as delusional, until the demons attack and he fends them off. Afterwards, Constantine reveals he was born with the ability to detect these beings (both holy and demonic). Led to believe he was insane, his parents not believing him, and finding treatment unhelpful, he committed suicide to escape the torment, and went to Hell (which is later revealed in the movie as "Three eternities") before he was resuscitated by doctors. After being resurrected he learns that he can travel and see in the Hell plane. Now almost certain to go to Hell when he does die, Constantine battles their forces on Earth in an attempt to win God's favor, enraging Satan, who now holds a personal grudge against Constantine.
Recent events arouse Constantine's concerns that there may be a precipitous supernatural event approaching, the last of which was the apparent suicide of his friend Father Hennessy (Pruitt Taylor Vince), who carved a demonic symbol into his own hand before his death.
Constantine discovers that Angela and her sister were also born with the ability to detect these beings, a power repressed by Angela as she grew older. She undergoes a reawakening with Constantine's help. She then leads Constantine across the city to Balthazar (Gavin Rossdale), a demon half-breed conspiring with Satan's son Mammon to conquer Earth. Mammon, after first possessing a psychic human, can only fully cross-over into Earth with divine assistance, notably the Spear of Destiny, encrusted with the blood of Jesus Christ, God's only son. After defeating Balthazar, the two attempt to escape, but Angela is kidnapped by an unseen force. Constantine turns to his old ally, the voudoun witch-doctor Papa Midnite (Djimon Hounsou) for help. Through his psychic abilities, Constantine learns that Angela has been taken to the hospital where her twin died. Constantine pursues her to the hospital, where inside, the man from Mexico arrives with the Spear of Destiny and helps Mammon possess Angela. Constantine and his apprentice, Chas Kramer (Shia LaBeouf) struggle to repress Mammon in Angela's body and are almost successful, until the same unseen force that kidnapped Angela reappears, and kills Chas. Constantine conducts a spell to reveal the hidden force, the considerable effort involved weakening him, and as Constantine lies beaten he sees that it is Gabriel. Gabriel, bitter over the apparent disinclination of humans to accept God's salvation vows to bring Hell and Earth together, the horror of which will create a nobility under adversity deserving salvation.
As Gabriel prepares to release Mammon, Constantine prays to God for help. He then cuts his wrists with a piece of shattered glass, knowing his death will bring Lucifer (Peter Stormare) to personally collect his soul. At the moment of Constantine's death, time stops, and Lucifer appears. At first giddy with excitement, Lucifer is angered to learn of Mammon's plot, which he initially doesn't believe. Finally convinced his son is breaking God's laws, he stops the ritual, using his greater power to return Mammon to Hell. Gabriel, whose acts have put him outside God's grace, is now powerless, and God burns his wings off. Lucifer returns to Constantine and asks what reward he expects, to which Constantine asks that Isabel's soul be released to Heaven (the sacrifice as referred to by Gabriel) as a good deed. Lucifer complies and begins dragging Constantine to Hell, only to be interrupted by the Divine Light, which accepts Constantine into Heaven amidst his selfless sacrifice. Witnessing the escape of his reviled enemy, an enraged Lucifer rips the cancer from Constantine's lungs, resurrecting him for the further opportunity to condemn him to Hell, before disappearing. Constantine pulls himself back to his feet, amazed that he is still alive, and joins a newly awakened Angela. As they speak, Constantine pulls the Spear of Destiny from the floor, and the now-human Gabriel emerges from the pool. He challenges Constantine to kill him, thereby exacting his revenge. Instead, Constantine punches him in the face to show him the pain of being human.
Later that night atop the hospital's roof, Constantine offers Angela the Spear of Destiny. As she leaves him to the solitary Los Angeles skyline, Constantine, now in full possession of his fate, begins chewing nicotine gum to help him quit smoking.
At the end of the film's credits, Constantine visits Chas's grave, leaving his cigarette lighter atop the grave. As Constantine turns to leave, Chas appears as an angel, and flies silently into the sky, leaving behind a smiling Constantine.
| Actor/Actress | Role |
|---|---|
| Keanu Reeves | John Constantine |
| Rachel Weisz | Det. Angela Dodson Isabel Dodson |
| Shia LaBeouf | Chas Kramer |
| Djimon Hounsou | Papa Midnite |
| Max Baker | Beeman |
| Pruitt Taylor Vince | Father Hennessy |
| Gavin Rossdale | Balthazar |
| Tilda Swinton | Gabriel |
| Peter Stormare | Lucifer |
| Jesse Ramirez | Scavenger |
| Jose Zuniga | Det. Weiss |
| Francis Guinan | Father Garret |
| Nicholas Downs | Church Attendant |
| Larry Cedar | Vermin Man |
| Quinn Buniel | 10-year-old Constantine |
Constantine was written using some elements from Garth Ennis' "Dangerous Habits" story arc (issues #41-46)[1] and others - such as the inclusion of Papa Midnite - from the "Original Sins" trade paperback.[2] However, the film changed several aspects of the source material, including a number of cosmetic changes to the lead character's appearance: Reeves played the role with his natural accent and hair colour[3] whilst the original character was intentionally drawn to resemble British musician Sting and originally came from Liverpool.[4] The film was also set in Los Angeles, with the director pointing out that the comic book wasn't exclusively set in London either.[3]
Other differences to the character were made, such as giving him the psychic ability to see "half breeds" as they truly are. That ability, in the movie, is what caused him to attempt suicide and which led to his damnation [5] rather than his role in summoning a demon that killed a young girl.[6] The resolution of the lung cancer plotline in the film was also amended, with Lucifer saving the redeemed Constantine to give him a second chance at falling rather than being tricked into having no choice not to in the comic book.[5]
The film's title was changed, from Hellblazer to Constantine to avoid confusion with the Clive Barker Hellraiser films.[3] The comics series itself was originally to be titled Hellraiser but was also retitled to avoid confusion with the film, released the previous year.[4]
The only angels that are featured in this film are called half-breeds, described below. Like the demons in this film, true angels are forbidden from entering the earthly plane. Unlike demons in this film, however, angels appear to be too honest to cheat. Any other types of angel that might exist within the film's setting are thus unknown.
A plethora of weapons are used or tested out by Constantine in order to kill or incapacitate various demons. These include a dragon's breath flamethrower, gold brassknuckles with crosses, vials of holy water from the River Jordan, a silver cross to sanctify water, a St. Anthony's medallion, a holy cross shotgun resembling an Armsel Striker, and the sign of the Triquetra. These serve either as combat weapons or defensive amulets.
John also uses an Amityville Screech Beetle, a small insect kept inside a matchbox. When shaken, it emits a high-pitched sound which stuns demons. This is a reference to the high pitched clicks of the sacred Ancient Egyptian scarab beetle, which lives in tombs.
During the final fight of the film, when commanding Gabriel to show himself, John combines a set of tattoos on his forearms, forming a sigil, and recites the line, "Into the light, I command thee" The emblem is called the Perfect Red King of Sulfur.[7] Used in Alchemy, sulfur is a purifying agent.
Constantine earned over $230 million in worldwide box office receipts.
Movie producer Lauren Shuler Donner stated in a November 18-19, 2006 interview that writers were developing a script for Constantine 2 and that Keanu Reeves was willing to reprise his role as John Constantine. Donner also stated that Constantine 2 would be filmed in a South American country, and a different director would replace Francis Lawrence who directed the first film. Nevertheless, Lawrence would remain act as a producer on the sequel.[8][9][10] More recently, Reeves has stated he would not be willing to participate in a sequel of the movie (nor any other),[11] although he did contradict this statement in another interview from the same period.[12]
Warner Home Video announced that the film was to be released on HD DVD on March 28, 2006.[13] It would be one of the earliest titles to be released on that media format. However, following delays to the launch of the HD DVD format (which pushed back the release of many of the initially announced titles), Constantine eventually made its debut on HD DVD on June 6, 2006.
Warner Home Video released a Blu-ray disc version of the movie on October 14, 2008.
There was also a video game of the movie Constantine for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. The game was a 3rd person action/adventure game, and it did not feature Keanu Reeves' voice, but a close impersonator.
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