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September 11, 2007
Constantine (2005)
Constantine, another on that list of third generation comic book movies, stars Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz, supporting work from Djimon Honsou, and even a very young Shia LaBeouf (he's so hot these days -- popular, not attractive). Reeves plays the title role, a man who fights off the forces of hell as they start getting aggressive on earth, especially in trying to capture Angela(Weisz), a woman who has befriended Constantine while trying to discover the mystery of her twin sister's death.
I've always been one to think that Reeves isn't a terrible actor, but rather, destined for particular roles. He's like the male version of Scarlett Johansson: someone who is perfect for only a few roles, and looks ridiculous in all the rest. Here, he's right in his comfort zone as a man who is jaded by years of battling evil forces, but who can't help but care for humankind, and for his own soul. Weisz compliments him surprisingly well. I think she's underrated. Her mournful face and sultry voice go hand in hand with Reeves' tired expression and smoker's cough. Heheh.
The two are thrown into a comic book world that feels both realistic and fantastic, a combination that I liked quite a bit. The opening sequence in L.A. makes the movie feel relevant to our times, but the forces of evil we see are fantastical (yet still not unimaginable). When we see glimpses of hell, I'd have to say it's one of the more effective images of that locale I've seen in movies. It may be CGI, but it's dark, twisted, and scary.
I have to admit, the introduction of Peter Stormare as Satan, and father of a son who's fighting to cross over into the real world, was a bit too much for me. But it's the premise of the movie, and I dealt with it just like I dealt with the rather odd figure of Tilda Swinton as the angel Gabriel, who had a rather weak side. Gavin Rossdale, on the other hand, was a complete surprise to me, and did a splendid job.
While the movie is not perfect and requires a significant amount of suspension of disbelief, I thought it found a good tone, a nice look, effective action, and a bizarre-yet-complete world of good and evil that managed to feel familiar yet original enough to make for a good story. Some of the editing could have been better and a few cliches could have been avoided, but I'm sure that can be said of most comic book movies.
Posted by Jeri 
at 04:45:44 pm | movies, netflix/tivo | 4 comments »
4 comments
I remember putting off seeing this one for a long time too (because of Keanu), but I think you're right in your assessment of him and his roles. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised at how the movie turned out.
But as for Peter Stormare, I'm kinda surprised you were disappointed with him. He was awesome and very appropriate I felt. He had the right mix of creepy/manipulative/deceitful/etc. one should expect for Satan.
And you're right about the list. I would probably switch a lot of the goods and uglies, although so far I seem to agree with most of the bests. :)
Anyway I'm glad you liked it and I agree with practically everything you said. If not his most memorable, I think the role fits Keanu better than any other, moreso even than Neo. (Thumbsucker might be his best though minor role, if only because he completely embraces his Keanu-ness rather than attempt to act against it, which usually fails.)
Keanu also has one of my favorite lines of all time that left me aghast by its insensitivity: "A mental patient kill herself? Now that's just crazy!"
Speaking of the Thumbsucker cast, I thought Tilda Swinton was a great if typical choice for an androgynous angel. It's the kind of role in which a Christopher Walken cameo would have been no surprise, but an alien looking Conan O'Brien is just freaky enough to keep you off-balance.
Peter Stormare was undeniably over the top, but I thought it was nice to see a change from the usual depiction of Satan as super slick (Devil's Advocate, etc.) if not outright sexy. I've never seen a devil as dissolute as Stormare. If his physical form reflects his moral state, it's conceivable that Lucie has continued his "fall" considerably and is now a pale shadow of his former majestic self (in the not necessarily biblical mythology of a Satanic fall).
As for the premise, I think the Anti-Nativity is a clever extrapolation from the term Antichrist, and I think in Constantine it's done more interestingly than in other movies with the same premise like End of Days.
Speaking of Gabriel Byrne, I recently saw Stigmata on TV, which has a different premise but still belongs to the quasi-Catholic mythology genre, and good grief, that movie has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Talk about cliched editing!
It's been two and a half years since I saw Constantine originally so I don't remember Constantine's editing issues, but I appreciated its playful denial of a few cliches: IIRC there were at least two moments that looked like Keanu was about to kiss Weisz but didn't (once in a car, once on a roof?). I think that's what made me truly love the movie.
Speaking of Tilda Swinton, I think her role in Michael Clayton was awesome. She is underrated most of the time.
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