Constantine (2005) (R)

Constantine (2005) (R)

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Djimon Hounsou

Daddy Says:

There are some movies I just can't stop myself from watching whenever they're on. Constantine is one of those movies. It's like a car wreck that I have to watch even though I know there are better things I should be doing. I just can't help myself.

Let's start with the good things about it. It's a very good looking film. I've not read the graphic novel it's based on, but it does indeed look like it could have been a graphic novel at one time. Some of the acting is good. I enjoyed Tilda Swinton as the androgynous half-breed Gabriel. And Djimon Hounsou is also very good as Papa Midnight, the supernatural owner of a nightclub that serves as neutral ground for the half-breeds. Constantine also has some interesting spiritual concepts that I like, such as the wager between God and the Devil over mankind. I do wish some of it had been made clearer, though.

Which leads us to the not-so-good: the rest of the acting ranges from average to awful. Rachel Weisz does her usual job of looking bored at all times. Keanu Reeves doesn't show very much emotion. I know that's pretty standard when you're talking about Reeves' work, but I still felt a connection to him in Speed that I didn't get here. But believe it or not, his is not the worst performance in the film. No, that honor goes to Shia LaBeouf, whose acting may not even rise to the level of Keanu Reeves. Whenever he's on the screen I tune out.

And as for the script, it's all a bit muddled. I understand that Lucifer himself wants to collect Constantine's soul himself, but why does he want to stop his own son from coming through to our plane of existence? He wants so badly to stop that scenario from happening that he feels he owes a debt of gratitude to Constantine for warning him in time. It must have been explained in the film at some point because the characters in the film seem to understand why, but I confess I'm lost. Still, why let a muddled plot stand in the way of a good time. All faults aside, I'll watch this wreck of a film every time it's on.

Rating for Constantine: **1/4.

By the way, I just counted them up and this is our 100th movie review here at The Daddy/Daughter Movie Review. Quite the milestone for us, especially my daughter. Thank you very much for coming here and reading our reviews. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy writing them!

Daughter Says:

I just want to start out by saying that I love Keanu Reeves. He has always been one of my favorite actors. So when I heard that he was in Constantine I was all for watching it. I had seen a part of it on TV but it was really creepy to me. It looks really scary, but once you get past the gross parts Constantine was really a good movie. I enjoyed watching every minute of it.

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It had amazing effects to it. It also had many actors that I liked in it. (Keanu Reeves, Tilda Swinton, and Shia LaBeouf.) I’ve also become a new fan of Gavin Rossdale. He played such a great villain in Constantine. I was really impressed with his work. I do agree with Dad on the part where Rachel Weisz looks a little bored or maybe even doped up, but that doesn’t stop me from loving this movie. He has his train wrecks and I have mine. So he can just hush and go watch Tommy while I sit and watch Constantine.

Even if you didn’t like the movie in general, you have to admit that the special effects are gorgeous. I loved the angels’ wings. They were so breathtaking. This movie made me want to have wings. I also love Gabriel. I know he is actually played by a she, but Tilda Swinton pulls off a gorgeous guy. I mean I’d date her if she were a he. (Just saying). I also loved some of the special effects in certain scenes such as when Constantine is going to save the girl and he has to get through a large group of demons. He sets the sprinklers off, which kills all the lights, and all you see is him shooting at these demons that are charging at him. That was really cool and, I also really enjoyed when Constantine blew Rossdale’s face off and it was lying on the table in two halves. When he started talking both sides of his face moved in sync. I really thought that that was neat.

Rating for Constantine: ****1/2.