Reviews: Constantine (2005) Movie Review
Subgenres: Supernatural, Thriller, Dangerous Exploration, Hell, Police, Religion
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Director Francis Lawrence (I am Legend (2007), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 (2014), and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)) was one of the pioneers in bringing comic book characters to life when he directed Constantine (2005). Lawrence brought the John Constantine character to the big screen on an estimated $100 million budget, which saw a gross at the box office of about $75.5 million.
Constantine is based on the John Constantine character from the Hellblazer comic series, originally published by DC Comics and then by Vertigo Comics. There are a great many great casting choices, with Keanu Reeves (The Matrix (1999), Speed (1994), John Wick (2014), and The Devil’s Advocate (1997)) playing supernatural detective John Constantine. Constantine travels to hell, faces Satan (Peter Stormare - Clown (2014), Bad Milo (2013)), meets the Arch Angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton - Doctor Strange (2016), Snowpiercer (2013), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)), and clashes with Balthazar (Gavin Rossdale). As well as staple characters Midnite (Djimon Hounsou - Gladiator (2000), Blood Diamond (2006), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), The Island (2005)) and Constantine assistant Chas Kramer (Shia LaBeouf). Constantine spirals into this mess of supernatural chaos to prove that a detective’s (Rachel Weisz - The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), The Fountain (2006)) sister (also played by Rachel Weisz) did not die of suicide but by supernatural reasons.
The first time I watched Constantine, I was not privy to the story or the characters. The film felt rushed, with too much going on at once and insufficient time to build up the crucial elements of the film. However, I then watched the short-lived Constantine TV series with Matt Ryan (CW’s Arrow, Torchwood, The Tudors) playing John Constantine, fleshing out the characters and the world a little better. After watching the series, I watched Constantine again, and suddenly, everything clicked the way it should have the first time. The film is great if you are a comic fan or have even seen the TV series.
I feel like the writer or director wanted to put so much from the comics into the film and did not have enough time to fully transition the viewer into this massive world. I would give this film a high six for the first viewing, but now I give it a high eight because it brought so much to the table. The special effects were on a whole new level for that time and, in some instances, still hold up well even now. All the actors’ performances were astoundingly well done. I’m not a fan of Rachel Weisz, but she was above average. Have a Constantine marathon, start with the TV series, and finish the Constantine movie; I watched it on Netflix recently.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Constantine Rating Scores
- Our Score: 8/10
- Overall Score: 6.40/10
- IMDB: 7.0/10
- MetaCritic: 5.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 4.6/10
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