Constantine (2005)

Tone, Script & Story: The story is how the rule of devils son is to be bought onto earth and how it is stopped mostly with the help of John Constantine. Our Constantine has a destiny that is hell bound, he tries to buy his way in heaven will he succeed? Thus summing it up, the Tone, Script & Story comes out to be all 'good'.Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: The visual appeal that is highlighted with elements those come into study when we consider the world with angels and demons lift up the movie. They altogether come out to be 'very good'.Final Verdict: One of the best movies of its kind consisting of our world and the places where Angel's and demons exist. It is worth adding to your collection.

I absolutely love this film, could watch it on repeat all day long

The Three Acts:The initial tableaux: The titles say, 'The Spear of Destiny' has been missing since the end of World War II. So what is this spear? Perhaps we will find out.In the present day, Manuel and friend are sifting debris. Manuel almost falls through some rotten floor boards. Beneath the boards he discovers a spearhead wrapped in a Nazi flag. He walks away from his friend with the spearhead, but is immediately hit by a car. He receives a mark, then rises and trots away, seemingly unharmed. What could this mean?In the second thread, John Constantine and his allies watch for incursions from hell, and act against them as best they can. Hennessy calls John for an exorcism, and the type of demon that John scotches tells him that something is afoot.In the third thread, Detective Angela asks her priest for guidance. Her twin Isabel commits suicide. Angela is at a loss.Delineation of conflicts: Lucifer and company have plans for broaching the barriers to invading Earth. The archangel Gabriel (heaven) and the demon Balthazar (hell) each has plans of his own. John is dying of cancer while he's trying to protect as much of Earth as possible. Angela wants to know what is going on with her life, and what happened to Isabel. Chas wants to get more out of his apprenticeship with John. Hennessy would like to live a bit longer, and help John if he can. Midnite tries to stay neutral between heaven and hell.Resolution: I thought the film came to a good, though harsh, conclusion. What did you think?

Constantine is a rather unique comic book movie that is unusual in its style and its structural narrative. The movie follows the story of John Constantine, who has the ability to see demons and angels. He is also a demon exorcist. However, despite saving lives, he is no saint. He despises his job and uses it only for his own personal gain, that is to buy his way into heaven. He is a bitter character who, at first, is unlikable and uncomfortable to be with, but you still are intrigued by his journey. By the end, the character grows on you morally due to his selfless act when he sacrifices himself to save Isabelle by sending her to heaven. The film might be at first a simple good versus evil story. But as the film progresses, much more is brought out, but done with subtlety. Now before i go into my review, i want to address that this movie is not 100% loyal to the comic. But it still honors the source material in its own unique, creative way. Just like Jim Carrey's the mask is different from the source material, this movie does the same as well, and i am glad we got this version. Now the movie is indeed flawed, as its directing style is over the top and some of the performances are very cheesy, but through clever writing and careful direction, the film turns out in a very interesting path for the viewer to observe. I also love how this movie identifies very clearly the difference between knowing God and believing in one, which is an important element in the story for Constantine to grow as a character. Constantine is the big gun of the movie. The rest of the characters, some are interesting(such as Gabriel, changing from your typical beloved peaceful angel to the angel who would do anything to "save" humans, even if it means releasing the son of the devil himself, which questions if pure good can always stay that way. The movie elevates the themes of good versus evil to a new unique direction, which gives this film its strength and interest. Its a superhero movie disguised as a biblical epic, which helps elevate the themes of good versus evil and the themes of faith to a higher ground. Now like i said the film is not perfect and it does have its flaws, like some of its direction can be over the top, some of the performances are cheesy and some of the effects are outdated. But the story and the character arc of John Constantine makes this a very unique comic book movie that i wish it gets more appreciation. 7.5/10 from me