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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.
Tagline: Hell Wants Him. Heaven Won't Take Him. Earth Needs Him.
Plot
John Constantine (Reeves), a cynical, chain-smoking occult detective, has psychic abilities that make him able to see angels and demons. As a teenager, these abilities drove him mad, and he attempted suicide. Before he was resuscitated, he was briefly sent to Hell, and caught a glimpse of the torments that await the damned after they die.
As he explains to LAPD Detective Angela Dodson (Weisz), Heaven and Hell are restrained by a peace treaty (known as "The Balance") under which neither angels nor demons can visit Earth, and must leave humans to choose for themselves whether to damn themselves by their actions. But both angels and demons exist on Earth a reduced state ("half-breeds") and occasionally tamper with human affairs. Having seen what awaits him as punishment for his suicide attempt, Constantine uses his powers to police demon half-breeds, deporting them back to Hell when they violate the treaty. His apprentice/sidekick is a young cabbie named Chaz (Shia LaBeouf).
Constantine and Dodson meet when Dodson's twin sister, Isabel, dies by apparently jumping from the roof of the sanitorium where she was housed. Angela, who knew her sister was a devout Catholic, firmly believes Isabel would never commit suicide, and asks Constantine for advice. Constantine initially gives her the brush-off; he is preoccupied because he has just been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and has been told (again) by Gabriel (Swinton) that he has not earned redemption.
But Constantine notices clues that Isabel's death is linked to a series of unusually aggressive possessions he has been dealing with lately. He consults with Papa Midnite (Hounsou), a former witch doctor who now operates a "neutral" club for both sides in the war, but Midnite is unhelpful.
Through a ceremony, Constantine is able to track Isabel's spirit to Hell, and confirms that she did commit suicide, but was spurred to do it by something she heard or saw. He realizes that both Isabel and Angela possess the same psychic abilities as he, but Angela suppressed hers for so long that they are now dormant (while Isabel, much like Constantine himself, always swore that what she was seeing was real, and was committed by her parents as mentally ill).
When full-fledged demons appear in the mortal world, they attack and kill Constantine's two friends, Father Hennessey (Vince) and Beeman (Baker). Before he dies, Beemun identifies a symbol found near Hennessey's body as belonging to Mammon, the son of Satan, who, unlike his father, has no interest in maintaining The Balance and wishes to bring about Hell on Earth.
Constantine reawakens Angela's powers, which lead them from the scene of Beemun's death to Balthazar (Rossdale), a demon half-breed. Constantine confronts and subdues Balthazar, who confesses that, in order to cross over to Earth, Mammon will need to possess a powerful psychic, and then be released by "the blood of God" - carried on the Spear Of Destiny, which one of Mammon's agents has just found.
Then Balthazar laughs, saying that the whole purpose of the preceding events, including Isabel's induced suicide, has been to reawaken Angela's powers, to make her the perfect vessel for Mammon. Angela is then kidnapped, and while Constantine runs off in pursuit, Balthazar's unseen ally appears and kills him.
Desperate to save Angela, Constantine returns to Midnite, who agrees to forego his neutrality and helps Constantine to use a powerful psychic conduit to locate her - an electric chair in which two hundred condemned prisoners died at Sing-Sing Prison.
Constantine and Chaz follow the trail back to the sanitorium where Isabel died, which is guarded by several dozen half-breeds. By sanctifying the water in the building's sprinkler system, they manage to eliminate the demons, but then Chas is killed by Mammon's secret ally: Gabriel.
As she holds John helpless, she explains that humanity has grown decadent and corrupt, relying too easily on God's forgiveness. Believing that humans achieve their noblest state only in the face of suffering and adversity, Gabriel plans to give them Mammon's "Hell on Earth," to inspire them to the heights God intended for them. She then sends Constantine flying into the next room, and prepares to stab Angela with the Spear.
Unable to fight Gabriel himself, Constantine's only recourse is to commit suicide again, slitting his wrists and calling Lucifer (Stormare) to his side (Constantine has been told, repeatedly, that his actions have made him so loathed in Hell that Satan would come personally to collect his soul). Constantine convinces Lucifer to intervene, which he does by freezing time, removing Angela from the path of the Spear, and exorcizing his wayward son back to Hell. Gabriel attempts to "smite" Lucifer, but God unexpectedly abandons her, stripping her of his powers and reducing her to a mortal human.
Lucifer returns to Constantine and asks what he wants in exchange for warning him about Mammon's plot. Instead of asking anything for himself, Constantine asks that Isabel be set free and allowed to enter Heaven. Lucifer cheerfully obliges, then begins to drag Constantine to Hell.
Before he can get far, Heaven opens and Constantine begins to ascend, having finally earned salvation through his sacrifice for Isabel. Unwilling to let Constantine go, Lucifer reaches into his lungs and removes the cancer, and heals his slit wrists, keeping Constantine alive, "so that you will have the chance to prove that your soul really belongs in Hell."
Constantine and Angela recover from their ordeal. Gabriel eagerly asks to be killed, confident that she will ascend to heaven. Constantine refuses, instead giving her a punch across the jaw (her first-ever experience of pain) and tells her she will have to cope with being a mortal.
Constantine and Angela part ways as friends, sure that they'll see each other again. Alone, Constantine lets go of some of his cynicism, reflecting that God really does have a plan for everyone - Constantine's, it seems, is to stay on earth and keep fighting demons ("some people like it, some people don't"). As he thinks this, he puts a stick of gum into his mouth, suggesting that he has finally quit smoking.
In a short scene after the end credits roll, Constantine puts his cigarette lighter on Chas's grave, and tells him he did a good job. As Constantine walks away, he hears a noise, and turns to see Chas, now an angel, smiling at him as he ascends to Heaven.
Cast
Constantine, Midnite, and Chas standing outside of Papa Midnite's bar.
Production
Differences from Hellblazer
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 doing so as was seen 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]
Hell
Hell, as it is depicted within the film
Hell is depicted in the film as a place which appears to have been struck by a nuclear bomb. According to the DVD commentary, it was indeed based on old nuclear test in which anything in the path of the ensuing shock wave was immediately disintegrated. As of such, the landscape was left crumbling with a constant hue of orange in the sky and immensely strong winds over the land. According to the novel[7] which was released alongside the film, the buildings were lined with blood instead of mortar and the souls of the damned had been crushed into ways that they made up the very foundations and building materials of the buildings. In other areas, demons would feast on the souls of the damned in large groups (as is depicted in the film where a great deal of souls are being desecrated by attacking soldier demons).
The book[7] also describes how the landscape of hell is literally a mirror of that of the physical plane, "If you died in Los Angeles, you went to Hell Los Angeles. If you died in New York, you went to Hell New York". According to Constantine, time in Hell also passes with immense relativity to that of time in the physical plane. While speaking with Angela on his time in Hell immediately after his suicide, he claimed that, "...although I was officially dead for only 2 minutes; but when you crossover, time stops. Take it from me, two minutes in hell is a lifetime". This was visibly observed towards the end of the film after John's second suicide.
Soundtrack
Constantine: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a 2005 soundtrack album from the film, Constantine. The soundtrack is a orchestral compilation of songs in the film, performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony and composed by Brian Tyler and Klaus Badelt. Notably absent from the soundtrack is "Passive", a song by A Perfect Circle which was released in conjunction with the film. The song can be heard during Constantine's walk through Midnite's bar. It's music video features significant imagery from the film. The soundtrack was panned by Allmusic who referred to it as "clichéd and religiously formulaic".
Track listing
- "Destiny" (2:00)
- "The Crossover" (2:42)
- "Meet John Constantine" (2:39)
- "Confession" (2:32)
- "Deo Et Patri" (1:16)
- "Counterweight" (2:47)
- "Into the Light" (2:54)
- "I Left Her Alone" (1:40)
- "Resurrection" (2:04)
- "Circle of Hell" (5:38)
- "Last Rites" (1:55)
- "Encountering a Twin" (1:06)
- "Flight to Ravenscar" (0:52)
- "Humanity" (2:58)
- "John" (1:31)
- "Someone Was Here" (1:44)
- "Hell Freeway" (2:43)
- "Ether Surfing" (1:13)
- "Balance" (2:26)
- "Absentee Landlords" (1:35)
- "John's Solitude" (1:25)
- "Lucifer" (1:56)
- "Rooftop" (1:18)
- "Constantine End Titles" (2:39)
Box office, proposed sequel, & video game
Constantine earned over $230 million in worldwide box office receipts. A video game adaption of the film was also produced.
Warner Home Video announced that the film was to be released on HD DVD on March 28, 2006.[8] 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.
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, acting as a producer on the sequel.[9][10][11] On March 22, 2008, Reeves stated he would not be willing to participate in a sequel of the movie.[12] However, months later, he directly contradicted this statement in another interview prior to the December 2008 release of The Day the Earth Stood Still.[13] Constantine 2 holds a tentative release date of 2012[14].
References
- ^ Rotten, Ryan (November 2007), Update: Francis Lawrence Would Do Constantine 2, http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=3842, retrieved 17 December 2008
- ^ Keanu Reeves, Djimon Hounsou and Director Francis Lawrence on "Constantine", http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aaconst072904a.htm, retrieved 17 December 2008
- ^ a b c Keanu Reeves, Djimon Hounsou and Director Francis Lawrence on "Constantine" Page 2, http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aaconst072904b.htm, retrieved 17 December 2008
- ^ a b Irvine, Alex (2008), "John Constantine Hellblazer", in Dougall, Alastair, The Vertigo Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 102–111, ISBN 0-7566-4122-5, OCLC 213309015
- ^ a b Goldstein, Hilary (February 28, 2005), Constantine Vs. Hellblazer, IGN, http://comics.ign.com/articles/591/591991p1.html, retrieved 17 December 2008
- ^ Delano, Jamie (8 May 2007), Hellblazer: The Devil You Know, DC Comics (Vertigo), ISBN 1401212697
- ^ a b Shirley, John (25 January 2005), Constantine (Mass Market Paperback), Pocket Star, ISBN 0743497554
- ^ Business Wire. Warner Home Video Announces Titles and Release Dates for HD DVD. January 5, 2006.
- ^ IESB Interview with Lauren Shula Donner November 18, 2006.
- ^ IESB Interview with Lauren Shula Donner part 2 November 19, 2006.
- ^ "Constantine 2 Confirmed Coming Soon", IESB.net, November 18, 2006, Retrieved on 2007-05-23.
- ^ IESB.net Interview with Keanu Reeves March 22, 2008.
- ^ Interview for The Day the Earth Stood Still.
- ^ Constantine 2 at the imdB
External links
