I saw this on Friday.
I usually walk out of every movie I've seen with a very firm perspective that changes little after the first viewing. This is the first time in a long time I walked out without a strong opinion and not sure if I liked it or hated it. I suppose from that perspective, I'd give it a C, but I don't know that that's fair.
I have read quite a few of the Hellblazer series upon which this material's based. However, I expect adaptations to capture the spirit and feel of the original source if not the precise story line, so I rarely walk into a film adaptation expecting whole sale accuracy. Some adaptations, like X-Men and the original Superman, characters with whom I'm very familiar, work out just fine despite variations on the theme. Others, like most of the Batman franchise to date, fail miserably. In Constantine, they managed to capture most of the visuals and concepts associated with DC's Vertigo stories (and, to a lesser extent, "mainstream" comics like the third series The Spectre). Indeed, there were at least three different storylines from the series that were used in this film (the entire portion with Lucifer is taken from one of the best story arcs in the series).
That said, I really don't know how well all of this was pulled off. I mean, the story meandered quite a bit and there's a lot of talk with strange, sudden moments of action. Frankly, I think a good 30 minutes could have been edited out of this. Secondly, while much of the FX were cool, some of it was lacking. The "soldier demons," for example, were interesting to look the first time... After that, not so much. In fact, considering the wealth of demonic images in this, I would have expected a more impressive variation on the demonic themes. I mean, Balthazar could have been like some kind of "Beelzebub" while we could have seen another demon that resembled a pit fiend. Lucifer himself was a particular letdown considering that he's supposed to be the most beautiful of all God's creations in Catholic tradition.
As for the performances, I was so-so for them. I still think Reeves was miscast for this role. However, if one's not familiar with the series, his casting was so-so. It was difficult to care for a person like him and the plight in which he finds himself in the beginning of the film. Who really cares if he's supposed to go to Hell or not unless there is a charisma to back up his situation. Sure, Reeves is soft on the eyes, but that's not going to help most movie goers care about his situation. The actor portraying this character needed to be charismatic as well as physically appealing in order for most people to be concerned about his situation.
Everyone else was fine. Weisz was fine, although I thought she was too much the damsel in distress. She was a cop for crying out loud; she needed to be tougher. We had the requisite sidekick deaths, although I never really understood why Gabriel thought it necessary to have Balthazar kill most of them. Some of the props, particularly the crucifix gun, were corny; if you're going to have something so visually ridiculous in so grim a film, there should have been an explanation for it.
Yet, in spite of these things, I didn't dislike the film. I like the fact that they were trying to keep the story cohesive. If there's one thing I hate in films, it's those that bounce around with too many characters. This one was almost studious in its commitment to telling a story and keeping everything within the proper context. I admired that about the film. For the most part, the material was handled in a fairly sophisticated fashion (although in the theatre in which I watched the film, Lucifer's behavior and mannerisms had one guy giggling the entire time). Plus, I have to be honest here, the subject matter's right up my alley.
All this in mind, I don't know if I like this... I know I don't hate it, but I don't know if I like it. I may have to see it again to figure it out.
. Quite amusing. Though if you are an anti smoking nut, go find another movie. Our hero smokes like a chimney without apology. ![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
