*** Official CONSTANTINE Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Tony_Ramos]

I have to share with you my disgust.

Not about the FILM, but about the THEATER I watched it in.

Both the right and left channels were ENTIRELY OUT.

Had the film not had a lot of front and back channel action, it would have been unintelligible.

I told management TWICE and the idiots said that "it was going off digital, we flicked a switch, it should be fixed now."

Had i not been there with friends I would have asked for a refund.

Movie was great though.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'd never read the source material, but enjoyed the film. But there were a few details I didn't quite pick up:

I was, and still am, a bit lost as to why the simple finding of the Spear seemed to initiate this chain of events. "He who has the spear has the power," but does power automatically equal possession? Is the power always evil, or does it depend on the bearer?

Why was it wrapped in a Nazi flag? Significance? They said the Spear had been lost since WWII, so wrapping it in a Nazi flag seems redundant unless it had specific significance. It hardly seems possible that the Nazis would have hidden it themselves if they had possession of it?

Did they ever explain why the full-on demons were able to fully manifest in the "real" world? I kept hearing that they were not supposed to be able to do so, but don't recall the specific reason they suddenly could. Was it just a symptom of the whole "birth of the Son of Satan" plot? Once the recovery of the spear takes place, some of the "old" rules start to change? Or was Gabriel pulling the strings and just allowing them to manifest around Constantine?

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment.

 

[KyleK]

Didn't they mention that same Spear of Destiny thing in Hellboy too? I thought that was kinda strange, is there really a legend of the spear that pierced Christ, or what?

 

[Tony_Ramos]

Yes, in fact, the soldier who did it repented b/c he realized that Jesus was God, and he then became St. Longinus and is enshrined in the Vatican in a very beautiful statue.

 

[ErinL]

I really liked the movie. I was surprised it made 30.5 million this weekend since it was rated R. Im sure alot of us donated to that. Overall, Keanu pulled it off. This was one of his best roles to date. The special effects were great. I also like liked the open sequence with the crazy exorcism. Francis Lawerence did a great job directing. This is defintiely a movie I would recommend to everyone.

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

I don't get out to theaters much with a 19 month old, but my wife and I got a free pass (mom-in-law babysitting) and we had to choose between "Hitch" and "Constantine"...so we saw Constantine not having a clue what it was about. We both really enjoyed it, and were VERY impressed with the look of the film. I'm a big fan of Rachel Weisz for obvious reasons (she's, well...HOT), and my wife likes Keanu, so you couldn't have asked for a better pair to watch this flick.

It wasn't a great film, but there are numerous memorable moments, some great lines, and a fairly solid story. I was shocked that this was a first time film director...very impressive yet not over the top. Unfortunately, I didn't stay through the end credits...should have done my homework on that one!

-Dennis

 

[James_Kiang]

Since no one has detailed the post-credits scene...

It's a brief scene with Constantine at Chas' grave. He leaves his lighter on top of the tombstone and turns to walk away. he looks back, sees Chas as an angel who spreads his wings and flys into heaven (presumably). Constantine then turns and keeps walking away. Fade to black.

I may come back and fill in more later, but I will say that I really enjoyed this film, far more than I expected to. I haven't seen many 2005 movies at this point - mostly ones with my 4 year old daughter - but this is pretty near the top for now.

 

[ChuckSolo]

I had trouble staying awake through this movie. Although not as sleep inducing as "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," I still found that I didn't enjoy it very much. The story kinda dragged at times and although the effects were nice it just wasn't enough to hold my interest. I thought "The Prophecy" was a much better movie of the demon/angel genre.:frowning:

 

[Holadem]

I had fun with this one. It had some great imagery, my favorite being the cows dropping like flies.

The title character is fascinating, although Reeves acting was very uneven.

Still, there is a lot that doesn't quite make sense to me, like pretty much everything Malcom asked above. Additionally, why did God forsake Gabriel?

Water is omnipresent in this flick, not sure why.

From a writing POV, Gabriel being the most prominent angel in christianity, I would think they would let him/her to remain a major player for the sequels, if any.

I hope we see a sequel. I would love a franchise, if they could they could find a way to add some substance to the story. This movie was both good and frustrating because because it has untapped potential written all over it. I want to see more!

--
H

 

[todd s]

At least we know the star wants to do more. I heard an interview with Keanu Reeves a week or two ago. Saying how much he enjoyed playing the character and doing the movie. He also mentioned that sequels are definitely possible.

 

[JamieD]

Works for me.

 

[Quentin]

One of the things I really liked about this film is that it doesn't try to answer everything. There are just some 'rules' and information you have to accept as being part of the world. It is an immersive experience like that - making it seem as if this world with these events/rules has been going on forever and the audience just has to keep up. That said, I'll take a shot at some of these:


One of my favorite unexplained (to a degree) things. Water is a universal conduit. It helps to lubricate the transition between planes. That is a nearly direct quote of Constantine.

But, it is also a great baptism metaphor at play. I love all the bottles in Constantine's flat.

Here's one for you that is never explained (but I'm ok with that): What is the difference between what Constantine does in her apartment to visit/find Isabel, and 'surfing' with 'the chair'? Clearly, he is electrocuted on the chair...does he die? Why do you have to do this to 'surf'? Is the chair the only relic that can do this? Lot's of stuff going on there, but I like the unexplained nature of it.

 

[Robert Anthony]

They actually address that in the movie. Constantine says it's a lubricant that helps facilitate the passing between one plane and the next. Which he then follows up with "now ask me if there's water in Hell."

and to answer malcom's LAST question, I believe Gabriel owns up to all of that in the end. The demons can cross over because Gabriel is facilitating that, so as to ensure the Humans can prove their worth to God by enduring Hell on Earth. And as such, Gabriel was forsaken because she presumed to aid Mammon and interfere with the rules of the Bet God had made, all in an effort to test God's children beyond what God himself had decided was a proper test. Basically, Gabriel presumed to know better than God what test was best for the humans, and for that, Gabriel was forsaken. At least that's how I took it.

I thought this was a solid B. It dragged a little, and Keanu didn't QUITE have a firm hold on his character, but he had enough of a grip to get the job done. The opening and closing half hours were REALLY good, better than I thought they would be, but the middle got kind of bogged down. But not so much that the movie completely lost steam by the time that last two reels came up.

Sequels should be easy. Chas is an angel, Midnite is still around, Constantine no longer has Lung Cancer (although if he's not smoking in part II, that's bullshit) And there's still plenty of demons in Hell, not counting Satan himself (wonderfully portrayed by Peter Stormare) to taunt Constantine. This thing made back about half it's budget in one weekend--shouldn't be too hard to get the execs to greenlight a sequel, especially once the video reciepts start coming in.

(edit: All that typing and Quentin goes and a) beats me to it and b) does it better than I do )

 

[Shawn_McD]

Decent flick, B grade...will buy DVD and watch any sequels. Reeves did a solid job, pulled it off.

can't complain.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

My one major complaint:

And it's not too major. I didn't like the renunciation of Constantine's sentence in the end. I didn't mind Satan not getting him (it should have been a "yet"), but by giving him a clean slate they took away one of the more interesting aspects of his character. Overall, I understand that's his path, but it removes a chunk of the cynicism that pervades the character. Makes the sequel a bit more "heroic".

Does that make sense?

 

[Holadem]

I did understand the role of water as a conduit. It was clearlly used as such on at least 3 occasions, the tub scene and on both "trips" to hell. Still, it was all over the place outside of the scenes (the heavy rain, the pool) and I was wondering if there were any symbolism outside of it's practical inter-dimension lube applications.

Also, I didn't fully understand the story of guy who died of alcohol poisoning.

EDIT to add:

The dialogue was fairly difficult for me to understand, as everyone, most of all Reeves, seemed intent on mumbling through the movie.

And Chuck, I entirely agree with you.

--
H

 

[Robert Anthony]

I'm pretty sure you don't have to spoilerize anything in an official discussion forum.

You do make a good point, though. But then again--Constantine IS a dick. I'm betting it'll still be hard for him, even with his clean slate, to not do SOMETHING that would enable Hell to make a case for him. Or, Hell could set him up, thus starting his crusade to clear his name and buy his way into heaven all over again.

I think Quentin brought up a nice bit of symbolism with the baptism example, but think about it--if demons are crossing over, it'd make sense that there was a lot of rain and water everywhere, if water is the conduit.

But I do agree--the whole priest subplot was kinda just left to hang out there. I honestly think you could have axed that whole thing and not lost a bit of the plot

 

[Grant H]

I had trouble hearing the dialogue at times too. I don't think it's because Keanu mumbles, but he's just a low-talker, not quiet, but his voice drops to a register that is low and hard to hear without pitch quiet. And since half my audience seemed to cough on every quiet moment of the film it was quite a challenge. Especially in a theater with less than ideal acoustics--which most of them are. Nothing seemed all that loud in my DTS theater, so I think they could have turned it up a few notches.

Another reason I love watching movies at home.

I really liked the movie. Very well done. I figured I'd like it when I saw EW gave it a "C+". Ther'e such jerks. I didn't read the review until after I saw it of course,and Lisa Shwarzbaum said you couldn't follow the plot without crib notes. She must not have a brain in her head. Usually if they give low grades I love the movie and high grades I find really bad or at least heavy-handedly obvious. I also love how a movie like AVP can get a D when it's in theaters and a B when it's out on video.

Judging by how crowded my theatre was for a 4:00 Saturday matinee, I think the film's take will speak for itself thankfully. Word of mouth should keep the grosses going.

Too bad I didn't know about staying for the end credits. I usually do too, but it seemed so tidy at the end I figured there wouldn't be anything. I may go again next weekend.

I did feel like I'd been prepared for the movie a bit by watching a good bit of Angel: Season 5 before I went to see it.

 

[John Doran]

man, i really liked this film. i was a bit leery going in, what with the trailers with the crucifix gun and everything, but everything came together for me.

loved keanu in the role - i thought he was almost pitch-perfect. at least with the constantine in my head.

absolutely loved the depiction of hell. wow.

anyway.

chuck - i thought the way constantine manages to escape the devil in the movie is in keeping with the source material: constantine's ability to play other characters, like the devil and god, off one another to his own benefit is one of the pivotal features of the hellblazer comics. i even like the ambiguity as to his real motives for offering his own life in return for isabel. after all, as robert notes, constantine is a bit of a dick...

and my take on the rules against demons and angels entering our plane was that it is just that: a rule that can be followed or not. it's up to the individual demon or angel. of course, there would be consequences for both should they transgress and get caught....

i think gabriel was only specifically facilitating mamon's entry into the world via the spear of destiny.

anyway. i'd love to see keanu reprise the role in future films.

 

[Quentin]

Having not read much of the comics, I missed this:



Of course, it makes sense...the only problem I have with the movie's take on this is everybody's reaction at the beginning - i.e. "But...but...they CAN'T come onto our plane!" or some such. I would have preferred that they mention the rule of not SUPPOSED to cross over, and Constantine is one of those guys who deals with the ones who do.