Constantine

"Angels and demons can't cross over onto our plane. So, instead we get what I call half-breeds. The influence peddlers. They can only whisper in our ears. But a single word can give you courage, or turn your favorite pleasure into your worst nightmare. Those with the demon's touch, like those part angel, living alongside us. They call it the balance. I call it hypocritical bullshit." - John Constantine

release year: 2005
genre: supernatural
viewing setting: home streaming 11/23/23 (Thanksgiving)

synopsis: Angels and demons are at war yet have a truce on Earth, but something's amiss...and only super-aware exorcist and magician John Constantine can figure it out.

impressions: I'd never read the comics, and went into this cold and almost two decades after it was made, but it was a lot of fun. The basic idea is that there are (half-) angels and demons on our world, and they're bound by rules, but that's going by the wayside as a sinister plot unfolds. There's some magic, some action, and a lot of world-ending types of ideas and possibilities.

acting: Keanu Reeves does a pretty good job as the world-weary demon-fighter whose time is nearing an end. Rachel Weisz is a cop who (along with her dead sister) is tied to the demons' plot. Shia LaBeouf is Constantine's helper/sidekick who is sometimes annoying. Tilda Swinton is an angel stationed on Earth. Djimon Hounsou is a witch doctor who's trying to remain neutral. Gavin Rossdale is a demon who walks the Earth and seems not to care about the rules.

final word: Fairly entertaining supernatural/action comic book adaptation.

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