Constantine Preview

By Marc Shapiro

            You would have thought that, after three turns in The Matrix franchise, Keanu
Reeves would have passed on the notion of playing yet another misfit cast adrift in a
crazy world. But the meat on the bones of the title character in the comic book-horror
outing Constantine was too good to pass up.

            “I really love this guy,” offers Reeves not long after completing the film. “I love
his anger and I love his wry sense of humor about the awfulness of the world, having to
deal with that day in and day out and dealing with what it’s turned him into. He’s kind of
like this warrior in this world of shit, just trying to deal with everything.”

            Constantine, directed by Frances Lawrence from a Kevin Broadbin and Frank A.
Cappello script and based on the comic books and graphic novels of Garth Ennis and Jamie
Delano, tells the tale of John Constantine, a man who has committed suicide and now
wanders the world as he attempts to find the key to heaven and eternal peace. In this story,
based on the graphic novel Dangerous Habits with a bit of Original Sin tossed in for good
measure, Constantine teams up with policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve
the suicide of her twin sister. The journey leads the pair into a world of demons and angels
that exists just beneath the surface in contemporary Los Angeles. The movie, which also
stars Djimon Hounsou and Shia La Beouf, was filmed entirely on location in Los Angeles
and will be released in February 2005.

            Constantine, which director Lawrence offers draws much of its visual influence
from the movie Training Day, will be a special effects feast, boasting more than 420
special effects shots and a wide array of characters, creatures and environments that were
created completely  through digital means.

            Reeves, who normally wears the white hat in nearly every film, relished the idea of
playing what he terms “an asshole” in Constantine. “Constantine is definitely not the nicest
guy. This is a guy who committed suicide to get out of this world and now he’s trying to find
his way into heaven. There’s a lot on this guy’s plate. He’s struggling with his own nature
and he’s struggling to find a better life.”

            Constantine was not an easy task for director Lawrence who, while no novice behind
the camera, is tackling his first, big budget genre film. Lawrence explains that the fact that
Constantine is not one hundred percent any one thing works to its advantage. “There’s much
more to see here than just another comic book movie. It is far from being cut and dried. There
are plenty of elements of horror in this and plenty of scares. But this is not a horror film, it is
not a thriller and it is not a fantasy. It’s just this weird blend of a lot of different things.”

Watch trailers HERE.
Constantine opens in theatres February 18.