Constantine (film)

Constantine
File:Constantine Poster.jpg Promotional poster for Constantine
Directed by	Francis Lawrence
Written by	Comic Book: Jamie Delano Garth Ennis Screenplay: Kevin Brodbin Frank Cappello
Produced by	Gilbert Adler Michael Aguilar
Starring	Keanu Reeves Rachel Weisz Tilda Swinton Gavin Rossdale Djimon Hounsou Shia LaBeouf Pruitt Taylor Vince Peter Stormare
Music by	Klaus Badelt Brian Tyler
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	February 18, 2005
Running time	121 min.
Language	English
Budget	$100 million

Constantine is a 2005 film based on the Hellblazer comic book, with some plot elements being taken from the "Dangerous Habits" arc (issues #41-46). It was released on February 8, 2005 in Hong Kong, and on February 18, 2005 in the U.S. and Canada.

Box Office

Domestic: $75,976,178 33.0% + Foreign: $154,451,062 67.0% = Worldwide: $230,427,240

The film stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a man who battles demons but is tormented by the knowledge that he is bound for Hell. The film is drastically different from the comics on which it is based.

It has been rumored that a sequel is planned for release in 2007; however, Reeves has not committed to the project, sometimes expressing interest and other times not.

Constantine has been rated R For Violence and Demonic Images by the MPAA. It also contains mild language, but not strong.

Warner Home Video announced that the film was to be released on HD-DVD on March 28, 2006. 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.

Taglines:

• Hell wants him. Heaven won't take him. Earth needs him.
• The wager between heaven and hell is on Earth.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The film opens in a ruin in Mexico, where a young man finds the Spear of Destiny wrapped in a Nazi flag. He seizes the spear and becomes possessed, heading for Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles we see John Constantine perform an exorcism on a young female teenager; although he is successful he is unnerved by the boldness of the demon, who attempted to leave the girl's body to cross over into humankind's realm. After meeting a detective named Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), who wants to know if her twin sister committed suicide, he uncovers a plot by Mammon, the son of Satan, to betray his father and claim dominion over Earth immediately.

There are many worlds, according to Constantine, of which Earth is only one; it is a neutral place between Heaven and Hell, which have wagered on which can win the most souls among humans, despite the fact that God loves them and wants them to come to Heaven, while Satan and Mammon want to dominate the world. Some humans are able to see the demons and angels who walk among them. Having lived with this ability since birth, Constantine was institutionalized as an adolescent and eventually committed suicide to escape the torment of seeing them but not being believed. Though resuscitated by doctors, he was officially dead for two minutes, which he spent in hell. Unfortunately for the young Constantine, time moves at much greater speed in the underworld: "Believe me, two minutes in hell is a lifetime." He has spent the rest of his life trying to win back God's favor by battling the forces of Hell, though his time on earth will be brief; Constantine has smoked 30 cigarettes a day since he was 15, and is now dying of lung cancer.

After incapacitating a room full of demons with the help of a fire suppression system filled with holy water, thanks to his "apprentice" Chas Kramer (Shia LaBeouf), who had begged to be allowed to accompany Constantine on an exorcism instead of simply driving him around in a taxi. The pair move on to stop Mammon from being born from Angela. Mammon is subdued, but Chas is then killed by the angel Gabriel for interfering in the "birth."

Constantine eventually takes his own life a second time in order to win an audience with Satan, whom he informs of Mammon's plot. Satan returns Mammon to Hell, in the process of which Gabriel falls. Satan then asks what Constantine wants as reward for the information and is surprised when Constantine asks for the release of Angela's sister from Hell. Heaven consequently accepts Constantine for his selflessness. Satan, enraged at having lost Constantine's soul, revives him and removes the cancer from his lungs so that he can live on and prove whether he truly belongs in Heaven or Hell, having been forgiven for his twin-suicides. His fate now belongs to him, and in the end he is seen chewing gum, as opposed to smoking.

At the end of the film's credits you see Constantine visit Chas' grave saying he did a good job. When Constantine is about to leave the graveyard, Chas appears as an angel and is dressed as Gabriel was previously, implying that he is Gabriel's replacement.

Cast

Actor	Role
Keanu Reeves	John Constantine
Rachel Weisz	Angela Dodson / Isabel Dodson
Shia LaBeouf	Chaz Kramer
Djimon Hounsou	Papa Midnite
Max Baker	Beeman
Pruitt Taylor Vince	Father Hennessy
Gavin Rossdale	Balthazar
Tilda Swinton	Gabriel
Peter Stormare	Lucifer
Nicholas Downs	Church Attendant
Jesse Ramirez	Scavenger
Larry Cedar	Vermin Man
Jhoanna Trias	Possessed Girl
Laz Alonso	Williams
Matthew McGrory	Demon (Uncredited)
Michelle Monaghan	Ellie (Scenes Cut)

Trivia

• When the movie premiered in the city of Bergen, Norway, exactly 666 persons attended the premiere.

See also

• 2005 in film
• Hellblazer
• Brian Tyler

External links

• Official site
• Constantine at IMDb
• Template:Shh
• Constantine at Rotten Tomatoes
• Constantine at Box Office Mojo
• Interview with Hellblazer writer Jamie Delano
• Hellblazer Trades - Chronological list of John Constantine appearances]
• Constantine review at Dread Central