Reviewed by Andrew Wooding

Constantine
Director: Francis Lawrence (2005)
Distributor: Warner Brothers  Certificate: PG

Spoiler notice: If you read on will become aware of how the film ends.

One reviewer has called Constantine a cross between The Exorcist and The Matrix, and generally I think this is a pretty accurate description, especially considering that The Matrix and Constantine have in common Keanu Reeves in the leading role. This film more than deserves its 15 rating, which some pretty graphic depictions of hell and an opening scene that shows a demon-possessed girl with a hideous scrunched-up face crawling across her bedroom ceiling.

So, what did I think of it? Not much, to be honest. I liked the themes of the story, but ultimately I found it be a hollow experience. I didn’t care for any of the characters, and the main problem is Keanu Reeves himself. To call his performance wooden would be an insult to trees. The first film I saw Keanu Reeves in was Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, which coincidentally also saw him visiting hell. In that film he played a goofy surfer dude and he was actually quite good in it, but a brooding intense action hero he isn’t. I defy you when watching this to find any facial expressions from him whatsoever (might be a game you can play with the freeze-frame on your remote when you rent the DVD).

This film is packed with Christian imagery, with a particular bias towards the Catholic church – angels, demons, heaven, hell, God, the devil, sin, redemption, priests, holy water, relics, and more. I suspect (but don’t know for a fact) that the creator of the Hellblazer comic probably doesn’t believe in any of this stuff and is merely using Christian mythology and themes to tell a good yarn. If this is the case, I still liked the story, and despite an aura of gloominess and despair running throughout the film, God (although he doesn’t make an appearance) still turns out to be the winner in the end.

Would I recommend you go and see it? Maybe for the special effects and story, but definitely not for Keanu Reeves (although there was something vaguely witty about Constantine’s exorcism gun being made in the shape of a crucifix, or the fact that dozens of half-breed demons that invaded a building were destroyed by Constantine filling the sprinkler system with holy water).

Would I recommend you buy the DVD? No, go out and invest in an issue of the Hellblazer comic instead. That looks far more interesting, and cheaper as well.

THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH 

Some key themes: Redemption; heaven and hell; angelic beings

I have the same problem reviewing this film as I did with Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Normally in Wooding Watches I can focus on one or two scenes in a film that deal specifically with theological issues, but what do you do with The Passion of the Christ? The entire film is theology, from the very first frame to the last!

The same is true with Constantine. The whole of the film deals with mankind being the battleground in the struggle between good and evil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, God and the devil, as well as showing the power of holy relics. Remember the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark, or the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? The relic in Constantine is the fabled Spear of Destiny, which is purported to be the spear that pierced Christ’s side on the cross and still contains traces of his blood.

I could go in all sorts of directions here (The place of angels and demons in God’s plan; Are heaven and hell real physical places or states of being?; What is the role of the church in the world?; and more), but it would make sense to focus on the journey of the film’s main character, exorcist John Constantine.

Constantine was born with a gift, an extra sense. He can see “the world behind the world” – the spiritual dimension that is behind our everyday “real” world. This gift drove John crazy as a young man, so much so that he attempted suicide and was clinically dead for a number of seconds. According to the Catholic authorities in this film, suicide is a mortal sin, meaning it can never be forgiven. John Constantine is now irrevocably hellbound, so he has devoted his life to casting demons back into hell in order to get himself back into God’s good books, to somehow earn his salvation.

Does he do it? Yes. But not before the angel Gabriel demonstrates that angels (or at the very least, Gabriel) do not fully understand God’s plan of salvation for human beings. And not before the devil (wearing a smart white jacket, just like the “angel of light” the Bible refers to him as) tries to drag Constantine down into hell one last time. When Constantine finally realises he has been saved, forgiven, redeemed – we see the devil standing behind him as he is drawn into a golden city of sunlight. Constantine’s last gesture before finally entering heaven is to hold one finger up at the devil – entirely appropriate!

But it is not yet to be. Constantine receives a taste of heaven and salvation but ultimately remains on earth to continue his mission.

A lot of Christians get hung up on something called “the unforgivable sin”, implied in these words of Jesus: “So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sin and everything they say against God. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, now or in the future” (Matthew 12 v 31-32).

My stock answer to people with these worries is that, to me, the unforgivable sin is tied up with hardening your heart against God. So if anyone is worried about whether they have committed the unforgivable sin, their very worry proves that they haven’t committed it. Only a person with a truly hard heart against God wouldn’t be worried about having committed the unforgivable sin.

John Constantine, in a moment of weakness, attempted suicide, and from them on the church convinced him that he was beyond forgiveness and could never, no matter how hard he tried, obtain salvation. Most of the time it appears that Constantine believes this and has given up on life (witness his destructive chain-smoking and his bare, gloomy living quarters), and yet something inside him must still believe that he can win his salvation – that is why he has devoted his life to exorcising demons. Yes, he does much battling with evil throughout the film, but we never see him talking to or praying to God – not until the very end, and it is only then that God receives him into heaven.

The message I get from John Constantine’s journey is that salvation cannot be earned by good works. Rather, salvation is a free gift from God - “all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift” (Romans 3 v 24) - and all we need to do is turn to him for his grace. It is this very view of salvation that the angel Gabriel cannot understand in the film.

Have your say on the discussion forum....

· Here’s a simple question, and one which I can answer immediately without hesitation: Is Keanu Reeves a good actor - yes, or no? I’ll give you a clue – the answer begins with “n”.

· Constantine is based on the Hellblazer comic and is the latest in a long line of comic books to be turned into movies, including Spider-Man, The Hulk, the Blade movies, The Road to Perdition, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the upcoming Sin City and The Fantastic Four. Which is your favourite movie that was adapted from a comic book, and are there any comics left which you think would make a good movie?

· What do you think angels and demons look like, and what do you reckon to the film’s portrayal of heaven and hell?

· Do you have any stories you want to share of experiences you may have had with angels?

To discuss this further why not leave a message of the discussion forum.