When I was talking about writing this comparison piece, my friend September shook her head and stuck her tongue out. Not a great deal of people are fans of the film, Constantine. It’s understandable. The flick is pretty decent but is ultimately Keanu Reaves being mopey and angry and fighting demons with a holy shotgun. Yes, you heard me: A holy shotgun.
So what about this movie merits valuable keystrokes? It was supposed to be based on one of the most versatile comic book characters ever published. A character created by Alan Moore (Watchmen), defined by Garth Ennis (Preacher), and at different times written by Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan), Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets), and Andy Diggle (The Losers). This is the pedigree of the character of John Constantine, a con man with a past shrouded in tragedy, death, loss, and the dark arts. Described in his Wikipedia entry, “Unlike most comic book magicians, Constantine rarely uses magical spells, unless he has to, especially in combat. Constantine faces most of his challenges relying primarily on his cunning, his vast knowledge of the occult, manipulation of opponents and allies, and an extensive list of contacts.” This was not the character that was played by Keanue Reeves in the final film that was released in 2005.
What’s the point then? Why even bring this up as a point of discussion? Because years after seeing this movie in the theater, I gave it a viewing on DVD and basically thinks it’s all kinds of awesome. How? Because I didn’t view it as an adaptation of a classic comic book character. I viewed it instead as a throwback to a gritty 1970′s private investigator pulp movie crossed with a 1970′s horror film like the Exorcist or the Sentinel. When keeping those facts in mind, the film works wonders. The direction and acting actually help beef up a pretty standard plot of, “it’s the end of the world as we know it UNLESS you save the day.” Frances Lawerence, who at the time was a relative newbie director, uses Los Angeles to a great extent as a backdrop for the supernatural goings-on. His favorite trick was framing a scene with a central image and then creating a reason to slowly push in on the image. The best example I can think of is when Constantine returns from Hell looking for Rachel Weisz’s character’s twin sister. Rewatch that scene again keeping that shot technique in mind. Reeves’ performance, while wooden, does actually create a character I’m interested in watching and having him use random weapons of the supernatural such as holy water ampules, dragon’s breath, and screeching beetles serve to show off how the character could be a great reoccurring part for him (alas, the idea of a sequel is not in the cards).
So that leaves the Constantine character from the Hellblazer comic book series. The thing is that the character in the comics is, after the hefty rewriting for the film, just too different from the film’s protagonist to get angry with anymore. Right down to the way they pronounce the name (In the comics, it’s pronounced Constantine as in “fine” and in the film it’s pronounced Constantine as in “teen”). Keanu’s is a tortured soul on a personal mission to fuck with the demons wandering on Earth in order to try to redeem his damned soul and keep out of Satan’s way come his untimely demise. He’s an exorcist-for-hire, paranormal investigator, and all around authority on the unknown. His allies are Papa Midnite (who in the comics is one of Constantine’s arch enemies), Chaz (a young kid in the movie vs. equal age in the comics), and one or two characters made up for the film. In the comics, though, Constantine is a con man who smirks more than he sulks and uses all of his allies until they’re dead. He runs con after con, game after game, cigarette constantly in hand and the hopeless only being helped as an afterthought to whatever self-serving scheme he has up his sleeve. There are no victims and there are no heroes, there is only self-interest and survival and street wisdom espoused through a thick British accent. In fact, if you were to find a comparable character in film or television that is more closely comparable to John Constantine from the comics, it wouldn’t be Keanu in the film. It would be this guy: 
In the end, I highly recommend people go out and do two things: One, rewatch the movie with a less judgmental and critical eye. It’s fun and dark and basically a very well-done distraction with solid effects and decent characters. Two, go out and find the comics. Start with “Dangerous Habits” by Garth Ennis and then read through his whole run all the way through “Rake at the Gates of Hell.” After that, take a gander at Andy Diggle’s “Laughing Magician” run on the book along with the Warren Ellis “Haunted” issues. The Brian Azzarello stuff, while fun and dark, is wholly irrelevant to the sordid tale of Constantine. Above all else, experience one of the greatest characters in modern comics. Seriously, he makes Wolverine look like a pussy.
