(no subject)

[emmuzka]

Went to see Constantine tonight.


As a person who started reading Hellblazer over ten years ago, first in horror comic magazine Kalma and after that in albums, I was of course feeling a certain superiority and pity towards the movie. It's certain that one can't put ten years worth of comics in one movie, but still.

Of course, the choice of Keanu Reeves killed the main character completely. Firstly, the obvious things, like the real Constantine being British, blond, in his forties and talking with accent. Secondly, John Constantine is a son of a bitch and they should have chosen someone like Kallum Keith Rennie or Owen Wilson to play him.

The Archangel Gabriel was the sexiest thing ever. Just, wow. Lucifer and Balthazar the demon were great, too, all following the comic. The main female character, sadly, had no charisma and you just didn't believe that she could be as powerful as they tried to made her be. No surprise that she doesn't have a counterpart in the comics.

The movie was ok. Not great like, let's say the first Matrix, but okay. I didn't like it when they managed to completely fuck up the cancer plot. In the comics, he gets cancer and cheats death by selling his soul to several demons. In the end, the demons have to let him live to avoid fighting with each other for his soul. In the movie, he makes a deal with god, who is *way* too high being to make deals like that.

Comments

[xoverau.livejournal.com]

You got the impression he made a deal with God? Huh.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

It was pretty confusing. Ok, he was dying and Lucifer was dragging him to hell, but then he was stopped and Constantine was raised to bright light. So he was going to heaven? And then Lucifer decided to keep him alive to claim his soul later in life? I took that as a deal with god, since he was going to hell in the first half of the movie.

How did you understood it?

[xoverau.livejournal.com]

In the suicide scene, he asked God for help. Doing that showed faith rather than knowledge, as Gabriel said he would have to do before he was redeemed. He didn't know God would come to his assistance. He just believed He would.

Then he sacrificed his hold on life by asking Lucifer to release Isabel instead of giving him an extension. They made a big issue of his selfishness throughout the movie, and I saw that choice on John's part as sufficient sacrifice to redeem him. Gabriel said that God would accept any human being into His grace for those two things--faith and sacrifice.

I guess you could call that a "deal" with God, but I saw it as character redemption. Of course you're right, it was loads different than the comics. I knew that going in. *grin*

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was a selfless sacrifice thingie then. Now that you explained it, I can take it. Apparently I see this Constantine still as the comic Constantine, who would have planned everything ahead, and I'm also doubting the comic constantine's decision between the girl and his own time extension ;)

So, righteous movie Constantine, hm... That's movie logic at work, I guess.

[xoverau.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the comics are a lot more cynical about religion, God, the battle, everything. I saw the movie as being a lot more like the roleplaying game In Nomine than it was like Hellblazer.