Although what I really wanted to do last night was find some batting cages and work out my frustration in a violent (though harmless) manner, I happily settled for going to see Constantine with Lukas and some friends of his, instead. Easy to please that way, me.
So... the movie. It wasn't Hellblazer, the comic on which the movie was based, that's for sure. This is mostly from Keanu Reeves just not being a good John Constantine. When I first learned that Keanunu was going to play Constantine I thought it was a little odd. I, like many other fans, wanted to see Sting in the role. Because Sting is the visual basis for the character and is, like the character, British. But I read in an interview with the director that they were trying to portray a younger Constantine and Sting would be too old. Ok, I thought, no big deal. They're going for a younger Constantine in the movie, the young punk he used to be, I can see Kahnunu doing that.
Only... Well, they didn't go for a younger Constantine. They were trying to show a tired, world-weary character. I like the idea of that, but Kahnoonoo just isn't old enough and just isn't a good enough actor to pull it off, and no matter how much black makeup they blend under his eyes to make him look that way, it just didn't fly.
Beyond that, the movie was pretty good. The supporting cast were cool, especially the angel Gabriel (played by Tilda Swinton) and the Devil (played by Peter Stormare). They were awesome. The set design was neat and sort of retro-spooky; worn, dusty wood and lots of greens. I wasn't a huge fan of the brief scenes set in Hell - they were a little too green-screened for me - but the rest of the cg was neat. There are bits of the plot that didn't make a lot of sense in retrospect, but I didn't notice them while I was actually watching the movie, so whatever.
I think I would rather have seen a movie that stuck truer to the comic, at least vis-a-vis the character of John Constantine, but it was worth seeing anyway. Which came as a little bit of a surprise to me.
Comments (10)
Okay, based on your recommendation, I shall see Constantine, but I shall go into the theatre with a look of disdain upon my face.
Also: Only 5 weeks left until the release of Sin City, so that's something to keep in mind while not liking all of Constantine.
Posted by Ben | February 19, 2005 12:43 PM
Posted on February 19, 2005 12:43
True. And Sin City looks like it's gonna be hella cool.
As does Batman Begins, which I saw the trailer for last night, as well. Unfortunately, that's further away than Sin City is.
Posted by Jason | February 19, 2005 1:11 PM
Posted on February 19, 2005 13:11
Constantine. Check. Hasn't been much to go see in the past few months, has there?
Ben, do you go into anything without a look of disdain upon your face?
Posted by Erik | February 19, 2005 1:27 PM
Posted on February 19, 2005 13:27
The easiest way I've found to describe it to people is simply to say that it's "Blade" with angels and demons instead of vampires, Keanu Reaves instead of Wesley Snipes, and with much better lead villains.
Posted by Lukas | February 20, 2005 9:47 AM
Posted on February 20, 2005 09:47
I walk into the bank every other week to deposit my invoice checks without a hint of disdain. I like being able to afford food.
Posted by Ben | February 20, 2005 9:55 AM
Posted on February 20, 2005 09:55
Lukas -
I think you might be right. Not at all like Blade 2, though. Ick.
Ben -
I'm sure you do, but I bet you still get a look of disdain on your face. Or perhaps you wear a parrot on your shoulder. Hee hee. Man, it's been too long since I've seen you. We all need to reune at some point.
Posted by Jason | February 20, 2005 10:44 AM
Posted on February 20, 2005 10:44
Sin City does indeed look cool. I have no idea how much it has to do with the comic...but either way. It just looks funky.
Batman Begins...I'm iffy about. I heard they turned Ra's into a Japanese ninja clan leader. Also it looks like Bruce finds the Batman mask in Tibet, which DOES recall an Elseworlds, but...wasn't Bruce inspired to use the bat as his symbol simply becuase its a creature of the night that strikes terror into people? Also...the costume STILL looks too rubbery to me.
Posted by Bard | February 20, 2005 12:15 PM
Posted on February 20, 2005 12:15
They cast Ken Watanabe in the role of Ra's, and Ken Watanabe is the baddest motherfucker to come out of Japan in the past century. So, yes, he's Japanese. And, well, Ra's has always had ninjas at his command (what with being a pulp villain and all...), so I don't see much of a problem there.
I think maybe you're driving at getting rid of Ra's' "scorched earth" brand of terrorism though, right? Most of the synopsises I've read call Ra's a "dangerous (or twisted) cult leader" so I'll be optimistic.
At least part of the costume idea must, yes, come from Bruce's early training; you can see in the trailer that Liam Neeson is wearing the spikey gauntlets. But there's nothing really off about that. The way they put it in Batman: Year One (which I cannot recommend highly enough, as it's AWESOME) is that he has all of the tools, all of the training, all of the knowledge, all of the background. He's just missing a spark to put it all together. And that's when he remembers his tremendous fear of bats as a child and everything clicks into place. Since the trailer does show a clip of young Bruce falling into the cave, I'm willing to believe that something similar happens here.
Posted by Jason | February 20, 2005 12:28 PM
Posted on February 20, 2005 12:28
So many interesting movies its a shame that i get to see them much later than you guys.
of the ones that are now is "the grudge" which many many people have told me its a very very good horror movie so good that my finacee refuses to go see it :P
Posted by gus | February 21, 2005 9:54 AM
Posted on February 21, 2005 09:54
Movie delays between different countries are a big pain, especially in our increasingly global environment (and don't I sound like a news article there?). Though they have, at times, let me see movies I otherwise wouldn't have had a chance to see. Like when I saw the last James Bond movie in Estonia. That was cool.
Can't say as I'm a big horror movie fan, though. They just don't do much for me. :( Good luck seeing The Grude, though!
Posted by Jason | February 21, 2005 11:13 AM
Posted on February 21, 2005 11:13