"Constantine" delivers us from the evil that is mediocrity

Constantine
The first near perfect movie of the year


I honestly don't know how to begin this review. I am at a loss for words when it comes to talking about this near perfect movie. I will start off by saying to forget about the Matrix, this is Keanu Reeves best performance ever. Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine, a exorcist/demonologist/cynical outcast. As a child John realized he could see past the veil of the balance and see demons and angels, or as he called them, "half-breeds." Apparently demon/angels can't fully exist in this world as actual entities but they can influence others thus they are half human/half something else. John tried to kill himself as a teen but was only dead for two minutes, which we find out is an eternity in hell. So John is spared and sent back to Earth but is forever doomed to hell for taking his own life.

The movie starts off in Mexico with a Mexican guy finding the "Spear of Destiny." The "Spear of Destiny" is the tip of the spear used to stab Jesus Christ towards the end of the crucifixion. Move forward a little bit and we see John doing a routine exorcism, or at least what he thinks is routine. Now it's only during the beginning of this movie that sort of turned me off. The movie was still great at the beginning but there was one thing that turned me off. Shia LaBouf is the thing that turned me off early on. Yes Shia LaBouf also known as Louis Stevens from the Disney show "Even Stevens." He is kind of a sidekick wannabe who drives the taxi. For the first ten minutes of the movie I thought I was watching "Collateral." John realizes, in a pretty cool fashion, that this is no ordinary exorcism. He seeks the counsel of the angel Gabriel to find out what is going on. Yes, that angel Gabriel. During this time though we are acquainted with another main character. Her name is Angela and her sister has killed herself but Angie believes that there was something more sinister involved. As the story moves along we find out that Angie's sister could also see the demons and angels but was committed by her parents for talking about seeing these things. Towards the end of the movie it really kicks into high gear by letting us actually visit hell and some of the best action sequences ever. I mean, come on, a Striker shotgun that is also a cross? How is that not completely awesome? The story in the end does make sense and a very special cameo also occurs. Won't tell you who it is but it is cool. And in the end Shia LaBouf does redeem himself by only having a bit part and toting a shotgun towards the end. Who doesn't love to see Disney characters tote weapons? Can't wait for the "Lizzie McGuire/Rambo" crossover.

Even with the flaw of having LaBouf the movie will still completely blow you away. This is one of the best, if not the best, script to screen translation of a comic yet. Let's hope "Sin City" can keep the trend of good comic book movies going. Oh and by the way, this movie gets the first 5 out of 5 of 2005. Way to go "Constantine", your cookie is in the mail.

Final Score
5/5

PS
Some of the trailers before this movie kind of bothered me. "Kingdom of Heaven" was one of those. It looks good but how about we stick Orlando Bloom in something that doesn't have him riding a horse, swinging a sword, or using a bow. Also Colin Farrell needs to go away. Seriously, when your best role is you standing in a phone booth for an hour and a half, you should take a hint and just stop.