2005, Francis Lawrence (Red Sparrow) -- download / The Shelf
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In 2005 I was not that far removed from my fondness for the Hellblazer comic. John Constantine was an anti-hero, a swearing, smoking, betraying spell-caster in a modern urban environment, who was constantly at odds with Hell. He carried the air of a supernatural noir detective with a constant halo of cigarette smoke and an iconic camel trench coat, but with a hint of punk via his spiky/messy blonde hair. John Constantine was not a nice guy, not a good guy.
Then it was announced that Keanu Reeves would play John. Despite the goodwill he generated from The Matrix, he is and will always be the "whoah" guy. Few were pleased; even fewer were pleased by moving it to America, switching out the camel coat for a short black trench, and leaving Keanu with his dark hair. I recall being hesitant but also realizing I would probably just enjoy the idea of a contemporary magic-realism thriller. I also recall being less than thrilled by a lot of it, and yet, it must have stuck with me well enough, to eventually end up on The Shelf. Twenty years later, I am more than just a nostalgic fondness for the movie, I truly, really like it, Keanu and all.
In Mexico two men who appear to be homeless addicts are literally just scratching in the dirt in the ruins of an old church. They are not just any old wooden classic church remains, but some brutalist concrete frame that just screams ritual. One of the men puts a foot through the floor / ground and finds... something. Its the Spear of Longinus, the Hofburg Spear version of it in particular, the blade that struck Jesus in the side, killing him. We are given the impression he is possessed by it, but I see something more, for it is just a tool and it is those desiring the tool that possess the man, making him invulnerable to harm (he steps onto a road, is struck by a car, it destroying itself around him, like he was Superman or The Hulk) and setting him on a path... north.
Meanwhile in LA, John Constantine (pronounced, scandalously, -teen; Keanu Reeves, John Wick) is asked to look into something by Hennessey (Pruitt Taylor Vince, The Mentalist), a priest who looks more street beggar than holy man. With John's intro, we get all the little details: the trench (albeit altered), the white shirt with tie askew, and the cigarettes. This was twenty years ago when the cinematic world still considered smoking on screen as taboo. But that is absolutely necessary to the character portrayal. As are the consequences.
That opening exorcism just smacks of style. Sure, its a rote Christian style exorcism but the man performing it is more a noir gumshoe taking out the trash than a man performing a holy ritual. He's angry, vindictive, ruthless, and more than a little pissed off that the demon inside her is not following the rules. We even get a hint of a popular comic sidekick character -- Chaz the cab driver (Shia LaBeouf, Holes), now a bit diminished as a youthful paranormal investigative wannabe who John has no problem using up. Anyone who read the comics saw where that relationship would go.
Then we get the story setup. A suicide, and Angela (Rachel Weisz, The Mummy), a police detective, a twin, who cannot believe her sister, a Good Catholic, would commit suicide, despite her incarceration inside a mental health facility. While she goes to her parish priest for consolation, confirmation her sister is not in Hell, John is in the same church to confront the Angel Gabriel (Tilda Switon, Orlando), angry at the fact that the legions are no longer following the rules. John reminds Gabriel that he has been doing his job well, finding demons who break the rules and deporting them back to Hell. But this one was not just possessing, but actually trying to manifest itself on Earth. That's entirely against the rules. Gabriel doesn't care, and only sees John as trying to bargain his way to Heaven. He is, of course, but that's not the point.
Oh, and Gabriel is a "half-breed", while it is not fully explained, they are lesser versions of angelic and demonic beings able to actually walk around on the Earth. The half-breeds are always conspiring against each other but are not allowed direct intervention. The implication is that they have been on Earth for a while, and "mingled" with us. And yes, there are half-breed demons as well.
And that's the setup: the Holy Lance, demons breaking the rules, a death by suicide, and John trying to pull together all the details. He tasks Hennessey with finding out more, badgering the man into taking off the talisman that protects him from... the voices. John doesn't care about the cost on the man's sanity; John's an asshole. He's also an asshole to Angela, the detective, starting when she seeks him out for assistance about her sister's place in the afterlife, and we get to see a ritual John casts to temporarily visit Hell, where he does indeed find the sister's soul. Angela is not happy with that news. John also tells her he himself is Hell Bound, as he committed suicide as a teen, so he knows where he eventually will go.
To confirm to Angela that something supernatural is going on, something even more out of the "ordinary", something involving Angela and her sister, we are given the incredible street scene. On a quiet LA street, as Angela is leaving John, the street lights go out, but more so, all light fades, and sounds are heard -- wings, talons. As the darkness encroaches on the two, John lights up something. In previous viewings, I thought it might just be a cloth soaked in alcohol, but now we believe it might be something more, maybe a holy relic he had in his pocket, something that when ignited could keep manifested demons from attacking them, its holy light & fire sending them back to Hell in droves, leaving naught but ashes. And confirming to Angela that Hell has come to Earth. And it wants her.
The holy relics. Another comics sourced character, Beeman (Max Baker, The Island), presents John with a bunch of "stuff", items with supernatural significance, to help John on his ... quest. Meanwhile Hennessey has learned... something, and the demon Balthazar (Gavin Rossdale, musician in band "Bush") is not happy about it, doing some evil magic on on the man, who drinks himself to death in the briefest of moments. Direct intervention; naughty Balthazar. John finds Hennessey with a symbol on his hand, a symbol Beeman says is for Mammon, who is Lucifer's wayward son, who is part of a prophecy wherein he takes over the Earth with the help of "divine essence" and a powerful psychic. Said powerful psychic was to be Angela's sister, but she died. And the Beeman is killed as well, and John is attacked by a full-blood demon on a street, only protected by one of Beeman's relics, a matchbox full of screeching beetles, little bugs that demons cannot abide the sounds of. Angela admits she also has the same psychic powers as her sister. She is abducted right from under John's nose, and this little coup is underway.
The final act, the confrontation, the battle for Earth's sanctity. In the hospital with Angela's sister died, the hordes of demon half-breeds have gathered. John assaults the place with his holy relic weapons, including a "gearing up scene" produced shotgun that fires dragon's breath from holy shells. Its ridiculous, very Hollywood, but its fun, smacks of the vampire death club scene in Blade. After dealing with the minions, he pulls Angela from the pool and interrupts Mammon's return. But then Gabriel returns, a turncoat, jealous of humanity's favour from God, hoping to see Mammon wipe the planet clean of the human taint. When all seems lost, John cast aside and injured, he does a Hail Mary (religious pun intended) -- he cuts his own wrists knowing that there is one soul that the King of Hell, Lucifer himself (Peter Stormare, Armageddon), would come to Earth to collect. That gives John the chance to show daddy dearest what his son is up to. Lucifer deals with Gabriel and his son and then offers John his life as thanks for catching all this. Instead, in an act of unexpected selflessness, he asks Lucifer to release Angela's sister's soul from Hell, forgive her suicide. So, with John's soul being dragged behind him Lucifer begins a trod back to Hell when.... selfless act rewarded ! John's forgiven his cardinal sin and will be going to Heaven instead. Not to be foiled, Lucifer decides to heal John, of his wounds, of his terminal cancer (remember, the integral smoking?). John is properly saved.
This whole final act is incredible. I remember thinking Peter Stormare as Lucifer was far too camp, but over the years, I have not only softened to him as The Devil but love it now, fully. He's always been a bigger than big actor so his over-the-top Satan is delectable. He didn't need to be overshadowing to be intimidating. He obviously has it in for John, and while its not clear to the non-comic-reader, has been messing with Lucifer's plans for ages. And Gabriel -- cocky, self-important Gabriel who hates Earth and humans is now one of them... us, except for those stubby, burned bits of wing bone on their back. Tilda Swinton is so great as the non-binary angel.
Yah, still love the movie, and this 4K copy was just sooooo pretty. The colours, even though most of them are earth-tones, are clear and lush. The sets look incredible, from John's big industrial loft style apartment but with the odd wood detailing everywhere, to the bowling alley in which Beeman hid, with its soul bottles hanging everywhere, to that initial apartment complex where John exorcised the demon in he opening act, so large and from another era, very noir, very LA, almost cyberpunk. Keanu had already pulled away (mostly) from his "whoah" personality with The Matrix movies, but here he's embracing the bastard. He is surrounded by a bunch of character actors who play up their parts well.
Some final thoughts. I always felt, and still do feel, that the Angela character, while integral to the plot, is handled... rather extraneously. She's a cop but we barely see her investigate. Her character is a pawn for the most part. There was originally supposed to be a love interest for John, a demon half-breed played by Michelle Monaghan, but that was all cut out, leaving most viewers wondering why she has a brief scene in the final act, no lines, she is just blown away by the shotgun. I never liked the way they presented Chas, the cab driver who was always one of my favourite characters from the comic, who is played by Shia LaBeouf in the movie in "huh huh, can we Spike, can we fight demons Spike!" lapdog who, like all John's friends in the movie, dies. And finally, Papa Midnight, or just Midnite, a voodoo priest that dislikes John but are more peers than pawns is a classic Magical Negro (trope term), but with bite and is the template for a lot of characters in urban fantasy movies to come. Its almost turning the trope on its head. In the comic, he was just another rival of John's, another example of a magician/sorcerer from a different culture, that John runs into, but that's lost to the movie so only the trope remains, and Djimoun Hounsou just owns it.
Despite hints of a sequel, one which could be interesting now that Keanu has replaced Neo with Wick, I am not sure it is really needed, and would only be a disappointment.
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