Constantine (film)

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Constantine
Image:Constantine Poster.jpg Promotional poster for Constantine
Directed by	Francis Lawrence
Produced by	Gilbert Adler Michael Aguilar
Written by	Comic Book: Jamie Delano Garth Ennis Screenplay: Kevin Brodbin Frank Cappello
Starring	Keanu Reeves Rachel Weisz Shia LaBeouf Tilda Swinton Pruitt Taylor Vince Djimon Hounsou Gavin Rossdale Peter Stormare
Music by	Klaus Badelt Brian Tyler
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	February 18, 2005
Running time	121 min.
Language	English
Budget	$100 million
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Constantine is a 2005 film loosely based on the Hellblazer comic book, with some plot elements being taken from the "Dangerous Habits" arc (issues #41-46). It was released on February 8, 2005 in Hong Kong, and on February 18, 2005 in the U.S. and Canada.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Box Office 4 Proposed sequel 5 Trivia 6 References 7 See Also 8 External links

Plot

The film opens in a ruin in Mexico, where a young man finds the Spear of Destiny wrapped in a Nazi flag. He seizes the spear and becomes possessed, heading for Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles we see John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) perform an exorcism on a teenage Filipina girl; although he is successful he is unnerved by the boldness of the demon, who attempted to leave the girl's body to cross over into humankind's realm. After meeting a detective named Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), who wants to know if her twin sister committed suicide, John uncovers a plot by Mammon, the son of Satan, to betray his father and claim dominion over Earth immediately.

There are many worlds, according to Constantine, of which Earth is only one; it is a neutral place between Heaven and Hell, which have wagered on which can win the most souls among humans, while Mammon want to dominate the world. Some humans are able to see the demons and angels who walk among them. Having lived with this ability since birth, Constantine was institutionalized as an adolescent and eventually committed suicide to escape the torment of seeing them but not being believed. Though resuscitated by doctors, he was officially dead for two minutes, which he spent in hell. Unfortunately for the young Constantine, time moves at a very different speed in the underworld. ("Take it from me, two minutes in hell is a lifetime.")

His "successful" suicide, which is considered a mortal sin in the eyes of God, has condemned him to be sent to hell upon his eventual death. To escape this fate, he has spent the rest of his life trying to win back God's favor by battling the forces of Hell, though his time on Earth will be brief; Constantine has smoked 30 cigarettes a day since he was 15, and is now dying of lung cancer. Because of the number of demons he has slain, Constantine knows that he is the only soul that Lucifer will leave Hell to reap personally.

After incapacitating a room full of demons with the help of a fire suppression system filled with holy water, thanks to his "apprentice" Chas Kramer (Shia LaBeouf), who had begged to be allowed to accompany Constantine on an exorcism instead of simply driving him around in a taxi, the pair move on to stop Mammon from being summoned via Angela. Mammon is subdued, but Chas is then killed by the angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) for interfering in the "birth." Gabriel incapacitates Constantine and begins to summon Mammon using the Spear of Destiny.

The injured Constantine takes his own life a second time in order to win an audience with Lucifer, whom he informs of Mammon's plot. Lucifer returns Mammon to Hell, in the process of which Gabriel falls, becoming human. Lucifer then asks what Constantine wants as reward for the information and is surprised when Constantine asks for the release of Angela's sister from Hell. Heaven consequently accepts Constantine for his selflessness. Lucifer, enraged at having lost Constantine's soul, revives him and removes the cancer from his lungs so that he can live on and prove that he truly belongs in Hell. His fate now belongs to him, and in the end he is seen chewing (presumably) nicotine gum, to kick off smoking.

At the end of the film's credits, Constantine visit Chas' grave, saying that he did a good job and leaves his cigarette lighter on top of the grave. When Constantine is about to leave the graveyard, Chas appears as an angel and is dressed as Gabriel was previously. Chas then flies off into the sky.

Cast

Actor	Role
Keanu Reeves	John Constantine
Rachel Weisz	Angela Dodson / Isabel Dodson
Shia LaBeouf	Chas Kramer
Djimon Hounsou	Papa Midnite
Max Baker	Beeman
Pruitt Taylor Vince	Father Hennessy
Gavin Rossdale	Balthazar
Tilda Swinton	Gabriel
Peter Stormare	Lucifer
Nicholas Downs	Church Attendant
Jesse Ramirez	Scavenger
Larry Cedar	Vermin Man
Jhoanna Trias	Possessed Girl
Laz Alonso	Williams
Matthew McGrory	Demon (uncredited)
Domino Harvey	Angel (uncredited)
Michelle Monaghan	Ellie (scenes cut)

Box Office

Constantine earned US$230,427,240 in worldwide box office receipts.

It has been rumored that a sequel is planned for release in 2007; however, Reeves has not committed to the project, sometimes expressing interest and other times not. Recently, movie producer Lauren Shuler Donner has commented that a sequel (with Reeves attached) is in the works, but that Francis Lawrence would not be directing^[1]

Constantine has been rated R For Violence and Demonic Images by the MPAA. It also contains mild language.

Warner Home Video announced that the film was to be released on HD-DVD on March 28, 2006.^[2] It would be one of the earliest titles to be released on that media format. However, following delays to the launch of the HD-DVD format (which pushed back the release of many of the initially announced titles), Constantine eventually made its debut on HD-DVD on June 6, 2006.

Proposed sequel

Movie producer Lauren Shuler Donner stated in a November 18-19, 2006 interview that writers are currently developing a script for Constantine 2. She claims that Keanu Reeves is willing to reprise his role as John Constantine. Donner also stated that Constantine 2 would be filmed in a South American country and a different director would replace Francis Lawrence who directed the first film. The film is expected to be rated "R", similar to the first film.^[3][4]

Trivia

• This is the second time that Keanu Reeves has been involved in a film with demonic themes, the first being 1997's The Devil's Advocate, where he portrayed Kevin Lomax, the son of Satan. (A third could be suggested with Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey where the plotline centre's around the duo's death and, in one part of the movie, visit hell. This however is not the basis of the film.)
• Gabriel was portrayed in the movie by actress Tilda Swinton but not as a female entity, only to signify the androgynous nature of angels.
• The possessed girl (Jhoanna Trias) uttered Tagalog words while being possessed by the devil, "Patayin natin sila" (Let's kill them), but when she woke up she talked with her mother in Chinese Mandarin.
• This movie marks the second time that Rachel Weisz and Keanu Reeves starred together in a feature film, the first being Chain Reaction in 1996.
• This movie was released on the 8th of February in Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, 8 days before its Hollywood premiere.
• The real Domino Harvey appeared as an angel seated at a table with a demon, who is affectionately biting her ear, during the first of two scenes at Papa Midnight's bar.
• A sign with the phrase "Got Faith?" is visible in the scene with the man carrying the Spear of Destiny carjacking a vehicle to get to Los Angeles.
• Keanu Reeves is wearing an Oris Modern Classic wristwatch throughout the movie. The watch can be seen featured prominently in a close-up shot in the end sequence of the film. ^[5]
• In biblical canon Mammon is not said to be the outright son the of the Devil, and in most classic literature, such as Paradise lost, he is another fallen angel but is one of Satan's most trusted.

References

1. ^ CHUD News November 19, 2006.
2. ^ Business Wire. Warner Home Video Announces Titles and Release Dates for HD DVD. January 5, 2006.
3. ^ IESB Interview with Lauren Shula Donner November 18, 2006.
4. ^ IESB Interview with Lauren Shula Donner part 2 November 19, 2006.
5. ^ Oris and Keanu Reeves - Out of this world, Oris website, Retrieved on 2007-02-18.

See Also

• Holy Lance The Spear of Destiny.

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