Beware the Angel Atop John Constantine's Tree

I will always have a fond feeling for the 2005 thriller Constantine if for no other reason that it was the movie that introduced me to Tilda Swinton and made me realize what a great actress she could be, even in a potentially silly role. Her triumph seems even greater when you consider the fact that the character she plays in this movie -- that of the angel Gabriel (or at least an angel called Gabriel) -- was originally created as a male character -- and yet Ms. Swinton does not balk at playing the character as if it were a man even though she is, of course, a woman. And, as a result, she is very easily the most watchable thing in this movie.



Alas, the rest of the film is not that perfect, and poor Keanu Reeves seems especially miscast as the cynical title character. Granted, it's not all Reeves' fault that his performance is less than satisfying. After all, the character that he plays -- freelance detective John Constantine -- was originally created by English comic book writer Alan Moore to be a mysterious Englishman who investigated the supernatural and looked like the English singer Sting. He originally made guest appearances in the DC/Vertigo comic book series Swamp Thing but eventually became popular enough to earn his own title called Hellblazer. Basically, the character is about as English as John Steed or Doctor Who so it always seemed silly to "re-imagine" him as an American character. But that is what Hollywood did. (And judging from the recent Elementary series, Americans are still reinventing British pop culture icons as Yanks. ¡Qué lástima!)

Anyway, Moore himself was supposed to be quite disappointed in the movie version and I can not blame him. A lot of silly stuff occurs in this movie and the filmmaker makes little attempt to apply the logic one would expect from a mere comic book. Actress Rachel Weisz is wasted playing two twins who get caught up in a supernatural conspiracy that only Constantine -- natch -- can uncover. There is even a guest appearance by the Devil -- not just a devil but the Devil -- though to be fair, that proves to be one of the more interesting subplots in the movie.

All in all, one can see why the Hollywood powers that be never felt compelled to make a sequel to this flick. And yet of all the comic book movies based on Alan Moore's work, this is the one to which I most often return. Perhaps because Ms. Swinton makes such a divine villain (no pun intended) that she alone is almost worth the price of a video rental.