Constantine… John Constantine…
I never saw the film when it first came out in 2005, but did play the awful videogame on Xbox, which didn’t even use the likeness, nor voice, of Keanu Reeves!
In this world, there’s the Spear of Destiny… whoever has that controls the fate of the world, but it’s been missing since 1942, until one chap finds it in Mexico, 2005, wrapped in a Nazi flag, manages the feat of dying and then coming back to life, possessed, before taking it to Los Angeles.
For a career, we see John taunting the Devil, in order to extract it from a young girl, and once it shows its face, he punches it in the face, traps it in the mirror and then that’s that dealt with. Simples.
Elsewhere is cop Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz – Dead Ringers), who has her own hell to deal with, as her twin sister, Isabel, has just taken her own life; while cigarette fan John has smoked so much in his life, it’s given him terminal lung cancer.
Constantine just about made its money back upon original release, but it does stink as a film.
Shia LaBeouf (Pieces Of A Woman), as Chas, does little but be an annoying sidekick for John, while Tilda Swinton (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) takes on the mantle of the angel Gabriel, which is rather mad, although I did enjoy Peter Stormare (Until Dawn) as Lucifer. He can do any sort of baddie role and never fails, and also worked with Mr Reeves as Abram, in John Wick Chapter 2.
Beyond that, there’s a ton of weird occult stuff that makes no sense, and it just becomes nonsensical and staggeringly dull.
All that said, Constantine has become a massive cult hit over the years, and Reeves’ star status always being on the rise, it’s led to a sequel finally being developed… so, I guess I’ll be seeing that as well.
NOTE: There’s no mid- or post-credits scenes.
Constantine‘s 20th Anniversary is in cinemas now, and is available to buy on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.
In the meantime, you can buy the Hellblazer comic books on Paperback and Kindle.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 121 minutes
Release date: October 17th 2025 (20th Anniversary)
Studio: Warner Bros
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Super 35)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 3/10
Director: Francis Lawrence
Producers: Lorenzo DiBonaventura, Akiva Goldsman, Benjamin Melniker, Lauren Shuler Donner, Erwin Stoff, Michael E Uslan
Based on Comic book Hellblazer by Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis
Screenplay: Kevin Brodbin, Frank Cappello
Music: Klaus Badelt, Brian Tyler
Cast:
John Constantine: Keanu Reeves
Angela Dodson / Isabel Dodson: Rachel Weisz
Chas: Shia LaBeouf
Midnite: Djimon Hounsou
Beeman: Max Baker
Father Hennessy: Pruitt Taylor Vince
Balthazar: Gavin Rossdale
Gabriel: Tilda Swinton
Satan: Peter Stormare
Scavenger: Jesse Ramirez
Detective Weiss: Jose Zuniga
Father Garret: Francis Guinan
Vermin Man: Larry Cedar
Dr. Archer: April Grace
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.