Constantine: Damned, Good

Look: I can't convince a single person of the merits of this film, but trust me: if the idea of a noirish, Byronic hero who chainsmokes, is damned to hell due to a past suicide attempt, and now battles demons on earth to get back into God's good graces (while cracking cynical asides about his lot in life) sounds like an amusing premise for a film, you'll probably enjoy Constantine. Christ: if you know what a Byronic hero is, if you know what film noir is, you'll probably enjoy this movie. Most fun piece of Hollywood fare I've seen since Hellboy, tho' considerably darker than that film. (And if that sounds like a good thing to you, then really, just trust your instincts and see it).

Odd how some people form little ratpack hate clubs against certain films, these days. It's got 46% on Rotten Tomatoes... It seems to be some sort of brand-recognition in reverse; you can prove yourself part of an elite group, these days, by trashing something. Oh well: most people are fucking morons, anyhow, right?

But not us.

By the way, if you see the film, stick around after the credits (I actually stood up from my front row seat at the Capitol 6 and made a public service announcement to this effect this evening). There's a nice little denouement awaiting you, thanks to critic Victoria Alexander for mentioning it in her somewhat strange review. Also: hey, what's with the American flags and eagles and such on the TV in the background, when Constantine confronts Balthazar? It's a pretty surprising image in a Hollywood movie -- must have slipped by someone's notice.