Constantine (2005)
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This film is based on the Hellblazer comic and I have to admit that I've never even heard of the comic until word on this movie was released. The title Hellblazer wasn't used for this since it was seemingly too similar to Hellraiser; and according to a lot of fans of the comic, that's not the only thing that's changed. Lead hero John Constantine was also supposed to be British, but since Keanu took the role director Francis Lawrence felt it was best that the character's location was changed since we all know Keanu would be horrible with an accent.
Speaking of changes, there was early word that a half-breed character named Ellie was cut out entirely from the film. Though, I'm sure it'll show up on the DVD. Now since I haven't read the comic I can't compare the two, but from what I've heard a lot of fans are displeased by this movie adaptation. I personally enjoyed the flick, despite it being slower than what the trailer led you to believe. I think the trailer showed most of the best parts of the film, which is why I think a lot of people were disappointed with the end result.
So lets brush over the story -- Basically a supernatural detective named John Constantine is already headed to hell thanks to attempting to commit suicide in the past, and because of smoking since age 15, he's gonna die young. In order for him to secure a place in Heaven, he helps people possessed by demons and disposes others known as "half breeds". Half breeds are basically demons that are able to exist in our world thanks to being half human. They have no actual power in our world aside from influencing us to do evil. By teaming up with a local detective (Rachel Weisz) in the investigation of her dead sister, the two discover that the demons are planning to enter our world thanks to the discovery of a mystical spearhead that was found recently in Mexico.
The effects for this movie were amazing and I felt it was one of the best depictions of hell from all the films I've seen. I remember how horrible hell looked in the Spawn movie adaptation, especially that of the devil. There is already talk of a sequel, so much-so that I even have a page for it here, but there's nothing official yet. The movie racked in $30-million at the box office, and received another $11-million recently, so I wouldn't be surprised.
A good movie, but fans of the comic might not enjoy it as much. Sweet effects and cool action sequences. Worth a check, but don't expect the action extravaganza that the trailer makes it out to be.