The Plot

Born with a gift he didn’t want, the ability to clearly recognize the half-breed angels and demons that walk the earth in human skin, John Constantine was driven to take his own life to escape the tormenting clarity of his vision. But he failed. Resuscitated against his will, he found himself cast back into the land of the living. Now, marked as an attempted suicide with a temporary lease on life, he patrols the earthly border between heaven and hell, hoping in vain to earn his way to salvation by sending the devil’s foot soldiers back to the depths.

But Constantine is no saint. Disillusioned by the world around him and at odds with the one beyond, he’s a hard-drinking, hard-living bitter hero who scorns the very idea of heroism. Constantine will fight to save your soul but he doesn’t want your admiration or your thanks – and certainly not your sympathy. All he wants is a reprieve.

When a desperate but skeptical police detective (RACHEL WEISZ as Angela Dodson) enlists his help in solving the mysterious death of her beloved twin sister (also played by Weisz), their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

Based on the Vertigo comic book series Hellblazer, Constatine is available on both a one-disc and two-disc DVD edition, as well as a HD DVD. A sequel is currently rumoured to be in the works.

The Cast

  • Keanu Reeves as John Constantine
  • Rachel Weisz as Angela & Isabel Dodson
  • Shia LaBeouf as Chas Kramer
  • Tilda Swinton as Gabriel
  • Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnite
  • Gavin Rossdale as Balthazar
  • Max Baker as Beeman
  • Pruitt Taylor Vince as Father Hennessy
  • Peter Stormare as Lucifer

The Trivia

  • Elements of the plot are based on the 'Dangerous Habits' storyline from Hellblazer issues # 41 to # 46.
  • There are a huge number of differences between the comic and movie versions of Constantine, not least being that in the comics John Constantine is English.
  • This was not Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz's first movie together. That honour goes to Chain Reaction, which was released in 1996.
  • Nicholas Cage was originally lined up to play John Constantine.
  • The Spear of Destiny prop was also used in Hellboy.
  • The movie is spoofed in episode 09.04 of South Park, and in episode 01.17 of Robot Chicken.
  • The scene where Chas talks to himself in the rearview mirror of the cab is a direct reference to Taxi Driver.
  • A video game version of the movie was released in 2005.