Keanu Reeves is John Constantine in 'Constantine'
With the re-emergence of Keanu Reeves as a legitimate star with tangible clout, a sequel to Constantine isn't one of the projects that I imagined we'd be getting as a result of that resurgence. Being a rumored prospect for what feels like 84 years, Constantine 2 seems to finally be a real thing, if we're to believe Keanu and director Francis Lawrence.
Knowing that it's officially a pitched and approved prospect, I rewatched the original film to hype myself up for the sequel, and I was most struck by how little it tries to stick to the source material. If Constantine 2 is going to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the first cult classic, then it should follow the original's example and try to stick to its own identity rather than rigidly reproduce the feel of the comics. 'Constantine' Changes Core Facts of the Source Material Technically, Constantine is faithful to the spirit of the comics in broad strokes, in its generic outline. John Constantine is still a private investigator who specializes in hunting down and exorcising demons from Earth. He's burdened with an ability to communicate with demons, and his soul is permanently damned to Hell thanks to a tragic event in his past. He carries this spiritual burden with him at all times, chain-smoking and isolating himself from everyone with a moody attitude. The plot of the film involves him investigating the supposed suicide of a woman whose twin sister, Angela , is a detective also investigating her death. Their mutual investigation leads to them uncovering a conspiracy engineered to resurrect the son of Lucifer , and this is all inspired by notable storylines in the original DC Comics like"Dangerous Habits" and"Original Sin.""Inspiration" is the key word, as the film consistently alters the defining details of the premise in ways that disappointed fans of the material but make the film stand more confidently on its own terms. 'Constantine' Fundamentally Changes the Nature of Keanu Reeves' Character For instance, the film Constantine is about a dark and brooding anti-hero ripped from the noir tradition, weighed down by experience and pain, with Keanu giving a performance that has shades of Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry mode. This is a far cry from the comics, where Constantine is a spiky blonde know-it-all with a huge brown trench coat and a snarky British accent, who lets most things roll off his shoulders and charms his way through most conflicts that don't require demonic combat. Even the nature of their damned souls is different, as film Constantine tried to kill himself from the trauma of witnessing demons, while comics Constantine accidentally killed a girl in an exorcism attempt. Not only are these polar opposite personalities, but they totally change the tone of how each story feels, with the film going all-in on a heavy-metal music video aesthetic that's more akin to Van Helsing than anything from the comics and miles away from the more accurate adaptation of the hipper NBC show starring Matt Ryan. Related “It’s in the Spirit of John Wick”: Keanu Reeves Clarifies His Involvement in Upcoming ‘Ballerina’ Spin-Off The spin-off premieres this summer. Posts Unlike Van Helsing, Constantine is far more assured of its tone, committed to its grim-dark and flinty tone, and, following the lead of Keanu's sobering take on the character, tethering itself more to a grounded sense of the supernatural happening alongside the ordinary world. This is why it makes sense that their depiction of Hell is just Los Angeles on fire or that most of the demons are in disguise as humans or made up of earthly creatures such as bugs. The consistency of this approach makes the film's more outlandish comics-based inclusions feel more organic as indebted to the smoky LA environment, like the witch doctor Papa Midnite and a svelte-suited angel confidant named Gabriel . Thanks to exceptionally well-aged special effects, Francis Lawrence's music video direction background, and the confident fusion of noir genre conventions with supernatural pulp flair, Constantine became its own unique experience that can be seen as a worthy "Elseworlds" rendition of an iconic character. 'Constantine 2' Could Benefit From Straying From the Source Material Close Comics fans might have felt left out, and critics may have dismissed the film as visual noise upon release, but time has shown Constantine to have attained a cult status on its own merits. Similar to other adaptations of that era such as Speed Racer, by divorcing itself so swiftly from its source material, it freed itself to be whatever it wanted to be and relieved itself of the pressure of having to follow a certain rule book. While Lawrence has recently been quoted as saying that he and Keanu have looked at various comic runs for ideas, it would behoove them to not stray too far from their ethos from the first film and use them purely as inspiration rather than sacred text. In the current age of Hollywood, where mainstream nerdy properties are either crucified for not following canon or scrambling to figure out what is and isn't canon, washing their hands of that headache entirely would help Constantine 2 stand out from the crowd. Better to keep the demonic spirit of the first film alive and well than attempt to get with the times and lose their identity in the hopes of a larger franchise. Like Constantine 2 Fantasy Horror Director Francis Lawrence Producers Akiva Goldsman, Erwin Stoff, J.J. Abrams, James Gunn, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Peter Safran Cast See All
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