AAA review: Constantine (2005), American Occult Detective Film, Starring Keanu Reeves

"Constantine" is shot in a gray background, presenting a battle of violence, horror and religion. What the film makes us understand is that everyone has an angel in mind and a demon. The actor is played by Keanu Reeves, and the character with such personality will cross the hell and paradise on earth. I have seen a lot of movies that were adapted from novels and comics. Of course, many have been changed beyond recognition. The mythical theme of the film, "Constantine" is the one that impressed me the most. Constantine is a very magical character in the story. The role is based on the role of the adult animation in DC company. In 2005, this "Constantine" was presented on the big screen in the form of a movie. In the film, Keanu Reeves plays the role of Constantine. Among the star-studded Hollywood stars, Keanu Reeves has won the public's love with his talents. However, compared with other Hollywood actors, Keanu Reeves seems to be somewhat out of place, because he always dismantles the face of his role. His style and manner are always independent. It is precisely because Keanu Reeves has such a personality that it is appropriate for him to play Constantine in the movie. Constantine’s story is also a mage with a very strange character. He is both dark and cynical, and is loving and hating his work.

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Of course, Keanu Reeves “resurrected” Constantine on the screen with professional and meticulous acting. As a legendary demon war movie, this movie does not take the old line of old-fashioned story, which is the so-called horror with a thrilling lens. The shaping of the image of the protagonist Constantine broke through the imprisonment of the traditional demon film. He is an anti-heroic exorcist who smokes and drinks and is even bisexual. In the original comics, this character is even more devastating, who is always eating, drinking, and gambling. But the film has weakened his bad habits in order to create a heroic role that is not too extreme. The reason why Constantine shuttled in the world and in hell was because he had the super power he had when he was a child. He could see through another world. But this is not his innate talent but a curse. Because Constantine saw suffering in hell enough to make any brave person feel fearful, he decided to serve God for forgiveness. Obviously, the protagonist in the story maps the atmosphere of many religions. The origin of the name Constantine was borrowed from the story of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in the 4th century BC. The Roman emperor was inextricably linked to religion. Because of his single-minded rule, he began to modify the Christian texts, but the initiative of the Emperor Constantine, who had been worshipping the Sun, turned the believers who had followed Christianity into the infidels who believed in the teachings of their own adaptation.

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It is said that Emperor Constantine devoted his life to the revision of the spread of Christianity until he died. The story of Constantine is not the legendary emperor, but his image is more like a black derivative of Catholicism. It should be noted here that the religious elements incorporated in the film are from Catholicism. The overall worldview of this movie is similar to that of the Catholic Church. In Milton's Paradise Lost, Satan fell into hell after defeating the gods. But God did not continue to ask Satan's guilt. Subsequent Satan and God made another gamble, only indirectly guiding humans to heaven or hell. It maintains a balance between heaven, hell and humanity. Of course, it is also after this gamble appears that in the overall world view began to derive an evil destructive god and demon. This is the mythical religious framework on which the film relies. In this framework we can clearly see that Constantine is no different from the one that appears in the constraint of the balance between justice and evil.

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In the film, Constantine chose to commit suicide when he was afraid of his ability to analyze angels and demons. But he did not succeed, he also wanted to enter heaven. But Catholics who commit suicide cannot enter heaven, so Constantine began to help God to do things, and hopes to get rid of evil in exchange for God's accommodation. Of course, the film also uses Satan and Gabriel in the Western legend. The past life of Satan was the archangel of Lucifer, representing the light and the stars. But much behind became the devil Satan, in the Catholic legend Satan and God opposed. In this film, the son of Satan has a very abnormal psychology. It is to create hell on earth and father to compare evil. Gabriel is the most famous female angel among the seven angels. The original archangel was an angel of good news, but in the film she ironically helped the son of Satan to be born. In Judaism, tradition believes that Gabriel is not a representative of wisdom or an "angel of death." Gabriel has the highest status, but her extreme God's grace and even the distorted understanding of the human atonement sin. "Constantine" not only has a grand religious background and character image, but also uses some ancient symbols with special meaning as the driving force of the theme of the film.

Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/561-constantine?language=en-US
Critic: AAA