Constantine

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Constantine's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Constantine completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 23 February 2005.

Overall comments and recommendations

Constantine is a supernatural/ horror film that contains occult and demonic themes, frequent, graphically illustrated and gruesome violence, and some coarse language. The film is based on the “Hellblazer” series of novel and would appeal to those who enjoy cinematic comic book adaptations. The film's greatest strength lies in its visual presentation, and while the story starts strong grabbing the viewer's attention, it disintegrates badly towards the end, becoming nonsensical. The film produces good performances, from a strong supporting cast while Keanu Reeves re-enacts his Neo character from the Matrix trilogy.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Constantine contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

The basic plot of the film concerns a bet between God and Satan as to who can win the most human souls. The battle or game is played out on Earth with the one major rule being that neither God nor Satan are allowed any direct contact with humans, and can only use surrogates referred to as half-breeds to influence the will of humans. As a result a balance is maintained between good and evil, enabling normal life to continue for most of the world's inhabitants. However, unknown to both God and Satan, and in direct violation of established rules, Satan's son is plotting to disrupt the balance by using the Spear of Destiny (the spear responsible for mortally wounding Christ) to cross over into the material world and establish his rule.

John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), who has the ability to see both angelic and demonic beings and spends his time performing exorcisms, realises that something is astray with the balance when he is attacked by a mist like demon consisting of millions of cockroaches and a flock of flying bat-like demons. Constantine knows that it is supposed to be impossible for demons to enter the real world and that only half-breeds can walk amongst humans. At this point in the film, police detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) contacts Constantine and asks him to help her investigate the recent suicide of her twin sister.

It is revealed that Detective Dodson is able to see the half-breeds, and that Satan's son intends to use Dodson's body as a vessel to enter the real world. Dodson is kidnapped, possessed by the son of Satan and the Sword of Destiny is used to attempt a Caesarean section on Dodson allowing Satan's son access to the real world. However, Constantine tricks Satan into making an appearance in the real world, at which point Satan discovers his son's intentions and smartly puts a stop to it by sending his son back to hell. The cost of all this intervention is Constantine 's soul, which Satan intends to take back to hell. At this point God grants Constantine entry to heaven. Satan prevents Constantine 's entry to Heaven by resurrecting Constantine , in a somewhat unorthodox manner providing Constantine with a second chance at life and Satan a second chance at acquiring his soul.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is gruesome violence at regular intervals throughout the entire film, including:

• a speeding car slamming into a man, with the man's body being embedded into the front of the car
• a thumb being burnt into the flesh of a woman's forehead, accompanied by sound effects of searing flesh
• a woman committing suicide by jumping from the roof of a building and then crashing through a glass roof into a swimming pool
• dozens of demons chasing and jumping at Constantine , in a threatening manner through an apocalyptic hell
• a priest repeatedly stabbing the palm of his hand with a cork screw
• Constantine holding a struggling woman under water in a bath
• Constantine using brass knuckles to punch the face and head of a half-breed—pieces of flesh fly off followed by the body exploding
• Detective Dodson is sucked through a number of walls and carried off into the night by a flighted demon
• Constantine is strapped into an electric chair and electrocuted, with his body convulsing
• Detective Dodson repeatedly shoots a man in the chest
• holy water is rained upon a room full of half-breeds; their flesh burns and dissolves from their faces
• half-breeds are shot full of holes with their bodies exploding and pieces of flesh flying in all directions
• Satan's son tries to burst out of Detective Dodson's stomach
• Constantine 's sidekick Chaz is thrown against a ceiling and walls resulting in his body being severely broken
• Constantine slashes his wrists with a piece of broken glass with masses of blood leaking out and onto the floor
• gruesome and bloody images of Satan thrusting is hands into Constantine 's sides and ripping out what appears to be a heart and liver.

The film's two main characters, Constantine and Detective Angela Dodson were presented as young, very attractive, cool and athletic. The violence enacted by both Constantine and Detective Dodson was always successful and resulted in the gruesome, bloody and graphic destruction of their targets, which were always demons. The film represented some of the real life consequences resulting from violence in terms of the deaths of a number of Constantine 's friends, and depicted some of the mental anguish suffered by Constantine and Detective Dodson.

While violent acts were perpetrated by both male and female characters with both male and female characters represented as the victims of violence, although male characters dominated violent acts especially the more gruesome acts.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

All of the scenes listed above are capable of scaring children under the age of eight years. In addition:

• a possessed woman with a demonic appearance crawls across a ceiling and walls
• a demon trying to push its way out of a woman's throat from the inside
• gruesome images of a demon with a partially decapitated head trapped inside a mirror
• Constantine coughing up blood
• hundreds of cows falling down dead as a possessed man walks past them
• a demon consisting of thousands of cockroaches chasing Constantine
• gruesome images of dozens of flying demons, with large fangs and claws chasing Constantine
• images of an Armageddon/apocalyptic hell with burning buildings, streets and cars complete with partially decapitated demons running around chasing Constantine
• flies crawling out of a man's eye sockets and mouth
• a man's body (demon) being blown to pieces with the destroyed sections of the man's face still talking, and then the face rotting away
• Dodson in hell appearing as if her face has been eaten by demons
• gruesome images of a bloody footed Satan

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

All of the scenes listed above would also be capable of scaring children between the ages of eight to thirteen years.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Adolescents between the ages of thirteen and fifteen years could also be scared by the scenes in this movie, and by its overall occult and demonic themes. Some adolescents between the ages of fifteen and seventeen years, could still be disturbed by this movie, depending on parents' assessment of the film's content.

Sexual references

The film contains no sexual references.

Nudity and sexual activity

The film contains no sexual activity or nudity. However, one scene occurs in a rave type nightclub where both demons and angels hang out. Beautiful and seductive demonic women are shown, wearing tight fitting shorts and tops, sitting on the laps of men, with both women and men seductively rubbing their hands over each other's bodies.

Use of substances

Constantine is addicted to cigarettes and is rarely seen without one in his mouth. He experiences a number of coughing fits throughout the film, and coughs up blood on several occasions. Even when diagnosed with lung cancer, Constantine refused to give up his thirty cigarettes a day habit.

One of Constantine 's assistants is a Catholic priest named Father Hennessy (Pruitt Taylor). Hennessy is an alcoholic who constantly takes swigs from a hip flask. Part way through the film, Hennessy reaches for his hip flask to calm his nerves; however the flask is empty and Hennessy runs to the nearest bottle shop smashing the tops off bottles in a desperate attempt to consume their contents.

Coarse language

Occasional coarse language is used throughout the film in a context appropriate to the setting. Examples include: for Christ's sake; you're fucked; son of a bitch; half-breed piece of shit; ass hole; bitch.

The movie's message

On a basic level Constantine is a good verses evil battle between God and Satan woven around subjects of Catholicism, sin, suicide, and eternal damnation. However rather than good and evil being absolutes, black and white, they are presented as shades of grey.

Parents may wish to discuss Constantine 's selfless act when Satan owes him a favour and offers him a second chance at life.

The movie also offers the opportunity to discuss the addictive nature of cigarettes and alcohol, their negative effects to health and resulting cost to the community.