Movie Review: Constantine

**** 1/2 out of *****

Whoa... I can't say I've ever seen spiritual warfare depicted in a more unvarnished way before. Sure, there were a few things that bothered me a little, since they seemed implausible (the angel Gabriel becoming human at the end. What? That's changing species...) or they just bothered me a little, for instance, the whiskey priest: I don't feel like they handled his subplot well, but that's just my opinion since I think the character is a bit of a cliche, or it can turn into one in the wrong hands. Also, the way the plotline kept harping on suicide being the unforgivable sin, when it's questionable what happens to the soul of a person who suicides. Sure, there are cases of resucitated suicides who had near-death experiences, and they found themselves in hell, but I doubt that's the case all the time. (Having wrestled with suicidal ideations and a near suicide attempt, I know what that road looks like...)

That said... Hoo... It's hard to "like" a film of this nature: It's like "liking" Dante's "Inferno", since you're dealing with something that by it's very nature is horrific and hellish, and yet artistic. I see John Constantine as a reluctant saint, and as a rough-cut "sensitive" (ie. a person who has the ability to discern spirits, particularly demons). He's a good guy, except that he's battling his own inner demons just as much as he's battling the demons in the world around him, and the worst demons are probably the ones of his own making. I can relate to that whole-heartedly, considering my own rough path, though I could be exaggerating it... I can't say that I liked or disliked this film, since it was something that just *clicked* with me so deeply and on so many levels, spiritually and psychologically and emotionally and artistically. I have to admit to being a little shell-shocked by it, but then again, "The Matrix" and "The Passion of the Christ" had the same effect on me. I may need to see it again, just to digest it, the way I did with "The Matrix: Revolutions".

( Coming attractions... Contains squeeing )

I need another fanfic idea...

...like I need a hole in the head. I regret to admit that all my current fic projects fell by the wayside this afternoon: I spent much of the day jotting down character notes and ideas for -- yep -- a "Constantine" fic, inspired by no less than the Holy Trinity (German) Catholic Church drama. Part of me is convinced that O'Malley the Mook must be possessed to want to have a lovely, historic place like my parish demolished... so I'm writing about a bad bishop who's doing just that, and the demons are using this event to open up a portal between the planes, which that church is keeping sealed shut. Enter John Constantine, who's the kind of guy the parishoners are more than a little leery of, since he doesn't exactly follow the nice, pew-warming Catholic template that they expect. Besides the demon-possessed bishop, he'll also have to contend with Mefistofel, the fallen arch-angel of Paris, who's masterminding the whole plot....