Into the Blu

Constantine

Posted on 11. Nov, 2008 by Bill Geiger in 1080p, 2.40:1, Action, BD-Java Enhanced, Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French), Dolby Digital 5.1 (German), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Italian), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Japanese), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Spanish), Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Horror, Reviews, Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Warner Bros.

Keanu Reeves has come a long way since the days of Bill & Ted. He really came into his own when given the part of Neo in The Matrix. The film Constantine suits him well as the character is very dark, with not too much emotion. This seems to be the type of character he is used to playing in many of his recent films, including the up coming The Day the Earth Stood Still. Constantine is a film full of action, drama and some scares, which is all a good thing and really is a thrill ride kind of a film.

The original write-up of Constantine has been taken from Ryan Keefer’s HD-DVD review from Upcomingdiscs.com, the sister site of Intotheblu.com . His review is in quotes.

“Written by Kevin Brodbin (who came up with the initial story) and directed by Francis Lawrence, who was previously well-reputed as a music video director (think Tarsem or David Fincher maybe), Reeves plays Constantine as a man with a conflict. While others may think that he has a gift in exorcising and deporting demons, he sees it as a burden, a duty he thinks he should get into heaven for. With the help of a grizzled priest (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Nobody’s Fool) and an aspiring apprentice (Shia LaBeouf, IMDB), he plods along through the days and nights, doing his duty while battling an aggressive form of lung cancer which he doesn’t make any better by chain-smoking.Enter Angela (Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener), a police detective whose identical twin named Isabel died in an apparent suicide in a mental hospital. Angela firmly believes that it was not a suicide because of her sister’s spiritual beliefs, and decides to see if Constantine will help. And after some fairly creative rebuffing, he finally tries to figure out what’s going on, and employs various people including a voodoo doctor (Djimon Hounsou, In America) and an angel-demon mix of some sort named Gabriel (Tilda Swinton, The Chronicles of Narnia).”I can only assume that many who would be reading this review have either seen Constantine be it on DVD, HD-DVD or on cable. The film is so action packed that there is never a chance to be bored. The story, albeit one that is so far fetched, is such a fun film to watch. If you don’t find yourself jumping out of your seat at least once during the film, make sure you still have a pulse.

Video

Warner Brothers finally brings Constantine to Blu-ray well over a year since the release of the HD-DVD. Presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio and sporting a 1080p transfer, Constantine, if it has any flaws, I didn’t spot them. Blacks are spot on. Grain, when apparent, is necessary and adds to the film. I didn’t see a hint of edge enhancement. I challenge anyone to find one speck of dirt on this transfer. It really is pristine and is definitely demo material.

Audio

If you think the video of Constantine is good, the audio is just as good if not better. Without a doubt you will want to listen to the film in the TrueHD Dolby 5.1 sound. The bass is thunderous throughout the film. Your room will definitely shake during any of the action scenes. Dialogue is perfectly clear and never was an issue. No popping noises or anything. All I can say about it is that, along with the video, as mentioned before, the audio is also demo material and should be one of the first films you pull out to show it off to everyone.Standard 5.1 Dolby is also available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese. Also, plenty of subtitles are also available.

Special Features

The original write-up of the Constantine special features has been taken from Ryan Keefer’s HD-DVD review from Upcomingdiscs.com, the sister site of Intotheblu.com. The special features are an exact replica of the HD-DVD release. His review of the special features is in quotes.

“This disc (HD-DVD) was the first released by Warner to feature the “in-movie experience”, which is kind of a “white rabbit feature” similar to the Matrix films, but on HD-DVDs it serves as a running subtitle track of sorts for the film. In Constantine’s case, it includes footage from some of the behind the scenes featurettes in the film, as well as some recorded on-set recollections from the cast and crew. It’s not as interactive as The Dukes of Hazzard IME, but as its own, a decent freshman effort.Skipping the two commentary tracks (one from Lawrence and producer Akiva Goldman, the other from Brodbin and Frank Cappello) and moving onto 14 featurettes, with the total runtime for everything an hour and 40 minutes. The cast shares their thoughts on the film and the comic book along with a look at the origins of the comic (hooray, another comic by a British guy whose anti-Thatcher anti-Reagan rhetoric helped enslave people and gave him a job making a bunch of cash!). Lawrence (who also has some optional commentary pieces elsewhere on the disc) shares his thoughts on his first feature film, along with some of the pre-visualized scenes in it. Some of the key scenes are discussed from storyboards to realized product, along with some production footage and stunt sequences, and Constantine’s weapons are explained by the props team, and the demons are explained by the visual effects and makeup teams.To top all this off, there’s almost 20 minutes worth of deleted scenes (with Lawrence commentary) that give some more depth to Constantine’s character (including a small subplot/romance with a demon that appears to be Michelle Monaghan from Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang). Rounding things out are a music video, a trailer and a teaser.”

Final Thoughts

As I wrap up one of my final Blu-ray reviews here on intotheblu, I have to say Constantine is really a fun film. The special effects are total awesome (yes, I am having a Bill & Ted moment.) The audio and video are just phenomenal. The acting from Keanu all the way down to Peter Stormare is also very good. Honestly, it took me watching this a second time (compared to seeing it once before on regular dvd) to fully appreciate the film and all it had to offer. You should be able to pick this up at Amazon for a great price and if you don’t, you’ll kick yourself.