So I promised I would start writing more about various TV shows and I decided to finally start on Constantine this weekend after avoiding it for a few weeks. What I found was a little bit of paranormal, a little bit of sass, a lot of crazy demonic possessions and what a great actor Matt Ryan is.
Down and Dirty: [Just How You Like It]
It's maybe too early to tell, but the show has got some potential to it. The pilot episode however really pissed me off quite a bit. It got us invested in a character that they removed from the show due to firing the actress. Whatever happened, they introduced some one a couple of eps later who was a similar prototype to compensate for said stupidity and lost time. The special effects are decent, but not amazing and the show has a thrillers edge to it. Amongst the middle of it all, John Constantine is definitely the most intriguing character in the show. Which thank goodness because it is about him after all.
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| Johns friends throw him a ghoulish party |
Constantine is enigmatic and interesting as the crazy rascal with knack for danger. Some one who is emotionally scarred by his past and bears the burden of dealing with the supernatural. He is arrogant, off putting, sly and closeted in a sense, but seems to take his work quite seriously. On top of this, an angel named, Manny, haunts him like a wretched memory and seems to give him cryptic messages to his annoyance about what is to come.
The story is mostly written episode by episode with no real tieing conclusion just yet. The hope is that this "Astra" kid will come full circle in the end of season one since they mention her so much in the show as the biggest regret of Constantine's life. But who knows what the producers have in store for us.
All I know is the first few episodes were OK, but the latest episode, "Feast of Friends" has to be the best one yet. You get the feeling of torment in John's soul when he condemns his friend to a painful death.
It makes the character more real and sympathetic seeing his pain in this episode and the stakes he has to deal with on a daily basis. However I continuously get the feeling that John is more than he states he is. A mere mortal perhaps, but he gives me the impression he is the embodiment of some fallen angel. I never read the comics, so I really don't know, but they seem to elude to the fact that he is something greater than we understand.
Gadgets:
The coolest thing about the character are his armory of "relics" for demon fighting. He has quite a few tricks up his sleeve and that is what makes the whole story much more fun to watch. What is he going to pull out this time? What else does he have in that house? My favorite is the playing card that can turn into anything the user needs it to be. Pretty useful trick! Seeing John use these objects continues to perpetuate the whole paranormal theme. And I love me some paranormal!
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| Left for Dead Candle Holder, free with the special edition! |
So as I stated before, they lost the initial girl that was the whole start of this nonsense. In fact, she is the daughter of the owner of the house they operate in. Which is bizarre because who lets some crazy demon chaser exorcist stay in their family's home? The first girl seemed to be set up to be his partner, but in the end had been erased from the show with the excuse that she took Constantine's advice and ran off. LAME. I hate it when actresses don't work out and they throw them away.
This current girl, Zed, seems like a pretty tough girl, saving Constantine on several occasions from his own bull headed stupidity and underestimation of his enemies. She is an artist that draws her visions out and is now tied up in Constantine's shit. Pretty interesting dilemma to be in, but I still wonder how much further are they going to go with her psychic abilities besides seeing random images that clue them into who is the next target.
A Few Gripes:
1. I Do What I Want:
How the hell does this man just barge into anywhere he feels like it? Crime scenes, people's houses during a funeral, in hospitals, etc. It literally makes no sense.
2. End Goal:
What is he end goal here? They have a gazillion paranormal shit bubbling to the surface and angel boy expects him to do all the leg work? Where does he even get the finances to do this? That's a lot of traveling to locations to check out said spooky shit.
3. Knick of Time:
John almost dies every episode. What would happen if Zed wasn't there to save him? The power of God saves you? hahahahaha. No, they want you dead Constantine so you can rot for your sins. Even the angel is rooting for you to die.
4. Super Powers:
If he is such a rotten character and his soul will burn if he dies, how is he able to use the power of God against these demons? Seems like he would be a bad representative of the man upstairs, right?
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| RISE from your grave! |
5. One at a Time:
I see the Devil also went to the school of "One at a Time." If you wanted to raise hell on Earth, wouldn't you just release all your demons at once? Wouldn't that be way more productive to overwhelm Constantine and his crew of mighty horror hunters?
6. Angels, What's the Point?:
So Manny is the only angel that will bump fists with him, but why aren't the rest of the heavenly warriors working with Constantine? Where's Michael, Gabriel, or anyone else hanging out in heaven? Wouldn't they be more interested in saving Earth from Devil's fury? Why would they leave it up to this mortal to fight Heaven's war?
So overall this series is set up to be like a paranormal, renegade, mystery series with plenty of religious bits for people to chew on. Constantine is the dirty, renegade paranormal detective, with his assistant Chas [Chaz Bono, not included] and his artist friend, Zed he picks up to pin point the next striking point. While demons run amok on one side while the angel pisses him off like the good cop boss that won't leave him alone, yet does really nothing captivating to help him.
So I think...if Constantine's soul is going to burn in hell and you, heaven, are asking HIM to clean up this mess, shouldn't he get a Godly pass? I mean...you are using him to battle the Devil. Man up, lazy asses. He's doing God's work after all.
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What did you think of Constantine so far? Comment below!
DnD Early Rating: 6/1O
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