Constantine: City of Demons

I don't know much about the Constantine character apart from the old Keanu Reeves movie which I saw a long time ago (and liked) and an appearance in Justice League Dark. I never watched the TV show or animated series.

Having said that, I thought this movie was good. It is adult themed, which fits the story, and apart from one odd way of sharing memories between Constantine and another character, I don't think the adult nature was over done.

It was well paced, had interesting characters and stakes, and surprisingly carried emotional weight at the end and showed what a toll this life takes on the titular character.

All in all, I was impressed. DC continues its record of well made animated features.

I have said this already in one of my other reviews but i'll gladly say it again... John Constantine is such a well-made character in all aspects, even his damn british accent fits so well. What this guy lacks in power, he more than makes up for in brains.

Anyways, enough about the character, let's get into the movie. "Constantine: City of Demons" evolves around John Constantine and his best friend Chas who are on a mission to save Chas's daughter, Trish from a demon. They run into lots of trouble underway. It's a fun premise and executed brilliantly. I loved especially the goryness of it all, especially the hell scene, that was creepy in its own right. Definitely recommended.

Constantine: City of Demons is a violent, gory and very atmospheric horror and adventure fantasy adult animated film. The movie is full of interesting characters (mostly demons) besides John Constantine. I loved particularly Nightmare Nurse and Angela! There is some dark humor, but also a lot of pure good-quality horror, with several remarkable situations, places and creatures. It is an animated DC Comics movie that engages spectator throughout the story, until the bright ending. The portrayal of Los Angeles was very innovative. Good script and nice animation constitute a formidable combination.

This is a great movie for people who grew up loving superheroes/comic book characters and learned a lot about life from them. Where the story was about about defeating an evil, learning that the strongest of us can overcome the dark, and gives an important moral message of how far love and friendship in life can go. Shows the burden of the hero and the sacrifices they make in order to make the world a better place, even if it means it won't be for them.

I may be too sentimental or dramatic, but it's been a long time since a comicbook movie made me feel good and the message received at the end of it, was a reminder of why I fell in love with comics and their characters in the first place. No political message. No hidden agenda being masked behind loved characters. Just a movie about John Constantine and how he makes the world safer without wanting recognition for it. A good man at heart and one who battles more of his own demons, than the true ones he sends to hell.

It's got the action, the mystery, the humor, the drama, and positive message missing from so many movies today. Hopefully for more movies like this in the future.

That's a mini review about the movie, not the tv show (even if the show is part of the movie). I watched the film yesterday which contained the first 5 episodes of the animated show and took them further into a full, completed story.

I don't blame people who didn't like the show since the episodes were ridiculously short (only 5 minutes each) but the film is a different story. Matt Ryan shines once again as Constantine with good support from the rest of the cast. The story is probably the darkest story I've seen in an animated film and there are many shocking scenes and surprises. As I mentioned in the title, this is undoubtedly the best adaption of John Constantine. The character is actually a damaged character, haunted from his past, trying to find some purpose in life (at least that's how the original Hellblazer presented him to us) and the film captures that perfectly.

I liked the live action series, I loved the Justice League Dark film but City of Demons goes even deeper and gives us the darkest and more mature animated film/series in the DC Universe. Highly recommended.