Plot: A man struggling with his faith is haunted by the sins of his past but is suddenly thrust into the role of defending humanity from the gathering forces of darkness.
Review: I found this by accident On Demand when I was in the States last week so I figured I would check it out. With all the new superhero shows like The Flash and Gotham hogging all the limelight, Constantine hasn’t been getting as much attention.
This is a damn shame as it’s actually one of the coolest shows I’ve seen for a while. I’m one of the few who enjoys the Keanu Reeves film from a few years ago but I realize they took some serious liberties with the character.
Matt Ryan is perfectly cast and he’s British too just like in the comics; it’s probably one of the best pieces of casting I’ve seen in a comic adaptation as Ryan looks exactly the way you’d expect him too. He’s fast-talking and a bit of a jerk and yet you still like him as he’s a really quirky and cool character.
He has his own personal demons which he tries to hide with humour but this just makes him even more interesting as a character.
There was some ruckus from fans when it was announced that I the show the character wouldn’t smoke as this was a part of his identity. He actually does smoke; you see him stub out a cigarette in a pub but it’s only hinted at.
As the PC brigade run things these days it’s OK to show people being brutally killed but heaven forbid you see someone smoking. Still, at least you can see that he does smoke which is at least something…and it’s not a massive deal anyway.
Constantine manages to be surprisingly creepy in places but the show reminds me very much of Supernatural; thankfully the characters are suitably different but the themes are quite similar.
The visuals are pretty decent too considering it’s a TV show and I think I just might be hooked.
Overall, Constantine is off to a healthy start and I hope it gets picked up as its dark humour and intriguing story/characters really make it stand out in the Fall’s new shows.
