4K Blu-Ray Review: Constantine

The Film

Apart from Tim Burton's Batman, Constantine was the first comic book movie to really get it right. Which is wild, considering how director Francis Lawrence's first outing isn't particularly faithful to the source material, and Keanu Reeves is a far cry from the Sting-inspired working class hero in the comics.

Despite all of that, Constantine works because it gets the soul right. Underneath the big effects and terrible sidekick (courtesy of Shia LaBeouf), Constantine is a sardonic fantasy thriller that isn't afraid of going into dark places.

Reeves plays the titular demon hunter as a purely Reevesian character. He's not like Constantine is on the page, yet his gruff charm and monosyllabic vocabulary work in his favor. As Constantine realizes he's dying of cancer, he sets out on one last gamble to save the soul of Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), an innocent whose twin sister was caught in the battle between heaven and hell.

The film plays out like a cross between a fantasy film and cop procedural as Constantine visits familiar genre tropes to figure out what happened to Angela's sister. Each of them has a slight spin to their game, which keeps the film inventive despite the otherwise well-trodden aspects. The sequence where Constantine arms himself to battle hell's forces is a particularly fun one, as it allows for the film to let loose with biblical references and high fantasy all in one sequence.

20 years after its initial release, Constantine has aged remarkably well. It wasn't a huge a hit at the time, which explains why we didn't get an entire franchise out of it. Today, there's talk of a revival, as nostalgia is the currency of the realm now. While I'm all for returning to the dark and wicked world of DC's anti-hero, I almost wish this was more of a full reboot than a sequel. That way, Keanu's singular outing could remain untouched and continue to exist as this unrefined oddity. One that's all the better for its rough edges and unpolished exterior.

Video

Constantine has never looked this good, not even during its initial theatrical run. The 4K disc is sourced from the original negative and overseen by the director, and the results are astoundingly great. This is one of those great demo-worthy discs that showcases the importance of 4K in preserving films for the future.

Check out, for example, the sequence in Constantine's apartment when Angela comes to ask for help in finding her sister's soul. The lighting design here is exquisite, and the 4K captures the highs and shadows beautifully. Once the action moves into the bathtub sequence, you can pick out a number of details in the tiles, clothing, and texture of the main character's clothing as the visions of hell take over.

On top of that, the HDR packs a heck of a punch, especially in the finale, where Constantine receives a visit from an old friend. Watch how the white clothes pop against the blackened backdrop and how angelic lights pierce the darkness so that they almost hurt the eyes. It's an absolute gold standard of a release.

Audio

The Dolby Atmos mix is aggressive, and I mean really aggressive. Almost to the point that I had to constantly adjust the dial on my amp just to keep up.

Constantine was always a loud movie with some really big highs and sudden jolts, but it's a shame the new mix doesn't try to balance it out at least a little bit. Keanu, for one, was never a loud performer. His vocalizing is very deliberate and always a bit subdued. So it's annoying to try and pick out his dialog from between explosions, fire, screeching demons, and shattering glass.

Now, to be fair, it's not a bad mix in the least, and those that like aggressively loud Atmos tracks will love this one. There's a sequence involving a vision of Los Angeles in hell that will absolutely rock your socks off. Another, where Satan pays Constantine a visit, is downright delightful in the way it mixes pained screams and demented whispers into the back channels.

So, a solid audio track, but not quite perfect. At least not for me.

Extras

The two commentaries by director Francis Lawrence, producer Akiva Goldsman, and screenwriters Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello are both great, even if Goldsman is clearly the main draw here. Both tracks feature some great insight into the adaptation process – especially how drawn out it was in this case – and the way the material ended up tailor-made for Reeves, who is a huge fan of the character.

Elsewhere, the only new extra is the Two Decades of Damnation "documentary", which is a measly 15-minutes in length. It's supposed to cover the legacy of the cult favorite, but it's so slight and superficial that it feels more like a YouTube advertisement than any proper extra material. If you're going to celebrate a classic like this, at least make an effort.

The rest of the extras are ported directly from the old Blu-Ray, though some, like the music videos, deleted scenes commentaries, and trailers are all missing.

The Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes are solid, though, even if they amount to just about an hour in total. For fans of movie magic, they've still got plenty of details and fun insight into how a fantasy epic like this is put together.

Overall

Constantine is one of my favorite comic book adaptations, even as I acknowledge that it's nowhere near a faithful one. Reeves is terrific as the laconic demon hunter, and director Lawrence brings great visual flair and a neo-noir punk attitude that works surprisingly well in moving the action from the UK to Los Angeles.

The 4K disc is visually among the very best we've ever seen, and the audio track is great as well. I'm glad the extras remain on the Nordic release, as there's a lot to love here, even if it's not quite the 20th anniversary celebration we deserve.

Nonetheless, for fans of the comic and horror-fantasies in general, Constantine is a must-own title.