Scribblings from the Mitchy Side

So I saw thalinoviel online this morning and within an hour I was on the way to pick her up from Edgware so we could go and see Constantine.

Woah.

I really didn't appreciate how scary a movie it was. I have sore stomach muscles from two hours of stomach clenching tension :) But it was a great movie, I loved it.

Keanu - well, no, maybe not the best Constantine but I like him so I gave him a lot of slack. And he's more than adequate, playing John as weary and pissed off, but lacking the comic book's snarky edge. Rachel Weisz was excellent as was Tilda Swinton as Gabriel. I've only read one of the comic books so I can't say how accurately they portrayed secondary characters but it matters little because ninety per cent of them were killed off anyway. The killing of Chas, the sidekick, seemed particularly pointless and I'm not even sure who/what killed him because according to the movie's own lore, demons and angels can't directly interfere and Satan's son had been exorcised. *shrugs* A minor point I suppose.

The special effects were excellent. Hell was a really hot, dry and scary place and I needed the bottle of water I'd bought to drink :) Heaven looked kinda dull by comparison :) But there were some terrific set pieces, particularly the destruction of the demons in the street and the flight of Angela through the office building. (Apparently, to do that shot, they stuck Rachel Weisz in a chair and hauled it backwards, CGI-ing in stuff as needed. Worked well).

Plot - eh. Nothing deep but perfectly serviceable to create a number of scenes designed to scare the crap out of you. :)

Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable 2 hours. Yay!

I may well go and see a subtitled showing next Monday because I felt I missed out on some useful dialogue, dammit. I've already ordered the book of the movie for which I blame lithium_doll entirely. At least now I can re-read and understand her fics lots better. And she can make injokes based on the movie. Hee!