So On Sunday, God Rested

Actually, I watched Constantine Sunday afternoon. I went to Shangri-la Mall because I was told the new theaters there were fantastic. Well, they are: aside from the great incline (for better sightlines) and surround sound, they have some of the biggest screens around. As in! In most theaters, one just looks steadily ahead; here, one has to glance to the left and right just to take in the full view. And I was already seated somewhere in the middle towards the back! Tarush. Plus the crowd there is a whole lot better than at Gateway. The Araneta-owned mall has Greenbelt-like theaters, but the crowd is sooo Ali Mall. Your inner snob will not like them when they’re talking out loud during the movie.

Anyway, back to Constantine. First, a confession: when I heard that Keanu Reeves was playing the lead character in the Hellraiser comic series, I was skeptical, if not downright disappointed. Why did these people choose a star instead of an actor? Keanu is great to watch from any angle, but his emotional gamut runs from A to B.

And yet! After watching the movie, I suddenly had new respect for the director. His casting of Keanu was, I think, inspired. No one else in Hollywood has the combination of looks, popularity, box office clout (Reeves can open a movie much bigger than Depp) and an irony-free acting that may look wooden in another movie but in here looks quite… cool. Whoa! Nobody can do “jaded cool” like Keanu. Whether he’s confronting an angel or a demon, his countenance doesn’t change. He’s the ultimate “been there, done that, bought the t-shirt” guy.

Other signs that Keanu pulled off the role: [1] he wasn’t eaten alive in his scenes with the charismatic Tilda Swinton as Angel Gabriel; and [2] Rachel Weisz, otherwise a very competent actress, actually looked like she was putting too much effort when placed beside Keanu; compared to his Zen-like acting, hers was a signal no. 3 typhoon.

The movie is also eye candy in more ways than its handsome cast. The effects are gorgeous to look at; not surprising, since the director came from music videos. Definitely it’s a fun movie to watch, despite the metaphysical ek-ek. Its theology may bother your parents who were weaned on pre-Vatican II precepts, so don’t bring them along. Its message of how the lines of good and evil are actually more blurred than we thought is something that they shouldn’t worry about, especially when every day they’re getting closer to buying the farm.