Constantine
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 18, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
17
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
An engrossing mix of atmospheric gothic horror and smart sci-fi that's cemented by intriguing mythology, terrific visual effects, a dry sense of humor and an ideally cast Keanu Reeves. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Ken Tucker
Reeves has confidently entered his self-parodic period. You’ll enjoy his wry post-Matrix murmurs and squinty stares. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Corliss
Constantine is a one-of-a-kind hybrid: a theological noir action film. And until it goes irrevocably goofy at the end, it's a smart ride--and smart-looking too. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
What Constantine offers is a deceptively thoughtful tale tricked up like an action movie; it's beautiful to look at but even more lovely to ruminate over. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Pretty much rocks. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Constantine will likely hold far more interest for devoted fans of the series, but it's not necessary to have read the books to appreciate the film's sumptuous visuals and art direction. Read full review
75
PremiereAaron Hillis
Listen up, fanboys and enthusaiasts of sophisticated visual wizardry: this theological noir-horror actioner-a stand-alone, rapturous good time-craftily and accurately captures the straight-faced camp, wry wit and episodic structure of its source material. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Constantine, which opts in the end for what I can only describe as a kind of supernatural humanism, is not without its spiritual satisfactions. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Keanu Reeves has no peer when it comes to playing these sort of messianic roles -- he infuses them with a Zen blankness and serenity that somehow gets him through even the unlikeliest scenes with a quiet, unassuming dignity. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It's inconsistent and it fudges the script's murkier details, but Lawrence keeps the story on track and doesn't cheat the world of Constantine." Read full review
67
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
It all sort of plays out like "Law and Order: Spiritual Victims Unit," but the movie's stuffed (some might say overstuffed) with wonderfully staged moments and set pieces. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Constantine will appeal most strongly to those with a penchant for vivid cinematic comic book adaptations. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The choice for the uninitiated is simple: Take the ride for its fitful thrills and dark elements, or just say the hell with it. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The best thing about this big, imaginatively detailed movie is its premise, which director Francis Lawrence, a music-video veteran, takes his time exploring. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Flipping his cigarette lighter and snapping deadpan retorts, Reeves plays the demon-hunting detective with Keanu-esque panache. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
One thing's clear: R.J. Reynolds won't be showing Constantine at the company picnic any time soon. Read full review
60
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Slightly better than your run-of-the-mill late winter horror film. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Peaks early, then descends into portentous nonsense. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly Richards
While lacking the richness of its source material, it remains an enjoyable, immoral and sometimes beautifully Gothic tale. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The movie is ornate, arbitrary, and fetishistic, too, with the added challenge of being hell to follow for those without access to crib notes. Intellectually, I can admire the emphasis on visual style over plot clarity. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian Lowry
This adaptation of the graphic novel "Hellblazer" blazes few new trails and bogs down in a confusing narrative muddle. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMark Holcomb
Fans of Hellblazer are bound to be disappointed. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Though the story is potentially fascinating and the visuals sometimes spellbinding, the movie itself is stranded in the purgatory of the second-rate. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The story is a retread of the old "Exorcist" and "Omen" formats, but it delivers as much action and spectacle as fans of the genre could want. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Music video-trained director Francis Lawrence whips up a witch's brew of gray-on-gray atmosphere, but for all the end-of-the-world mumbo jumbo, nothing much ever seems to be at stake. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Philippe Rousselot's elegant cinematography lends some gravitas to music-video veteran Francis Lawrence's directorial debut. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
For all its spiritual angst, Constantine is about as silly as fantasies get. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
It all comes off as a case of filmmakers wanting to have their communion wafer and eat it, too. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
A great-looking but torturously slow and often hokey cross between "The Exorcist" and "Dirty Harry." Read full review
40
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Tilda Swinton is the Angel Gabriel, adding a touch of high-class celestial cross-dressing to this overblown, overlong attempt - which falls just short of success - to make a movie dumber than "Van Helsing." Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The relation between Constantine and its source material is, at best, superfluous. Read full review
40
Washington PostHank Stuever
Much of Constantine simply portends. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Reeves rigid delivery makes Constantine's occult backstory sound pretentious and silly, and converts Constantine himself into a repressed cipher. The film's biggest revision isn't in not making him blonde, or not making him British. It's in not making him human. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
There's a potentially good story rattling around somewhere inside this broken, self-contradictory and finally meaningless film. Read full review
38
USA TodayMike Clark
Couldn't be murkier or less emotionally involving if it were "The Matrix 8," a natural observation because Keanu Reeves stars in both. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Strange, that movies about Satan always require Catholics. You never see your Presbyterians or Episcopalians hurling down demons. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Leah McLaren
Every time you think you grasp the concept, another layer of outlandish supernatural gobbledygook is laid on top, leaving the viewer feeling as spun-out as Linda Blair's head. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Constantine is yet another studio extravaganza that's all aswirl with atmospherics, though empty at its center. The invasion of the soul snatchers proceeds apace.
30
SlateDavid Edelstein
Borderline incoherent, theologically unsatisfying, and short to the point of dwarfism on suspense. Read full review
30
The New YorkerDavid Denby
Maybe some of the audience should wonder if they aren't performing the Devil's work by sitting so quietly through movies that turn wonders into garbage. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The movie isn't hellish, because there's always hope of leaving it. It's more like purgatory, two whole hours of it. Read full review
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