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Like many others, I loved Hellblazer. There's a special place in my heart for its unique character and atmosphere, and for the rough, dark way it dealt with the supernatural. In many ways, though, that does not matter. I knew this was not going to be Hellblazer, but a televised version of the DC Comics reboot—a reboot which has justifiably gotten some pretty miserable reviews. My expectations were accordingly measured.
However, I'm an avid watcher of series like Supernatural (yes, still) True Blood and Hemlock Grove, besides more gritty fare such as American Horror Story and Hannibal. I adore horror, and so I figured there was no reason not to give Constantine a go.
With that in mind, watching the pilot episode, I tried to think of this simply as a new, American supernatural TV drama series. Sadly, Constantine does not even attempt to stand on its own. It pillages scrap upon scrap from the comic with an almost gleeful neglect of context, presenting the pickings in pompous, quick-fire scene succession with none of the depth, none of the tension, none of the soul that even the DC reboot could muster. The result is an unintentional self-parody of pulp horror cliché, its confused caricature accented by a soundtrack that seems to wilfully ridicule the action. In many ways, it is as if someone saw a house for the first time just before it was razed, and proceeded to pile up gables and gargoyles in the belief that a Gothic cathedral would magically appear.
Strangely, it seems the actors are making a better go of it than the script-writers and the directors. Occasionally, Matt Ryan (ghastly dye-job notwithstanding) will conjure up some proper John Constantine cheek, and most of the cast seems to have real talent. Sadly, all attempts at acting are instantly bulldozed by the ham-fisted direction.
In the end, I am left with the simple question "why bother?" The answer, sadly, probably has more to do with DC Comics' fervent wish to scramble onto the coattails of Marvel's recent success in film and television, and very little with any real interest in making a worthwhile TV version of Hellblazer/Constantine.
Perhaps the pilot—as is often the case—is poorly representative of the series as it will continue. We may hope, although it is difficult to see how the writers would turn the story into something coherent and inspiring after this butchery of an introduction.
In short: unless you are running pitifully low on television fare to feed your horror drama addiction, almost any other such series would be preferable to this. If television is not a must, and you haven't already read them too many times, go find the trade paperbacks of the original Hellblazer comic instead. Those are well worth your time. This is not.
score 4/10
mynameisdetonation 24 October 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3110618/ |
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22-11-2019 09:39:05
