Constantine is everything you could’ve hoped for in an adaptation of the Hellblazer comics, and so much more. Read our spoiler free review here!
If you’re unfamiliar with the Hellblazer comics, but want to tune into Constantine, prepare yourself for a creepy and sometimes horrifyingly scary show. The creators behind the adaptation didn’t hold back when it came to scares or the stunts behind them. Unless you’ve got nerves of steel, you might want to watch this with all the lights on (and having some salt nearby wouldn’t hurt either).
Constantine doesn’t start at the very beginning, but rather throws you into the aftermath of the title character’s latest mistake. He’s lost a little girl named Astra to a demon he summoned himself, damning both of them to Hell. The girl may be gone, but John Constantine (Matt Ryan) is not, and he must live with the guilt of what he’s done for the rest of his life.
Even though Constantine voluntarily checked himself into the mental hospital, he’s not quite ready to give up his life as “Master of the Dark Arts,” even if he does need to adjust the slightly pretentious title on his business cards.
The other major character in the show is Liv, who was an original creation for the NBC drama. If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’ll know that Lucy Griffiths’ character will be replaced by newcomer Zed, who is from the comics and will be played by Angélica Celaya.
Lucy Griffiths’ performance in no way led to her character’s departure from the show. She portrayed the naive and sometimes bumbling Liv to perfection, but with John Constantine as the main character, it was obvious they needed someone who could fight fire with fire. Hopefully Zed will bring that spark to the show.
The pilot does a great job of giving you an overall sense of what the show will be like. It’s big and scary, all-encompassing and driven by Constantine’s guilt. John Constantine is not a good guy. He may be fighting against demons, but he doesn’t always know how to comfort his fellow human beings. He’s tortured and not quite right in the head, and while that might make him an excellent demon hunter, it doesn’t exactly make him a good friend.
One of the most exciting parts of the pilot was seeing characters from the comics make their debut on the small screen. If you’re familiar with Hellblazer (or even if you’re just familiar with Keanu Reeves’ Constantine), you’ll see some major characters pop up right from the start.
Over and above that, however, was the promise of future characters on the show. While we don’t necessarily get a confirmation of who will be making an appearance next, we do know that NBC is opening up the door to the universe found in the comics. If you know the comics well, you’ll be able to pick out the Easter eggs. If you don’t know the comics, you’ll still get a sense of what could be important down the line.
While the beginning of the episode did feel rushed, they had a lot of exposition and character development to pack into the 40-minute pilot. But with all of that now out of the way, we anticipate the show to smooth out and push forward with a pace that will be both high-risk and less choppy. We got a good dose of John Constantine, and now that his demeanor has been established, the creators can focus on fleshing out the universe in order to please both the Hellblazer fans and the Constantine newcomers.
Constantine premiers on Friday, October 24 on NBC.
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