Written by Asia Martin
Plot: John Constantine, played by Matt Ryan (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and the voice of Edward Kenway in Assassins Creed IV) is an “exorcist, demonologist and master of dark arts” fulfilling a promise to a friend while battling his own demons of guilt and shame.
Fall’s highly anticipated new and dark fantasy drama, Constantine, debuted Friday night with less action than what the network teased in their previews for it. Yes, the under one-minute previews looked better and cooler than the whole 45 minutes of the show. But, like most Fall pilots, Constantine has the potential to conjure up a promising season.
The season opens with Constantine in a London psychiatric facility trying to forget his ratchet past as the guy who sent a young girl to hell after failing to rescue her from demon possession. He is called back to Atlanta after receiving a message from the other realm that his deceased friend’s daughter, Liv (Lucy Griffith’s of Robin Hood and True Blood television fame), is in the cross hairs of dark demonic forces.
The opening was dramatic as it focused primarily on Constantine’s bitterness and shame over his career. When we finally get to see the first horrific action scene, the computer graphics were obvious interrupting the entertainment and awe factor. However, after that, the imagery and suspense picked up. Liv’s inherited lair is kin to Hogwarts and the “accidents” match those found in Final Destination.
Matt Ryan looks closer to the intended physical appearance of the legendary Hellblazer character than Keanu Reeves does, but his embodiment of John Constantine is more whiny than the ruggedness I was expecting. The writers have a solid storyline on their hand, but the pilot episode left a few details unexplained as it transitioned to new scenes.
When we first meet Liv, there is a massive pothole that emerges in the parking lot of the building she works in. By the next time that we see her in the same place, there’s no mention of the pothole. What happened to Liv’s coworkers who scattered when a car crashed into building? Did they see the demon possessed woman who popped out? Why did Live leave her mother in the house alone with her deceased NaNa that’s now creepy and dark. And we have yet to figure out how Chas (Charles Halford) comes back to life after he tragically dies. There are some loose ends that could be creatively tied up.
Constantine is good and worthy to compete with the other dark fantasy dramas flooding Primetime. It has decent action, better suspense, a new storyline that probably has already attracted fans from the comic book series and movie, and a pretty cool archangel played by Harold Perrineau (Best Man Holiday). It deserves a season to improve and hold it’s Friday night spot. With Hellblazer writers, Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis, on board there’s hope that it will.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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Asia Martin is a staff writer for Pop-Break covering TV shows and movies that make her laugh or cringe. She spends most of her daytime hours assisting Hurricane Sandy relief at The Children’s Home Society of NJ, yes people are still in need. In her spare time, she runs her own social media management business, Rising Dynamics, LLC and freelance writes. Asia is a graduate of Rutgers University with a major in Journalism and Media Studies. She loves superhero cartoons, films and Comic Con but continuously skips out on comic books #sorrybutnotsorry Follow Asia on Twitter: @ColoredIn
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