Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Movie/comic comparisons aside, Francis Lawrence's directorial debut Constantine is a tastily shot film topped with superlative visual and creature effects, crisp, moody photography and a host of radical, interesting characters. In this fashion-savvy universe Gabriel the Archangel dresses like a spokesmodel for Versace while Lucifer does Armani endorsements in bleached white designer suits. Such a stark contrast in the portrayal of the ultimate evil is a clear departure from past films where Satan is often depicted as a savage demon king bent on inflicting human suffering whereas here he's a well dorned CEO with an eterprise to manage, however hellish it is. In this sense inhabiting such a world where the supernatural forces heed attention to "the balance" of good and evil seems almost desirable. Evil never once looked so good.

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