Neo Matrix Dude; So How Did You Get Born Again; Was It Love or Constantines Holy Water

Angela: I don't believe in the devil.
John: Yous should. He believes in you.

Constantine is a 2005 American Occult Detective film which is loosely based on Vertigo Comics' Hellblazer comic. Information technology borrows elements from "Dangerous Habits" (John's cancer diagnosis in issues #41-46) and the "Original Sins" merchandise paperback (the inclusion of Papa Midnite). It was released on February viii, 2005 in Hong Kong, and on Feb 18, 2005 in the U.S. and Canada. It's rated "R" for violence and demonic images by the MPAA, but the language is pretty tame.

Things are getting strange for John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a freelance demon hunter with the innate power to spot demons in disguise. He attempted suicide to escape the visions, which condemned him to eternity in Hell, but was revived—irritating Lucifer (Peter Stormare), who grew to despise John for killing his Hellspawn.

Demon activity is on the rise, with more and more trying to cross over via human being hosts. This is ordinarily correct upwards John's alley, just he'southward preoccupied with the fact that he's dying of cancer. He appeals to the Archangel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) for "an extension", but is flatly denied. Instead, he is enlisted by Det. Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to investigate the death of her sister, some other psychic. Information technology turns out that Lucifer'south son is trying to usurp him. Mammon requires the torso of a powerful psychic to cross over, but John suspects that someone on Earth is working on Mammon's behalf...

Not to be confused with the Constantine television adaptation of the comic of the same name, which is more faithful to the source material.

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Constantine contains examples of:

• Actionized Adaptation: It'south difficult to imagine the comics' Constantine dispatching demons with a cantankerous-shaped shotgun.
• Histrion Allusion: This is the third film where Keanu Reeves kills himself to save the globe. He had showtime done and so in The Devil's Advocate and then again in The Matrix Revolutions. In both this and the former, information technology'southward quickly undone with a Reset Push button.
• Adaptational Badass: While certainly not a wimp by any standards, the comic book version of Constantine is more of a Guile Hero and relies on his wits and quick thinking rather than combat skills. This picture show's version is a straightforward Activeness Hero, peculiarly in the climax.
• Adaptation Expansion: The novelization of the film written by John Shirley does an astonishing task of expanding upon the movieverse. It develops the characters more thoroughly and explains the mythology of Constantine'southward task comprehensively. In add-on, it includes all the deleted scenes shown on the DVD in context and fits them into continuity. For those who may be on the fence about the film, the novelization might be the tipping point into enjoying information technology.
• Adaptation Title Change: Constantine is based on the Vertigo comic Hellblazer.
• Addiction Displacement: Constantine chews gum at the stop to indicate that he's quit smoking.
• Affably Evil: Satan and arguably Gabriel.
• All There in the Manual: The novelization non only reveals that the full name of Friction match in the film is "Match Rofocale", but that he is also The First of the Fallen, distinguishing him from the more notable Lucifer Morningstar.
• All Up to Yous: Keanu Reeves' sidekick Chas briefly takes a surprisingly heroic action, only to then be killed while he is monologing.
• Near Osculation: Three times, between Constantine and Angela Dodson.
• Cryptic Gender: The Archangel Gabriel thought he'due south referred to with male person pronouns, despite being played past actress Tilda Swinton.
• Ambiguous Situation: The film leaves it unclear every bit to whether Chas has ever been an angel, or if he became one later on dying.
• Angelic Transformation: In the climax, Gabriel is de-winged as penalization for plotting to unleash Mammon upon the world, leaving a pair of bloody stumps. Constantine introduces them to hurting with a punch to the mouth.
• Anti-Hero: Constantine is rude, unhelpful to well-nigh people, asks his friends to put themselves in dangerous situations (and gets three of them killed considering of this) and only performs exorcisms and sends half breed demons dorsum to Hell because he wants to purchase his style into Heaven.
• The Apocalypse Brings Out the Best in People: This is Gabriel's motivation for aiding Mammon. By creating a literal Hell on Earth, he believes this will force those humans that survive and endure to become better people and thus be "worthy" of God's love. And aye, Constantine flat out says Gabriel is insane for assertive this.
• Archangel Gabriel: Played by Bifauxnen Tilda Swinton. Resents God'south love for an unworthy humanity and plots to release Hell on Earth then that humanity can earn God's love.
• Armor-Piercing Question: "What did she practise, Angela?"
• Artistic License – Gun Safety: When attacked past the Scavengers of the Damned, Angela pulls out her pistol and points it behind her, ending at Constantine's crotch. It may not just have been Guns Are Worthless that made him say "That's really not going to aid".
• Artistic License – Physics: Glimmer and you miss it - in that location's a whistle of steam from a kettle. An open kettle with no lid. The lid must exist in place to build upwards pressure and force the steam through the whistle.
• Artistic License – Traditional Christianity: The picture show borrows symbols and names from Christianity, but that's where the similarities end.
  • A major plot point in the moving picture is that, co-ordinate to Cosmic doctrine, people who commit suicide always go to Hell. This has not been the case since 1997, when the Church concluded that while suicide is a grave matter, people who have their own lives might notwithstanding be saved ^annotation In the Catholic Church, the three requirements for a sin to be mortal is that it exist a grave thing, that it be committed with full noesis, and that information technology exist committed with deliberate consent. While suicide is certainly a grave affair, one or both of the other two requirements for the sin to be damning might be missing. Likewise the concept of encephalon death means a person who commits suicide might be able to repent in the moments earlier decease. At to the lowest degree 1 of the suicides in the film was committed past a mental patient and she is shown beingness denied a Cosmic funeral and beingness damned to Hell for this - in reality, she would not take been denied such a funeral (with the service especially asking God to be merciful) and her mental affliction would take made her suicide non-mortal. Another suicide in the film, Constantine's, is fifty-fifty less likely to result in damnation every bit he was brought back to life and can therefore repent afterwards. Even his seeing Hell, contrary to what the pic states, would not "condemn" him in the eyes of God because only permanent decease can foreclose a person from repenting. In fact, there are people in real life who claim to take seen Hell in near-death experiences and who repented upon recovery because of this - virtually no theologian would debate that they are already damned for having seen Hell.
  • When Constantine mentions the "Spear of Destiny" and says "Jesus wasn't killed past crucifixion," the Cosmic he'south responding to replies with "I'1000 a Cosmic, John. I know the Crucifixion story." Except in the Bible, Jesus was killed by crucifixion, and a spear was but used to drain his blood to see if he was truly expressionless ^annotation the claret of a corpse separates into its base components after it's been dead long plenty, and so the Romans would stab a spear through the sides of crucified corpses to see if the claret that fell out had separated yet. John 19:34'south account of "blood and water" flowing from Jesus' pierced side is a clarification of this, proving he had died.. There are people who think that Jesus was "really" killed by the spear, but those tend to be people who merits the Biblical account is incorrect. No i would be able to teach the theory from the Bible, certainly not in Sunday Schoolhouse. Additionally, the Spear of Destiny (or rather the "Spears" as there are four churches that claim to have the existent one) is really considered a Holy Relic and is called the Holy Lance. It's unlikely to crusade demonic possession in those who possess information technology. The novelization justifies this by noting that the Spear just played its part in the death of Jesus without being responsible for it on its ain.
  • Not to mention that the master indicate of the plot, a not-priest exorcist, is completely unacceptable past Catholic doctrine.
  • The Bible that they use in Hell has an extra five chapters in 1 Corinthians. In real life, 1 and two Corinthians were actually the personal correspondence betwixt the Campaigner Paul and the Church located in the city of Corinth, and then does that mean that the Hell Bible features a dissimilar letter Paul wrote to a city in Hell that was likewise named Corinth? A more plausible caption could be that Paul's other letters to the Church building of Corinth were lost to human records (simply known to demons), or were removed from the official Biblical account for whatsoever reason.
• As You Know: Played with. Constantine begins to explain to Angela that Jesus died from a soldier's spear:

  Angela: The Spear of Destiny. I'm a Catholic, John. I know the Crucifixion story.

• Bad-Guy Bar: Papa Midnite'due south bar. According to Chas Kramer it'southward a "oasis for those who rise and autumn" - i.eastward. half-breed demons and angels. Several of the half-breed demons are seen with a struggling victim kidnapped for some nefarious purpose.
• Dazzler Is Never Tarnished: Isabel looks very good for someone who jumped off a twenty-foot building and crashed through a glass roof into a swimming pool. Aside from beingness expressionless, of grade.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Mammon and Gabriel.
• Big "NO!": Alas, poor Balthazar...
• Bilingual Bonus: A possessed girl screams "Papatayin natin silang lahat!" ("Let'due south kill them all!' in Tagalog)
• Blessed with Suck: Constantine, Father Hennessy, Isabel, and Angela each have supernatural gifts which make them not quite normal in the optics of everyday people. Seeing a overnice onetime lady get a Nightmare Confront or sensing the emotions of an upshot from touching the paper can lead to this upshot. John even warns Angela that once her power is activated, she won't just see them, they volition know she is seeing their truthful face.
• Bottomless Magazines: Angela'due south miraculous Smith & Wesson 3913. She fires information technology thirty times without reloading, fifty-fifty though it but holds xiii rounds.
• Bouncer: You must have Mad Skillz to get into Midnite.
• Cleaved Affections: Gabriel'south final punishment for the actions in the motion picture was to have Satan strip his wings and get out him mortal.
• Brown Note Being: One of Constantine's helpers has his hair instantly turns white, afterward glimpsing a demon being exorcised from a little girl.
• The Cameo:
  • Compensation hunter Domino Harvey appears as an angel at Papa Midnight's bar.
  • Michelle Monaghan appears in a hospital, screaming "Holy water!"
• Candlelit Ritual: Discussed for laughs when John is preparing the ritual that will transport his soul to Hell. Angela asks him "If this is some kind of spell or something, don't you need candles and a pentagram for it to work?" John replies "Why, do you have any?"
• Cast from Calories: After Constantine uses his psychic powers to visit Hell for some info, he tells Rachel that he needs food, thus leading to an exposition scene in a diner.
• Cats Are Magic: They are linked to Hell. John uses Angela's cat to enter Hell considering, as he puts it, "they're half-in half-out anyway".
• Catapult Nightmare: Angela, afterwards a nightmare of her sister killing herself.
• Ceiling Cling: The demon who possesses the girl in the opening reveals itself this mode.
• Ceiling Smash: Well-nigh the stop of the movie, Chas is thrown into the ceiling past Gabriel and mortally wounded. He dies a few moments later on.
• Chekhov's Armoury: The items Constantine receives from Beeman (dragonbreath, holy water ampoules, Amityville screech beetle).
• Christianity Is Catholic: Catholicism is the only version shown. The novelization explains that Constantine focuses on these relics considering his natural understanding of them based on his background of a Christian culture ways that they are more powerful than alternatives might exist.
• Claimed by the Supernatural: When Constantine meets Isabel Dodson'south soul in Hell, she has a mark on her wrist that looks like a cross within a circle. When Male parent Hennessy touches her dead body, the mark appears on her wrist. Constantine later discovers that the marker is the symbol of the Big Bad Mammon and that Mammon is trying to possess her in order to carry out his evil program.
• Condensation Clue: Constantine is sure that Isabel Dodson didn't commit suicide without leaving a message for her sister Angela. He uses a repeated Armor-Piercing Question on a reluctant Angela to force her to admit that she and Isabel used this technique equally children. Angela and so breathes on the window in Isabel's room, revealing her terminal message to her sister.
• Conversation Cut: Constantine and Angela Dodson are continuing in a room in a psychiatric establishment, talking most Angela's sister Isabel. Constantine asks Angela how long she had Isobel committed to the establishment. The scene all of a sudden changes to Isobel's room in the institution and Angela says "Ii weeks". In other words, Constantine asked her the question, they walked up to Isabel's room, so Angela answered the question.
• Couldn't Find a Pen: Hennessy carves a message into his own mitt with a corkscrew.
• Savage Mercy: Lucifer burning off Gabriel's wings leaves him a mortal human. John happily decides to let him be later introducing him to pain.
• Cultural Translation: The film changes the nationality and location of the Uk-set (American-owned) comic Hellblazer to Los Angeles. Since the release of the movie, the comic book character of Constantine has stated that there'south another guy with his name and a like job in the US.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: When the Large Bad is revealed to be Gabriel, Constantine is effortlessly beaten. When Satan turns up to save the day(!) Gabriel tries to "smite [Satan] in His honour!", simply to fail because "Somebody doesn't accept [Gabriel'southward] back whatever more", and so gets his wings burned off and gets blasted across the room.

• Death by Irony: Beeman, a guy who collected insects, was killed past them coming out of his body and Hennessy, who drank to tiresome his psychic powers, died from drinking himself to decease in less than a minute.
• Debt Detester: Lucifer seems to be this. He dislikes information technology so much, he didn't even think that John asking for the life of some other to exist saved could be a 18-carat Heroic Cede.
• Demon of Human being Origin: The novelization says that the half-breeds are dead humans that were so skilful or bad in life that they were allowed to return to World equally office-angel or part-demon.
• Demon Slaying: Constantine hunts downwardly demonic halfbreeds and sends them back to Hell.
• Did You Only Flip Off Cthulhu?: Constantine literally flips off Satan himself.
• Didn't See That Coming: Friction match did not look to see John by him cut his wrists again. He quickly realizes something is off with the situation. Nor did he foresee Constantine getting into Heaven for the act of cocky-cede. Though to exist off-white, even Constantine didn't come across that i coming.
• Driven to Suicide:
  • The moving-picture show's plot starts with the suicide of Angela's sister, Isabel, whose soul is claimed by Hell and whose trunk will exist used as a medium for Mammon.
  • When he was a teenager, Constantine attempted to impale himself because he saw demonically-possessed people. He managed to succeed just plenty for it to count equally a suicide by the rules of Sky, just ultimately survived. He's spent the rest of his life trying to buy his way out of Hell and succeeds by killing himself again only this time as a Heroic Cede. However, Satan is a sore loser and saves him from dying, banking on the likelihood that John will manage to damn himself again.
• Does Not Similar Shoes: Lucifer, who is otherwise well-coiffed. Discussion of God states that the reason Satan's feet are dripping with goo is that he must pollute the ground to walk on it. Neither does Gabriel when she(?) isn't wearing a arrange, which implies this is a standard angelic trait.
• Does This Remind Y'all of Annihilation?: Balthazar'south face later on John soaked one-half of it in holy water. Now what other DC comic grapheme has had half his face disfigured past a vial of liquid?
• Dying Vocal Change: Balthazar's vocalism ends up reduced to an echoing, ethereal-sounding whisper later on getting his face shot off by Constantine.
• The Commuter: Chas.
• The Dulcinea Upshot: "Definitely...by and large not about the daughter."
• Dull Surprise: Sometimes, Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz seem to exist competing.
• Enemy Rising Backside
  • The human being possessed by The Spear of Destiny rises behind Angela while she'due south in the puddle.
  • Subsequently Angela is possessed, she rises behind Constantine.
• Enemy Mine:
  • John is desperate for help in the end and calls on Match to come by committing suicide, knowing the Fallen I will come to claim him personally. John takes this moment to inform him of the villain's plan, which Satan's pride cannot allow pass as it isn't his plan.
  • A few minutes after, God and Satan team up to dispose of Gabriel. When Gabriel attempts to smite Friction match in God'due south Name, the affections finds his punch halted. Friction match recognizes this equally God withdrawing the Grace of God within Gabriel and uses his powers to strength Gabriel to go through transubstantiation and exist mortal.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
  • Gabriel cannot fathom the possibility Constantine would dice to summon Satan to salvage the day nor that their Father would revoke his power to smite Satan in His Name despite just trying to bring about the end of the earth.
  • Played with with Satan. He doesn't encompass in the moment that when John asks for another soul to be freed as a reward, information technology would count equally a Heroic Sacrifice. However, he is quick to realize the implications when John is prevented from being taken by His power and the gates of Sky begin to draw John in.
• Evil Is Hammy: Satan conspicuously enjoys dicking effectually with Constantine and Gabriel both when he shows upwards. He's played by Peter Stormare, what did you look?
• Exploited Immunity: Constantine flushes out some demons that have infested a hospital past having his amateur perform a holy water ritual on the hospital's burn prophylactic organisation, then belongings a cigarette lighter below a smoke detector, triggering the sprinklers to pelting holy water. The holy h2o burns the demons while leaving the humans inside unharmed.
• Fair Cop: Angela played by Rachel Weisz.
• Fantastic Catholicism: The title character is a Catholic demon-hunter who uses guns and magic to ship demons back to Hell in a world where God and the Devil are in a bet over who can influence flesh the most. Roger Ebert on the movie:

  Roger Ebert: Why do movies about Satan always have Catholics? You lot never run across Methodists or Episcopalians putting down demons.

• Fantasy Keepsake: After his starting time visit to Hell to observe Isabel, Constantine brings back her hospital wrist tag to testify she was there.
• Fate Worse than Death: Half-breed demons don't "dice" but are just sent to Hell. So when John plans on granting a demon absolution and thus entry into Heaven, information technology is considered this (from the demon's point-of-view, anyway).
• Faux Action Girl: At the start of the movie, Angela is introduced as a tough-equally-nails cop but her office in events from and so on mostly involves beingness protected or rescued past Constantine.
• Fetus Terrible: What an ambrosial little catholic horror...
• Fire and Brimstone Hell: When John journeys there to see if Isabel is there or not, much of Hell was burning and devoid of whatsoever h2o.
• Fire/Water Juxtaposition: Used as a plot point. Water is said to be a "universal conduit" that tin facilitate travel between Hell and its surrounding realms. In order to achieve Hell, which is a red-hued realm of fire and brimstone, a person has to suspend part of their body in water while on Earth.
• Flatline Plotline: Used to requite Angela a taste of Constantine'south knowledge. He virtually drowns her in a bathtub under advisedly controlled conditions.
• Flies Equals Evil: Beeman has a fly crawl out from under his eyelid as a sign of demonic attack upon him. He'south later found expressionless with flies covering him and crawling out of his mouth. This may have been Balthazaar's version of irony.
• Fluffy Deject Heaven: Heaven is Los Angeles with lots of clouds and God's rays.
• Flipping the Bird: Twice by Constantine. One being at the beginning later exorcise a demon out of a girl and some other to Satan after he finally earns his style out of Hell
• Foreshadowing: Papa Midnite tells Constantine that his soul is the only one Satan himself would come to collect. He's right.
• Friendly Target: Father Hennessy and Beeman.

• Generic Doomsday Villain: Dissimilar the other antagonists Balthazar, Lucifer and Gabriel, Mammon never displays personality and never talks.
• The Gods Must Be Lazy: God and Satan have made a deal non to directly interfere in the mortal earth. The one-half-demons constantly break this rule, but they don't get punished — just sent dorsum to Hell by Constantine.
• Godzilla Threshold: By the end, the stakes are so high that Constantine tries to summon Sky with the tattoos on his forearms. Gabriel stops him mid-summon, so he goes for the next best matter: Satan.
• God and Satan Are Both Jerks: The globe in truth is a battleground for angels and demons for dominance. Humankind's casualties and/or souls lost to Hell are merely collateral impairment. Both God and Match permit it because they've made a deal together, instead of the Almighty adjourn-stomping the rebellious archangel. Match may not have to free rein of the planet to damn equally many as he pleases, but he'southward nonetheless permitted to visit and transport his one-half-breeds to endeavour. God himself being little kinder, damning souls who not just end their lives but those who cannot handle the truth of the earth they inhabit. It comes off as Grayness-and-Black Morality, equally God's afterlife is at to the lowest degree pleasant, and he cares for humanity to some degree. He as well accepts John into Heaven at the end, and according to the novelization, took control of John'southward hand to flip off Lucifer and so that he'd relieve John.
• God Is Displeased: Gabriel believed that in order for humanity to exist worthy of God's love, information technology had to suffer first. So they conspired with Mammon to unleash Hell on Earth. They try to destroy Satan when he intervenes, only for Satan to terminate the blow from landing, revealing that Gabriel no longer has God's favor.
• God Is Good: The motion picture seems to think so, particularly at the end. Tellingly, the Big Bad is the Archangel Gabriel, breaking God's rules because they think He'south too benevolent to humans, whom they consider unworthy of His dear.
• Go into the Light: Subverted. Satan pulls Constantine out of the light and cures his lung cancer and so he'll take a chance to royally screw up once more.
• Good Smoking, Evil Smoking
  • Papa Midnite subverts the cigarillo trope by beingness a good/neutral witch doctor turned bartender.
  • Constantine smokes excessively, only to find out during the movie that he has lung cancer. Subsequently Constantine willingly sacrifices himself to save the earth (allowing him to enter Heaven), Satan ends upward curing his cancer to keep him alive so he can claim him subsequently. At the finish of the movie, he'due south seen popping gum in his oral fissure.
• Guns Are Worthless: Angela'south normal pistol is the directly example. Constantine subverts it by assembling his own gun out of a variety of holy items, allowing him to chop-chop blast his style through a room full of one-half-demons.
• Heaven Seeker: The championship character goes effectually sending one-half-demons dorsum to Hell in the hope that this will gain him entry into Heaven after he dies. It'due south not that John Constantine likes the thought of Heaven that much — he just wants to avert going to Hell, since he knows firsthand (due to trying to commit suicide in his youth) how horrible it is.

  "Yous're a cop. Imagine existence sentenced to a prison where half the inmates were put in that location by you."

• Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted. John dies by suicide, drawing Satan to Globe, gets him to save the world, and only wants Isabel's soul freed from Hell. Past this act of cocky-cede, his previous suicide is wiped abroad and John, still expressionless, is on his mode to Heaven. That is until Satan heals John of his cut wrists and cancer.
• He's Dead, Jim: Chaz Kramer is slammed up against the ceiling and down to the floor a few times, leaving him severely injured. He talks with John Constantine for a few seconds, then stops and lies with his optics open. John turns abroad and leaves him for dead without fifty-fifty checking his pulse.
• Hijacked past Jesus: The picture removes all elements of non-Christian mythology from the setting. The novelisation slightly justifies this past explaining that Constantine's weapons focus on Christian holy relics as he comes from a Christian culture, giving him a greater innate understanding of their power that increases their effectiveness.
• Hollywood Apocrypha: The Hell Bible, which has a different Book of Revelation. And an extra v chapters in 1 Corinthians.
• Holy Burns Evil: Holy Water scalds the hell out of half-demons, destroying their man beat out and making them easier to kill.
• Homage: Archangel Gabriel resembles a famous painting of Archangel Michael. As seen hither. ◊
• Humans Are Special: Invoked past God, no less, which causes Gabriel to go jealous due to his perception of them non beingness good plenty.
• I Have Many Names: The devil in this film is chosen both "Lucifer" and "Satan". John calls him "Lou" just to mess with him. Gabriel has a few more choice names for him, when they meet.

  Gabriel: Son of Perdition. Lilliputian Horn. [Satan giggles] Most Unclean.
  Satan: I do miss the old names.

• Identical Twin ID Tag: Both twins are played by Rachel Weisz. Isabel has waist length pilus merely otherwise they're identical.
• Idiot Ball: Balthazar doesn't realize that you can't be forgiven of your sins unwillingly. Then again, he's implied to have been born in Hell and they probably don't teach theology down at that place.
• Immune to Bullets: When Angela Dodson is confronted by the Mexican human possessed past the Spear of Destiny, she shoots him repeatedly in the breast. The bullets go right through him merely don't affect him at all.
• Immune to Drugs: Semi-averted. Constantine has developed lung cancer from smoking, but Satan cures him.
• In Proper name Only
  • If you imagine that it's not based on Hellblazer, it's actually pretty adept. (Technically, we know from Etrigan's rhymes that the Hellblazer hero's name is pronounced Constan-TYNE, so this motion-picture show in which Keanu's name is Constan-TEEN qualifies as a distinct private.)
  • One gets the impression that this could take been sold every bit a very proficient American story of an occult detective by itself.
• In Prison house with the Rogues: Discussed. Constantine'due south soul has been destined for Hell ever since an attempted suicide in his childhood, and he'south trying to earn his mode into Heaven past banishing demons that don't belong in the human world. All the same, he's very aware that if his plan doesn't work he'll be even more screwed than he would accept been otherwise, since, equally he tells a police force officer he befriends: "What would you lot do if y'all were sentenced to a prison where half the inmates were put in that location by you?"
• Invisibility: How Gabriel got close to kill Chas.
• Insane Troll Logic: The Big Bad'southward logic for destroying flesh in society to save information technology is that the apocalypse will force them to be better people.

• Invisible Writing: Angela and her sister Isabel left hidden messages on windows and mirrors when they were kids, visible only when fogged by their breath. Isabel left her sister one concluding message before she was Driven to Suicide.
• Invisible to Normals: Full angels and demons are only visible to Psychics and... any Constantine was supposed to be as a kid.
• Just Hit Him: When John confronts the demon Balthazar, he's held up against the wall by his neck and slowly choked. Balthazar takes the opportunity to indulge in some Evil Gloating, giving John plenty of time to reach into his jacket pocket and pull out his holy-knuckle-dusters.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Subverted. Chas is mortally wounded while proverb the post-obit, only he survives long enough to give John meaningful last words.

  Chas: This is Kramer. Chas Kramer, assho...

• Impale the Lights: When the horde of flight demons is approaching the title character and Angela Dodson, all nearby lights (including the street lights) become out, leaving the main characters in darkness.
• Knight Templar: Gabriel.
• Large Ham: Balthazar and Friction match.

  Balthazar: Give-and-take is, you're on your manner down. Fresh meat. (sucks his fingertips) Finger-lickin' good!

• Calorie-free Is Not Good: Archangel Gabriel is a traitor to Heaven, and planning on unleashing Hell on Earth.
• Locked into Strangeness: A man looks at the possessed daughter and his pilus turns white.
• Await Both Ways: Unexpectedly, the dude wins. There's a reason for this.
• Magical Abortion: Angela becomes mystically significant with the Antichrist - which is called back to hell via a personal appearance by Satan.
• Man of Wealth and Gustation: Satan is a pimp. Of course, he is played past Peter Stormare.
• Magic Mirror: Mirrors can pull demons out of the humans they've possessed and imprison them.
• Meta Casting: Keanu Reeves was a very... odd choice to play John Constantine, merely as information technology says elsewhere, the movie is adept if y'all don't mind its In Name Merely connection to the comic book. And then as long every bit the protagonist doesn't have to be a fast-talking scouse Anti-Hero... who'southward better for the role than The Devil'due south Advocate?
• Meaningful Proper noun: Hennessy and Beeman - both names non only point a pregnant personality characteristic but foreshadow the manner they die.
• Medicate the Medium: Constantine and Isabel both underwent Bedlam Business firm type treatments for their hallucinations.
• Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Suicide of a woman → a plot to bring the Devil's son to Earth and bring about Armageddon.
• The Mirror Shows Your Truthful Cocky: A variation. When Angela is possessed by Mammon in the climax, she appears equally a thrashing, animalistic creature in the reflection on the tiled hospital flooring.
• Mook Chivalry: When the championship character fights the half-breed demons in the hospital room, they come at him one at a fourth dimension and allow him to kill each one with his shotgun instead of rushing him all at one time and overwhelming him.
• Motive Rant: Gabriel gives one nearly how flesh is unworthy of God'south love and how he want to bring the Apocalypse to challenge their condition.
• My Decease Is Simply the Commencement: Constantine resorts to this to prevent the release of Mammon.
• Mythology Gag: At one point, Constantine traps a spider under a drinking glass with cigaret smoke. He does the aforementioned thing to a cockcroach in issue #9 of Hellblazer.
• The Proper noun Is Bond, James Bail:
  • "This is Constantine. John Constantine, asshole."
  • "This is Kramer. Chas Kramer, asshole."
• Nay-Theist: To be fair, God appears to have started the whole argument.
• Cervix Lift: Balthazar to Constantine after he bursts into Balthazar's function. Later on, Gabriel to John.
• Never Suicide: Subverted.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Satan saves the world. And sets a damned (but innocent) soul free. And cures Constantine's lung cancer. Satan. He has his reasons.
• "No Peeking!" Request: While Constantine is preparing to drag the demon out of the possessed girl he tells the men helping him "Shut your eyes. And whatever happens, don't look." One of them does. He collapses and his pilus turns white.
• No-Sell
  • Match being, well, Match, pulls this off twice subsequently he shows upwards to claim John's soul. John'due south being 'between worlds' has temporarily brought time virtually to a standstill; Gabriel, in the other room, is moving in super-wearisome motion, simply Match meanders in at his normal stride and pulls Angela/Mammon out of the way, at which point fourth dimension instantly returns back to normal. And in the reflected h2o that shows Mammon, he's struggling with all his might to escape his father'due south grasp. Friction match doesn't so much as move a muscle. When Gabriel attempts to smite him, he freezes the affections'due south hand with naught just a malicious smile. This yet is at least in part because "Somebody doesn't have [Gabriel'southward] back any more"
  • Balthazar laughs off a blast of Dragon's Breath, pointing out he was born from fire. A vial of holy water melts half of his man face-off, exposing the demon underneath, but doesn't seem especially painful either. Holy knuckle dusters nevertheless work juuuust fine.
• Ane Last Smoke: Played with. It'south hard to flick your lighter if you've cutting all the tendons in your wrists. Fortunately, Satan is more than than happy to help out. He'southward got stock, you see.
• The Just Ane Allowed to Defeat You lot: John notes early in the moving picture that God and Lucifer take made a bet that involves the souls of all humanity. When Lucifer'southward son is shut to being released and unleash hell on world, Friction match stops his son and the son's allies because this isn't Lucifer's program. He volition be the one to damn the world not his son.
• The Ophelia: Angela'southward twin sister. She even commits suicide in a swimming pool.
• Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: Tilda Swinton played the Archangel Gabriel.
• Our Angels Are Different: Gabriel is the winged (androgynous) humanoid multifariousness, merely likely not a pure angel, since angels and demons are not allowed on World. Constantine himself says to Gabriel before in the pic- "[...] Yous're the one that deserves to get to Hell, half-brood," confirming this.
• Overdrawn at the Blood Banking company: Subverted. When Constantine slits his wrists (and apparently cuts likewise deep) in that location doesn't appear to be a huge pool of blood on the floor; certainly not enough to be fatal.
• Pedestrian Crushes Auto: At the beginning, when the Mexican man finds The Spear of Destiny, he walks onto a road and a car runs into him. The car is totaled, the man is unscathed.
• Poke in the Third Eye: When Constantine is using The Chair to spy on the man possessed by The Spear of Destiny.
• Portal Pool: Constantine states that any ocean, no matter how small, can be used every bit a portal to hell.
• Precision F-Strike: Courtesy of 1 archangel Gabriel.
• Pride: What saves the world. Namely the pride Satan has is so bully fifty-fifty when his son and his allies are inches away from unleashing his son onto Earth and making information technology a hellhole, Satan cannot bide this every bit the world is his to damn and destroy. He effortlessly sends his son dorsum to Hell and defeats Gabriel.
• Protagonist Title: Constantine.
• Protective Charm: John's priest friend has one just he heedlessly didn't go on it on when getting deep in an investigation. Afterward, when it is given to Angela, she inadvertently removed it.
• Psychic Children: The title character and Isabel and Angela Dodson all get-go displayed their psychic abilities as children. Unfortunately, these abilities helped them to see the half-demons infesting the Earth, resulting in two of them being forced to undergo psychiatric treatment and later committing suicide. Angela had to prevarication near hers to avoid the same fate and ended up losing her ability.
• Psychometry: Father Hennessy tin can run his hands over printed newspaper stories and psychically detect which ones are meaning. Constantine asks him to do this to get information he needs. Later on Hennessy tries to read the body of Angela Dodson's dead sister Isabel.
• Public Domain Artifact: The Lance of Longinus, AKA the Spear of Destiny.
• Reality Has No Subtitles
  • During the scene at the beginning of the flick, a Mexican man speaks to another man in Castilian with no translation for the viewers.
  • While the lilliputian daughter is possessed she screams "Papatayin natin silang lahat!" ("Allow'southward kill them all!' in Tagalog). The audience is not told what this means.
• Cerise Optics, Take Warning: The demonic halfbreeds while Angel's are gold.
• Redemption Earns Life: Slightly subverted; past giving up his soul to save the world and freeing an innocent soul from Hell, Constantine is redeemed of his by sins and allowed to go to Heaven. His life is restored nevertheless, but just considering Satan cures his lung cancer then that Constantine will take another chance to 'prove' that he belongs in Hell.
• Reduced to Dust: Later Constantine blasts Balthazar with Dragonsbreath and reduced him to pieces, the Large Bad reduces him to dust and blows him away, resulting in an Empty Piles of Clothing.
• Refusing Paradise: Forced, and thereby possible subverted. The dying master character is nigh to enter Heaven, when the Devil deliberately heals him to make certain he has some other hazard at messing upwardly his salvation on Earth.
• Ret-Canon: A Hellblazer story acknowledges the existence of Keanu's Constantine in an Alternate Universe.
• Retired Badass: Papa Midnite, a mage so powerful that he took on thirty demons past himself. Doesn't need special tools as he has actual magical powers. And powerful enough to create his own embassy of neutrality where hybrids mix and behave nether his picket.
• Religious Horror: The film is the In Proper noun Only moving-picture show adaptation of Hellblazer. The primary villain is Mammon, the son of the Devil, and Catholicism is shown to be almost entirely right.
• Rerouted from Heaven: Inverted and then played straight. As John attempted suicide in his youth, he is spring for Hell no affair what he did because many of his skilful deeds are washed to attempt and salve himself from the outcome of his attempted suicide non because information technology is the right thing to exercise. But when he sacrifices his life and soul to stop the Big Bad, Satan offers him a advantage. Instead of healing his mortal wounds, John requests the release of one soul in Hell. Satan obliges, not immediately recognizing the selfless virtue in his action. This activeness redeems John in the eyes of the Lord and Satan quickly finds John is existence rerouted from Hell to Heaven. Not having this, Satan spitefully resurrects John, painfully curing his lung cancer and healing his injuries in the process, in the hopes that he'll screw up and get himself damned again.
• Room Full of Crazy: Isabel's room at the infirmary. While it seems clean cut, the large windows are covered in various scrawlings that are visible with a bit of fog/condensation.
• Satan: Peter Stormare FTW.
• "Relieve the World" Climax: John Constantine is hired to investigate a suicide. In the cease, he tries to stop a conspiracy to bring the son of the Devil on Earth.
• Schmuck Bait: Constantine tells the men helping him to close their optics and non look. Ane doesn't.
• Come across You in Hell: The "Get to Hell" version, when talking to the demonic halfbreeds.
• Shapeshifting Excludes Clothing: Balthazar later the Large Bad reduces him to dust.
• Shirtless Scene: John has one earlier he undergoes a routine lung checkup. And again in the stop, when Match cures him of cancer, because he does it by literally ripping the tumors out through John's bare torso.
• Shout-Out
  • When Angela Dodson wakes up in her flat, her black cat meows and walks across her bed - a reference to the scene in The Matrix where Neo (also played by Keanu Reeves) sees the blackness true cat meow and walk by twice.
  • After some demons are destroyed, Angela starts coughing due to the smell of sulfur/sulphur. Constantine says "Happens to everyone the get-go time", a reference to the "Everyone falls the first time" bit in The Matrix.
  • While Balthazar is looking at himself in a mirror, his prototype starts to misconstrue and bubbling form on the drinking glass just before the mirror explodes. This is a combination of two scenes in The Matrix picture show series: the one in The Matrix where Neo is looking into a mirror and information technology distorts, and the one in The Matrix Reloaded where bubbling course on a door just before it explodes.
• Sidekick: Hennessy, Beeman and Chas Kramer.
• Sinister Whistling: After finally securing the rights to John Constantine'southward soul, Lucifer begins cheerily whistling every bit he drags him off to hell. Thankfully, God stops him at the last minute.
• Sliding Scale of Adaptation Modification: The plot is loosely based on the Hellblazer story "Dangerous Habits". John's lung cancer, his argument with Gabriel (who exhibits more sympathy for him here), and Satan ripping the tumors from John'south body are all taken from the comic. Other similarities include Gabriel panicking when found out by God (John mentions that "He" isn't happy about his angel schmoozing with the IRA), John cutting his wrists, Satan's trail of slime, and John flipping him off at the end.
• Tiresome Electricity: When Constantine and Angela Dodson are talking on the street, the streetlights brainstorm to turn off (with clunking sounds) - first far away, then approaching them. The concluding light to go out is the one well-nigh a statue of Virgin Mary.
• Smoking Is Absurd: Subverted, as John gets lung cancer and subsequently, as he quits at the end of the movie (afterwards Satan gets rid of the cancer).
• Smug Serpent:
  • Both Balthazar and Lucifer, every bit demons this is probably to be expected.
  • Gabriel also comes across as arrogant and cocky-satisfied, particularly in the picture'due south climax.
• Sore Loser: Satan is and so outraged that he'due south being denied Constantine's soul, that he actually brings him dorsum to life and cures his cancer, all in the hope Constantine will manage to damn himself once again.
• The Stinger: Chas dies but is resurrected as an affections. Constantine's not exactly thrilled at this development.
• Suicide Is Shameful: Suicide is accounted sinful enough to guarantee a soul a place in Hell, even if the try fails. Subverted at the end, when Constantine uses his suicide as a Heroic Sacrifice to save the Earth and convince Satan to send Angela's sister to Heaven, rather than barter for more than time for himself. This human activity of self-sacrifice earns him a place in Heaven... until Lucifer heals him in the hopes that he'll mess it up earlier he dies once more.
• Summon Bigger Fish: Lucifer really saves the solar day because Constantine summoned him. The Fallen One's pride is too dandy to allow another person, even his ain son, damn the world. It's his job.
• Surprise Car Crash: Done in the beginning to show the strength of the supernatural threat. When the man it'south possessing is all of a sudden hitting by a truck, the vehicle is left with a huge paring in its grille and a mangled driver while he just keeps walking.
• Survival Through Self-Cede: Constantine has been destined for Hell ever since a failed suicide attempt in his childhood, but at the finish of the film, he attempts to commit suicide again, knowing that the Devil will come up to earth to personally claim his soul, screwing up the Large Bad'southward plan when he arrives. This, plus John negotiating with the Devil to accept some other soul released from Hell, is judged selfless and heroic enough for his soul to enter Heaven... until the Devil, furious at losing his correct to John's soul, brings John back to life and cures his cancer, hoping that he will screw up at some point and go condemned to Hell again.

• Accept Off Your Apparel: Played with. Angela had to take off her blouse and make it water to reactivate her power, when asked Constantine whether she should accept her bra off also, Constantine considered for a while.
• Tap on the Head: Constantine to the bar's bouncer the second time he goes there.
• Taunting the Unconscious: Chaz tries to enter Papa Midnite's club, merely is denied entry by the bouncer considering he isn't psychic and can't tell that a hidden card depicts "a rat in a dress". Later in the picture, Constantine knocks out the bouncer. Chaz takes advantage of the opportunity to taunt the unconscious bouncer by proverb "Who'due south a rat in a clothes now, huh, bowwow?"
• The But One Allowed to Defeat You
  • Part of Friction match'due south intervention is basically this. He believes merely he is allowed to take over the human realm, not his son. He's willing to give up a sure-fire victory, simply because he wants to do information technology himself. He makes it clear that he's willing to play the long game to accomplish it also.
  • Match's rescue of John. John'south made quite the reputation for himself, to the signal that he'south the one soul on Earth that Lucifer would collect in person. So when it looks similar John's nearly to exist admitted into Sky subsequently sacrificing his life to bargain for Isabel's soul, Friction match rips out his lung cancer, extending his life just so he can have another chance to screw up and damn his soul again.
• At that place Are No Coincidences: Constantine offers this perspective at the terminate of the film.

  Constantine: I estimate at that place'south a programme for all of u.s.a.. I had to die—twice—just to effigy that out. Similar the book says, "He works His work in mysterious means." Some people like it...some people don't.

• Thirsty Desert: There is no h2o in Hell except what you bring with yous in bottles or bodies.
• This Cannot Be!: Match is freaked out that John'south sacrifice is actually enough for God to write off his suicide and deem him worthy of entering Heaven. So freaked out, he decides to resurrect John and so he has a 2nd run a risk to spiral upwards.
• This Is for Emphasis, Bowwow!: Chas is happy to run into the bouncer who kept him out get knocked downwardly.

  "Who'due south the rat in the dress at present, huh, bowwow?"

• Time Stands Still:
  • Whenever people die, or apply the Burn/Water Juxtaposition to take a brief trip to Hell, the outside earth slows to a crawl.
  • Lucifer freezes Gabriel right before the latter is about to punch him.
• To Hell and Back: Constantine is such an skilful at doing this, he even teaches Angela to exercise it once.
• Transformation of the Possessed: The woman possessed by the soldier demon and Angela Dodson when she'south possessed past Mammon, Lucifer'south son.
• Trenchcoat Brigade: Constantine. The actual John Constan-tyne is the Trope Namer for this one.
• Truce Zone: Papa Midnite'south bar was agreed to be such a place past God and Satan.
• Twins Are Special: Isabela and Angela were born with strong psychic powers, strong enough for both to be considered good vessels for Lucifer's son Mammon to inhabit. Other powerful characters in the film are either a halfling of some sort or derive their powers using exorcism tools, with the exception of Witch Doctor Papa Midnite.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between John and Angela. Then, and so much of it. At least partly justified by the Roman Catholic ethics of John'southward world, in which extramarital sexual activity is a sin.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: The Big Bad plans to release Mammon to bring pain and horror to humanity, in order to purify information technology and arrive worthy of God's love.

  Gabriel : So...I'll bring yous pain. I'll bring you horror. So that you may rise above information technology. And then that those of you who survive this reign of hell on Earth will be worthy of God's love.
  John: Gabriel. You're insane.

• Villainous Rescue: As function of a concluding ditch effort, John kills himself to summon Satan. When he understands the whys, Satan saves the globe because it is his task to destroy information technology.
• Wait Here
  • When John goes to confront the half-demon Balthazar he tells his potential Dear Interest Angela Dodson to stay in the auto. After a while she decides to go later him, ends up losing the amulet he gave her to protect her, and is captured by their enemies.
  • When John goes to convince Papa Midnite to let him utilize the Chair, he anticipates that the confrontation will be unsafe and tells his amateur Chas Kramer to expect. Subsequently the encounter ends amicably Chas shows upward without beingness summoned and starts to show off his book learning, to Papa Midnite's entertainment.
• Waterlogged Warzone: Constantine arranges for the water in the hospital ceiling sprinkler system to be changed into holy water. He then sets off the sprinklers with a lighter, causing the half-brood demons he'south facing to be doused with the holy water. This destroys their false human disguises, which makes them more than vulnerable to attack. The h2o spray also covers the floor with h2o for the ensuing boxing.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Gabriel shows this tract, even if Constantine calls her just insane. Fifty-fifty more later the climax, when she shows actually happiness about Constantine refusing the nighttime and vehement path of revenge and post-obit instead a higher one, so being at present actually worth of God'south honey.
• What Yous Are in the Dark: Gabriel intended this issue on humans by catastrophe the world.
• Where Does He Become All Those Wonderful Toys?: Beeman manages to acquire certain rare objects for Constantine...for a price.

  Beeman: Yes, piece of cake there, hero. That's Dragon's Breath.
  John Constantine: I thought you lot couldn't get information technology anymore.
  Beeman: Aye, well, I, uh, I know a guy who knows a guy.

• Winged Humanoid: Half-Breeds.
• Within Arm's Reach: While fighting a The Worm That Walks demon on a metropolis street, Constantine uses a matchbox containing an Amityville screech protrude to break up the demon into its component creatures. When the box is knocked from his hand and the demon pins him to the basis, Constantine must grab a metal rod to hit the box to disperse the demon and costless himself.
• The Worm That Walks: The "true demon" that Constantine encounters (thereby letting him know that some MAJOR shit is going down) manifests equally a swarm of critters of all shapes and sizes. It gets killed past a car.
• Year Inside, Hour Exterior: According to Constantine, 7 minutes on Earth equals a lifetime in Hell. This is shown when he enters Hell; he orders Angela to go out the room, but the moment she closes the door, Constantine has returned, having had enough time to wander to the hospital and take hold of Isabel's tag.
• You Tin can Leave Your Hat On: When Angela is about to be submerged in water so she tin can reactivate her powers, she teasingly suggests if she should remove her bra. John considers for a while, but ultimately objects.
• Yous Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Big Bad Gabriel to his ally Balthazar.
• You're Insane!: Constantine's reaction to the Motive Rant.

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Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Constantine2005