John Constantine is (as some people may know) a comic book character from the same company that counts Superman, Batman and such among its properties. But there are 2 main differences between Constantine and his "colleagues". While Superman and the likes are selfless ideals and more archetype than men. Constantine is fiercely human and, for the most part, deeply self-serving. He lives in an occult world of angels, demons, magic & squalor. And this world is never black nor white, but always morally ambiguous and bathed in nuances of grey.
Others have pointed out that the TV series is a more faithful adaptation than the 2005 movie (of the same name). Which is something I actually disagree with. On the surface, yes, this TV Constantine resemble the comic book character a lot more, than the Keanu Reeves of Constantine the Movie. But where the Constantine movie actually had inspired visuals and a shimmer of intelligence. This pilot unfortunately doesn't even have that. And this is my point. If you want to do Constantine. He needs intelligence above anything else. The comics have a long track record of consistent intelligent writing.
In the Pilot we get acquainted with a Constantine who's remorseful for having a hand in the damnation of a little girl. He quickly gets a demonic "letter" telling him to go to America. Why would a demon invite someone to interfere with its plans? Constantine meets a girl that is tormented by, apparently, the same demon who invited him to the party. And after this the pilot is about introducing this girl (and the audience) to the world of John Constantine. Leaving us at the end of the episode with the setup for the rest of the season. Which is a map marked with locations across America where bad stuff happens. Basically the most lazy of plot devices for a show: A new case every week without having to describe how this case came about. Which again is far removed from the story telling of the comics. Where Constantine takes on different problems much more organically.
The writing is far from good with sub-par dialogue, unnecessary exposition dumps, lapses in logic and a character who can't figure out if he wants to be mysterious or give everything about him away. We are far removed from the mysterious & intelligent Constantine of the comics, who only gives enough away, to serve his own selfish motives. One example of this dumb Constantine comes when a demon tries to trick him to let it go, with a very weak trick. Constantine falls for it instantly. Despite the fact that he's supposedly had so much contact with demons that he should be able to see through their tricks. But no.
The direction is serviceable but lack sophistication and undersells the action scenes.
The effects are hit an miss. Some are alright but others are just terrible. On top of that, the visuals of the pilot are just rehashings of the same clichés you see in the lowest budget horror films you can imagine.
The one good thing is Matt Ryan (who plays John Constantine). He looks the part and at times manage to hit the sinister charm of his character. There is great potential in this department.
Unfortunately the pilot generally leave little hope for the series in the future if you're acquainted with John Constantine from the comics. If you have no experiences with Constantine and don't mind less than stellar writing/direction/special effects. Then this show might be alright to kill some time with but nothing more.
Others have pointed out that the TV series is a more faithful adaptation than the 2005 movie (of the same name). Which is something I actually disagree with. On the surface, yes, this TV Constantine resemble the comic book character a lot more, than the Keanu Reeves of Constantine the Movie. But where the Constantine movie actually had inspired visuals and a shimmer of intelligence. This pilot unfortunately doesn't even have that. And this is my point. If you want to do Constantine. He needs intelligence above anything else. The comics have a long track record of consistent intelligent writing.
In the Pilot we get acquainted with a Constantine who's remorseful for having a hand in the damnation of a little girl. He quickly gets a demonic "letter" telling him to go to America. Why would a demon invite someone to interfere with its plans? Constantine meets a girl that is tormented by, apparently, the same demon who invited him to the party. And after this the pilot is about introducing this girl (and the audience) to the world of John Constantine. Leaving us at the end of the episode with the setup for the rest of the season. Which is a map marked with locations across America where bad stuff happens. Basically the most lazy of plot devices for a show: A new case every week without having to describe how this case came about. Which again is far removed from the story telling of the comics. Where Constantine takes on different problems much more organically.
The writing is far from good with sub-par dialogue, unnecessary exposition dumps, lapses in logic and a character who can't figure out if he wants to be mysterious or give everything about him away. We are far removed from the mysterious & intelligent Constantine of the comics, who only gives enough away, to serve his own selfish motives. One example of this dumb Constantine comes when a demon tries to trick him to let it go, with a very weak trick. Constantine falls for it instantly. Despite the fact that he's supposedly had so much contact with demons that he should be able to see through their tricks. But no.
The direction is serviceable but lack sophistication and undersells the action scenes.
The effects are hit an miss. Some are alright but others are just terrible. On top of that, the visuals of the pilot are just rehashings of the same clichés you see in the lowest budget horror films you can imagine.
The one good thing is Matt Ryan (who plays John Constantine). He looks the part and at times manage to hit the sinister charm of his character. There is great potential in this department.
Unfortunately the pilot generally leave little hope for the series in the future if you're acquainted with John Constantine from the comics. If you have no experiences with Constantine and don't mind less than stellar writing/direction/special effects. Then this show might be alright to kill some time with but nothing more.