Constantine
Episode Title:
"Non Est Asylum"
Channel:
NBC
Director:
Neil Marshall
Writer:
Daniel Cerone
Genre:
Fantasy, Horror
Runtime:
45 min
Rated:
TV-14
Original Air Date:
October 24, 2014
I
didn't hate the Keanu Reeves Constantine
of 2005, as a matter of fact, I enjoyed it. It was a decent
supernatural thriller that kept some of the elements from the comics
that I liked, and changed a lot along the way. I wasn't thrilled
with an American John Constantine, but when Reeves was cast I was
glad he didn't attempt an accent. Watch Francis Ford Coppola's
Dracula
from 1992 to hear what an abomination Reeves' English accent is.
When the television show was announced I was excited to see how a new
adaptation could improve upon the only other screen rendition of the
character.
Constantine
is a broken man. He makes decisions that have far reaching and
devastating consequences as a regular part of his day. We meet the
man in a mental hospital, trying to forget the last bit of nasty he
witnessed, but a creepy confrontation draws him back into the world
on a quest to save the daughter of a dead friend. I was immediately
struck by what an improvement Matt Ryan is over Keanu Reeves. He
exudes this rakish charm that causes the viewer to understand how
people can put their lives in his hands in the face of things they
don't understand.
The
effects were pretty good for a television show and the possessed
people were genuinely creepy. There's a particular scene with a body
on the hood of an ambulance, the head and neck bend at an impossible
angle that was disturbing, in an amazing way. Cerone and Marshall
nailed the tone, and most of the supporting cast was at least good
enough to not distract the viewer from what was going on.
A
couple of issues did stand out though. The first of which was the
scene where Ritchie is driving Liv away from the scene of the final
confrontation. I get the sense that this was filmed at a different
time as the rest of the episode, as Davies seems to forget entirely
the heavy southern accent he had affected for his introduction. The
other negative I noticed was a matter of pacing. A lot of
information was thrown at the viewers in this episode; magic,
scrying, exorcisms, wandering souls, demons and angels. It's a lot
to take in for the casual viewer. The viewer doesn't have time to be
properly creeped out, because the next thing is happening almost
before you register what you're seeing, or hearing as the case might
be. One most remember that this was a pilot, and most likely this is
an issue that has already been addressed, I hope.
Conclusion:
The good far outweighs the bad here. This was an improvement over
the movie in just about every way. With the introduction of the map
of 'hotspots' I'm a little worried that this will turn into a
Supernatural
clone, but there is so much preexisting material the writers should
be able to avoid that pitfall and deliver an entertaining show.
Rating:
7.75/10
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