Keanu Reeves' Constantine would likely be more successful today but, unfortunately, the supernatural horror film was made a decade too early. Directed by Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend), Constantine was released in February 2005 and it was an adaptation of the DC/Vertigo's Hellblazer comics, specifically elements of the "Original Sins" and "Dangerous Habits" story arcs written by Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis. Constantine also starred Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Peter Stormare.
Comic book fans were immediately up in arms over the casting of Keanu Reeves as the titular warlock, especially since the comic book character originated by Alan Moore was a blond Englishman who was physically modeled after the musician Sting. Furthermore, Lawrence's film transplanted the action from Hellblazer's UK stomping grounds to Los Angeles, which completed the Americanization of John Constantine. Upon its release, Constantine was met with generally unkind reviews and it holds a 46% Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, its Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 72% Fresh, reflecting that audiences have been kinder and embraced Constantine in the 15 years since its release, turning it into a cult favorite.
Overall, Constantine was literally ahead of its time in 2005. Yet, despite Keanu being American and physically not resembling the comic book character, fans have grown to appreciate how true Constantine was to the comics' bleak, horror-filled aesthetic, thanks to the memorable performances by its cast and the spectacular visuals Lawrence brought to the screen. Although Constantine didn't set the world on fire 15 years ago, there's plenty of evidence that it would have fared much better if it had been released in the modern era dominated by comic book movies.
Looking at what the superhero movie landscape was like in 2005, Constantine was definitely an outlier. After the Batman franchise fizzled out in the late 1990s, the decade began with a shot in the arm for the genre in the form of X-Men in 2000, and then Marvel followed up with the crowd-pleasing 2003 sequel, X2: X-Men United. Although Ben Affleck's Daredevil didn't excite fans, the Marvel age of superhero movies took off thanks to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in 2002 and Spider-Man 2 in 2004, both of which are still beloved and regarded among the best comic book movies ever.
Constantine, about a cult favorite anti-hero from DC's mature audiences Vertigo imprint, didn't really have a chance against the bright, family-friendly Marvel heroes of the era. Indeed, Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, wouldn't hit theaters until June - four months after Constantine - and the acclaimed director's more grounded reboot of the Dark Knight was a modest hit that took time to win over wary audiences who were burned by Joel Schumacher's campy Batman movies in the 1990s.
Back in 2005, Keanu Reeves wasn't the beloved icon he is today. Reeves was just coming off the Matrix sequels, which were seen as disappointments compared to the original 1999 blockbuster. Although Keanu delivered a solid and earnest performance as John Constantine, he wasn't well-regarded for his acting chops, whereas, in the 15 years since, Reeves won over audiences by reinventing himself as the silent but deadly, gun-toting and dog-loving action hero in the John Wick franchise. Plus Keanu has also returned to his comedic roots by reprising his iconic role of Ted "Theodore" Logan in Bill & Ted Face the Music. Nowadays, Keanu Reeves is more popular than ever, and he could likely sell a Constantine movie and turn it into a hit, but that just wasn't the case 15 years ago.
Constantine received an R-rating, which became an albatross around its neck because it shut out younger audiences and the R was seen as a negative for a movie based on a comic book. In their San Diego Comic-Con panel celebrating the 15th anniversary of Constantine, Francis Lawrence and producer Akiva Goldsman blamed the fact that their film depicted "demons" as the reason why the MPAA cursed them with an R instead of a PG-13 rating.
However, if they made Constantine (or a sequel today), Lawrence would happily pursue the R-rating and would likely get rewarded for it by audiences and critics. The comic book movie genre has changed significantly in the last 15 years, thanks to Marvel Studios ushering in the shared universe model, which forced every other studio to adapt and find ways to compete with the Marvel juggernaut. After years of being championed by his fans, Zack Snyder's dark and gritty take on Justice League is now being rewarded by HBO Max releasing his Snyder Cut in 2021. Meanwhile, 2017's Logan ended Hugh Jackman's 17-year run as Wolverine with an R-rated, ultra-violent tearjerker while Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool films proved raunchy R-rated superhero comedies would also be embraced by audiences.
But the biggest R-rated success for Warner Bros., by far, was Joker, which was released in 2019 and earned critical raves, garnered Joaquin Phoenix a Best Actor Academy Award along with 11 Oscar nominations, and the uncompromising film grossed over $1-billion worldwide. Joker is undeniable proof that the comic book movie has grown up and that audiences crave intensely adult material starring DC characters. The current moviegoing landscape would be fertile ground for an R-rated Constantine film and if it were released today, Lawrence and Reeves' Constantine would receive a far warmer reception.
John Constantine's pop culture profile has also risen significantly in the decade-and-a-half since Lawrence's film hit theaters. In 2005, Hellblazer and the character of John Constantine weren't well-known to general audiences but that has changed, especially after Matt Ryan's comic book-accurate version had his own NBC series in 2014 before he became a popular part of The CW's Arrowverse as part of Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow, where John is a series regular. J.J. Abrams is rumored to be working on a new movie starring John Constantine as well as the warlock being part of the magical super team called Justice League Dark.
Another major change in the genre is that audiences welcome different versions of characters across multiple media. Both Marvel and DC are embracing the Multiverse concept, which allows multiple interpretations of their superheroes to exist at once, trusting that the fans can differentiate and appreciate each version. Indeed, DC Films is planning The Flash movie to have Michael Keaton's Batman return, while Ben Affleck's Batman stars in Zack Snyder's Justice League and Rob Pattinson's Batman headlines a new movie franchise going forward. For John Constantine, the fact that Matt Ryan's comic book-accurate version is so beloved by fans takes the pressure off Keanu Reeves' incarnation, which can now be looked at and appreciated as a different but novel take on the same dark magician.
With the Multiverse concept, every past, present, and future version of a comic book character can co-exist and is considered independently canonical. This means that there's ample room for both Matt Ryan's TV version of Constantine and Keanu Reeves' Constantine - and they are both considered equally valid variations on the same character. All in all, if Keanu's Constantine were released today, it wouldn't invalidate the Arrowverse's version (or vice versa) and fans would likely embrace each as their own singular takes on the chain-smoking British sorcerer. While it's a shame that Keanu Reeves' Constantine was so far ahead of its time and couldn't benefit from today's comic book movie landscape, Francis Lawrence's film definitely helped blaze the trail for others to follow.
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