The premiere episode of Constantine wrapped up a little while ago on NBC.
Based on the wildly popular comic book series “Hellblazer” from DC Comics, seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine (Matt Ryan, “Criminal Minds”) is armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and a wickedly naughty wit. He fights the good fight – or at least he did. With his soul already damned to hell, he’s decided to abandon his campaign against evil until a series of events thrusts him back into the fray, and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect the innocent. With the balance of good and evil on the line, Constantine will use his skills to travel the country, find the supernatural terrors that threaten our world and send them back where they belong. After that, who knows… maybe there’s hope for him and his soul after all.
What did you think? Was it too tepid, or did it hit the right marks for a Hellblazer adaptation on a network broadcast channel? Use the comment section below and share your thoughts about the show.
9 Comments
Surprised me how much I liked it. I have only read a few issues of the comic but it seemed to keep the style of ot.
I’ve been looking forward to this a bit too much to be objective, but I think it’s safe to say Matt Ryan is about as solid a Constantine as you could ask for without the carton a day habit. Trading out Silk Cuts for a Zippo seems a small price to pay after the whole movie thing.
It’s interesting that they seem to be going with a good bit of Hellblazer backstory rather than New 52.
I really liked how they handled the supernatural and occult. It just jumped right in without having to explain backlogs of lore which could have been boring as heck. I’m a big fan of the Supernatural TV show so this is right up my alley. The show is pretty dark though. I expected a little more light heartedness and humor. Isn’t Constantine supposed to be sarchastic? Maybe I’m just reading the comics wrong. Anyways, I also was excited when Link (Harold Perrineau) from the Matrix appeared. The show’s production values are top notch (for a TV show). And I like that it’s later at night so that they can use adult language and show gore. If there’s one thing that needs improvement, it’s the jump cuts. Too many ackweird transitions. Maybe the pacing was a little too fast too. Leave some stuff for the rest of the season.
PS: So many DC Easter Eggs!!! I saw Pandora’s Box and Doctor Fate’s helmet. What’d you see?
I’m still a little on the fence, but the premier episode was pretty entertaining. I was a tad worried that the series would be closer to “Supernatural” (which I like, don’t get me wrong), but while it did have a similar feel, I was pleasantly surprised that it was visually more like a toned-down horror movie.
yeah, i got a very strong “supernatural” take from the pilot, especially the last 5 minutes or so setting up where the series will go, with the characters rolling out the map to all the hotspots of activity, and Constantine basically giving the “i’m the first, last and only line of defense, etc.” speech.
i liked the Constantine portrayal more often than not (i always imagined Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer would’ve made a really good Constantine if they got him right after that series). i really liked the special effects, and i had no idea Neil Marshall (who directed Dog Soldiers and The Descent, two really great horror films, as well as a bunch of Game of Thrones episodes) directed this. i only found out after looking it up, and the pilot didn’t “feel” like something he directed…his films are fairly gritty, and the show has been pretty “slick” so far.
high hopes, though. i’ll give it a solid B. hopefully it lasts the season.
I’m a little surprised not to have hated it. Even the changes that I didn’t care so much for (regarding Chas and John’s relative power-levels) didn’t kill it for me. Hopefully, the story-telling will maintain this tone, and get more complex…
I really appreciated that they went back to the first dozen issues of the book, which many people ignore in favor of the higher-profile Garth Ennis issues…
Looked very cheap, special effects wise.
No gravitas to the storyline – rather boring.
Matt Ryan is cool, but I can’t believe he is going to wear a shirt and tie every episode.
Everyone wants to like it – I get that.
Too much cautious and measured praise. Anything can get better – that is not the point. This isn;t good.
It didn’t suck – but it wasn’t great and it was barely able to be qualified as good.
When his hands ignited at the end, it was a practical effect, non-CGI, fine, but Ryan looked more like he was afraid of going up.
Ryan’s Constantine is too cool – no pathos or gravitas comes through.
Everyone wants to like this – let’s hope it will improve
I really enjoyed the episode. I must admit that I haven’t read a single Hellblazer comic though. But I really liked the tone of the show and the acting. That means Gotham is still at the bottom of my list of current comic-based tv shows. Good first episode, let’s hope it gets even better.
New to Constantine. Haven’t read a single issue. But, I like it! Maybe that’s a good thing. Bring in the people who are not familiar iwth the whole Constantine universe and can like\dislike the series on it’s own merits.