(Reviewed by t.e.r.m.i.n.e.r.d.) - The latest in Hollywood's comic book-based films stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a Los Angeles supernatural detective who's been to Hell and back... Literally. Constantine, an avid smoker, spends his days investigating strange, demonic mysteries with his taxi-chauffer, Chas (LaBeouf). When Angela (Weisz- playing double roles), a local police officer, gets word that her troubled twin sister has apparently committed suicide, she teams up with our heroic detective to investigate what really happened. Constantine shows Angela the reality of Los Angeles- a horrific world where both angels and demons lurk on behalf of God and the Devil. The two become wrapped up in a twisted series of events and before they know it, the ultimate cliché sets in: the fate of the world is in their hands.

When the general movie-going public sees Reeves' name attached to anything, they can pretty much predict a wooden performance. However, he's actually tolerable in his latest Action-Thriller romp. Unlike the last two Matrix installments, Reeves is able to show signs of life with the character of John Constantine, giving him a bad-boy charm and wit. Still, that's not saying much. Reeves teams up again with his Chain Reaction co-star Rachel Weisz, who plays John's possible love interest. Alone, Weisz is somewhat successful in bringing her characters, Angela and Isabel Dobson, to life. She and Reeves show chemistry-- certainly much more than Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss had in any of the Matrix films-- and prove to be a decent on-screen pair. Both stars, however, are outdone in nearly everyway by ex-Bush frontman and Mr. Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale. Playing an eerie villian, Balthazar, Rossdale proves to be a very pleasant surprise in the acting department and could very well be the next big thing in Hollywood. Rossdale's talent nearly jumps off of the screen, making his character one to remember. Everything from his ominous eyes to his vampire hairline give the character a very intimidating presence. In supporting roles, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton (playing a very enjoyable arch-angel, Gabriel) and Peter Stromare (appearing as a memorable Lucifer) all do wonders with their parts, surely making up for Reeves lack of starring-role quality.

Written by a pair of fresh names, Kevin Brodbin and Frank Capello certainly provide the audience with some witty dialogue, entertaining action sequences and interesting characters. The film itself isn't so true to the comic it was based on, Hellblazer-- Constantine's English-decent is totally ignored and thrown out of the window, all because Reeves couldn't pull off the accent, for one. Luckily for Brodin and Capello, the quality of their writing makes up for their omissions. The interesting twists within the main plot-- including Constantine's lung cancer and attempts at buying his way into heaven after unsuccessfully trying to commit suicide-- prove to be quite effective.

Director Francis Lawrence, having built up a respectable reputation as a music video director for such names as Aerosmith and Britney Spears, makes his first-time appearance on the big screen with Constantine. He doesn't disappoint. With some interesting choice of camera angles/work, he's able to add some pleasantly odd twists in some scenes. There's promise in this man's film career, no doubt.

The special effects are, quite frankly, noticable and unrealistic, as far as actual characters goes. However, the CGI-created Hell is extremely eerie and discomforting, much like the Terminator films' post-apocalyptic Earth. Destroyed cars are scattered on what resembles a destroyed highway as far as the eye can see. Within those cars lurk demons, which strangely resemble Resident Evil's main creature, the Licker. The demons themselves are quite well-done and do provide the film with a sense of Horror, but they have little screen time.

Composers Klaus Badelt and Brian Tyler have some hefty resumes under their belts-- Bubba Ho-Tep and Gladiator, anyone?-- and they certainly do this film some justice. The main score is somewhat creepy, but not quite memorable. What is memorable is A Perfect Circle's "Passive", a melodic hard-rock tune heard early on in the film. It proves to be perfect for the film, both in atmosphere and as a introduction to Rossdale's Balthazar.

Constantine doesn't struggle much to survive. Although comparisons to Gregory Widen's The Prophecy are inevitable (especially with the characters of Gabriel and Lucifer), both films are entertaining, valuable and successfully spooky. Constantine brings life to the Supernatural Thriller genre with fresh characters, impressive action and well-written dialogue. It may not be worth the trip to the cinema for everyone, but it's certainly worth a rental or two.

Overall: B+