PILOT REVIEW: Constantine

CONSTANTINE

Starring: Matt Ryan, Charles Halford, and Harold Perrineau

Based on Characters from DC Comics, Developed by Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer
Written by Daniel Cerone & David S. Goyer, Directed by Neil Marshall

THE PREMISE: Constantine is a new drama based on characters from the "Hellblazer" comics. John Constantine (Matt Ryan) is a supernatural detective who fights for good, and also works as an exorcist. He is trying to deal with his murky past while protecting the world from growing dark threats. Rounding out the main cast is his longtime friend Chas Chandler (Charles Halford) and Manny (Harold Perrineau), an angel assigned to watch over Constantine. Lucy Griffiths was also prominent in the pilot as Liv Aberdeen, but she was dropped from the show over the summer.

THE GOOD: Nothing. This show is the opposite of anything I'm interested in.

THE BAD: That being said, I do feel like show that I may not be otherwise interested in can suck me in if they are quality. The Dracula pilot did that last year as did Grimm a couple years ago (though I didn't end up sticking with either show). I can't comment on how good or bad this show was to people who are familiar with the comics/movie, but I can say there was nothing there to draw a casual observer in. It was hard for me to pay attention the whole time, but it seemed like it was just a bunch of demon-possessed peoples and really intense exorcisms followed by the players involved "recovering" from it. That's about all I got from this show. The mood was dark, but I didn't think the cinematography captured the intended mood as well as a show like Gotham has. Also, voice-overs are over-used in dramas as well as comedies.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm glad the one hour I spent watching Constantine is over with, and I'll never give it another look. I don't know if it's one of the worst shows to come through in recent years, because it's the show I've been least interested in that's come out recently. It's hard for me to get a gauge on quality considering how disinterested I was, but I feel safe saying I don't think it's a real quality show either.