Constantine (2005) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Francis Lawrence

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf

Release Date: February 18, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo “Hellblazer” graphic novels and written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, Constantine tells the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back.  When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.  Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo comic series, ‘Constantine’ joins John Constantine, a struggling, bitter man who has been to hell and back and now spends his days chain smoking while trying to fight demonic entities and save the innocent in the hope of securing his place in heaven. When a police detective’s sister with unique talents ends up committing suicide, her sister is unwilling to accept her fate at face value. She reluctantly teams with Constantine to get to the bottom of her sister’s death and to hopefully find and stop those responsible for her fate which will see John forced to tackle a threat bigger than anything he’s seen prior.

‘Constantine’ is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello from a story by Brodbin, and Lawrence does a great job guiding along the action-packed ride with style, humor and heart. The film’s cast includes Keanu Reeves in the titular role, along with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale and Peter Stormare with the majority offering solid and fitting performances for the most part in their respective roles.

‘Constantine’ was first unleashed into theaters in February of 2005 and it still delivers a flashy, fast paced and wildly entertaining ride that may not perfectly follow the comics but does a tremendous job of crafting its own unique take that still stays true to many of the character’s more important traits, with a great performance by Keanu Reeves as the irritable, bitter and chain-smoking man with nothing to lose. It’s gorgeously crafted, tense, stylishly violent and even surprisingly emotional at times, with no shortage of impressive and striking visuals on hand throughout. If you’ve never seen the film but enjoy the character or are a big fan of Keanu Reeves then it’s definitely worth going out of your way to check out and the film still holds up remarkably well today, somehow already twenty years since it first hit theater screens.

‘Constantine’ arrives home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment perfectly timed for the film’s 20^th Anniversary. The new release features a full new Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 that breathes some gorgeous new life into the film and marks a massive upgrade from the older Blu-ray release that should have fans thrilled. The spectacular new UHD presentation is further boosted by a very nice and notably immersive Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that combined bring the film home looking and sounding better than it ever has before. The new 4K UHD release also features a brand new Featurette in addition to hours of previously released extras meaning you won’t have to miss out on any of the archival extras from the previous BD edition. If you’re a fan of the film or of star Keanu Reeves then this new 4K UHD release of ‘Constantine’ should be a real treat and is very highly recommended for anyone that’s already considering a purchase.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Constantine’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 presented in the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The news release for the 4K edition included the following note regarding the transfer:

“The 4K restoration of Constantine was completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) and was sourced from the original camera negative.  The restoration was overseen by director Francis Lawrence.”

The video presentation looks absolutely fantastic and delivers a clean, sharp and gorgeously detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any issues or glitches to be located throughout. It’s a truly impressive upgrade from the somewhat ancient, VC-1 encoded Blu-ray release (which was used as screencaps for this review) offering great detail noticeable on character specifics, surroundings and action sequences, holding up beautifully even during the darkly lit and fast moving moments. A great deal of it is further boosted by the Dolby Vision HDR which contributes more fine-tuned and lifelike colors noticeable on clothing, select backgrounds and throughout the fiery landscapes of hell, with deep, clean and crush free black levels that help to perfectly seal the deal. Overall, this is a marvelous Ultra High Definition presentation that delivers a rewarding and much needed upgrade for the DC film that should have fans ecstatic.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack sounds quite spectacular in its own right and offers a crisp, clean and wildly aggressive audio presentation throughout that offers a bit more immersion than the Blu-ray’s 5.1 soundtrack. It repeatedly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send everything from fiery hellscape noise to bullets, explosions and debris, plus a whole lot more regularly whipping throughout the various speakers while never allowing it to contradict or negatively impact any simultaneously occurring audio elements. Overall, this is a fantastic and hard hitting Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that’s a great deal of fun and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Constantine’ features an impressive collection of bonus material including one brand new Featurette and heaps of previously released supplements from the film’s Blu-ray release. The new Featurette ‘Constantine: Two Decades of Damnation’ (running approximately 15 minutes in length) offers interviews with Reeves and more reflecting on the film and its history. Also included are ‘2 Audio Commentaries’ the first of which is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Francis Lawrence and Producer Akiva Goldsman’ and the second an ‘Audio Commentary with Writers Kevin Brodbin and Frank A. Cappello’. We are also treated to some ‘Deleted Scenes and an Alternate Ending’ from the movie (running approximately 19 minutes altogether) and numerous Featurettes including ‘Channeling Constantine’ (running approximately 8 minutes), ‘Conjuring Constantine’ (approximately 16 minutes), ‘Director’s Confessional’ (5 minutes), ‘Collision with Evil’ (5 minutes), ‘Holy Relics’ (8 minutes), ‘Shotgun Shootout’ (2 minutes), ‘Hellscape’ (12 minutes), ‘Visualizing Vermin’ (9 minutes), ‘Warrior Wings’ (3 minutes), ‘Unholy Abduction’ (6 minutes), ‘Demon Face’ (2 minutes), ‘Constantine’s Cosmology’ (5 minutes), plus ‘Foresight: The Power of Pre-Visualization’ (14 minutes) and ‘A Writer’s Vision’ (1 minute) which features a brief animated short.

*Please note that the above images are taken from a previously released Blu-Ray disc and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 9/10

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‘Constantine’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD & Digital from DC – Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Constantine’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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