Constantine (2005)

What it is vs. what it isn't? It isn't the comic onscreen. It has very little in common with the source material, and the blond Brit with the coat has become the dark-haired Keanu with the wrong coat. What they kept was the name and the cigarettes. Despite that, the film paints its own version of a world with confident strokes that feel believable even when things get mystical. It never strays into self-parody, and it never treats its subject matter as trite.
Ultimately, it's not the film I was expecting or hoping for, but it's one that justified its lack of faithfulness by being well-crafted. It deserved a sequel because the character had more to say.

3½ allegorical ant farms out of 5