Constantine: City of Demons is an amazing romp that perfectly captures the character of the con man mage.
Constantine: City of Demons is the latest endeavor in DC’s foray into more mature animated fare. In keeping with the Hellblazer’s tone, the film is definitely gory and violent. However, it’s also heart-wrenching and is a morality play about sacrifice.
All DC fans know about John Constantine, but some people outside of this circle will elicit a “huh?” when presented with the name. That’s why the genius and accessibility of this film is the elegant exposition of the mage’s background. With appropriately inserted flashback scenes and unforced voiceover narrations, newcomers are given a quick primer on our main antihero without skipping a beat in the story.
Matt Ryan, who also plays the live-action incarnation of Constantine, lends his voice talents again. By now, the actor has such an association with the character that it’s analagous to Kevin Conroy’s stint as the Dark Knight. Ryan knocks it out of the park with his performance and shows why DC always goes back to him for this character.
The overall film (which collects the first five episodes—along with an extra 20 minutes of footage—of CW Seed’s web series of the same name) sticks true to the Hellblazer comics and presents a very compelling antihero. Without giving away any spoilers, we’ll just say the ending is very much earned and is not completely happy. Constantine is a tragic character and that’s why he has such an immense cult (pun intended) following. In the world of the Saint of Last Resorts, pain is like the constant action of inhaling and exhaling that’s necessary for life.
Of course, no Blu-ray is complete without a small collection of special features. And Constantine: City of Demons provides two very informative segments, with one of them coming from a WonderCon 2018 panel.
The Sorcerer’s Occultist – Understanding John Constantine
The producers give viewers a lesson on how matters of the occult function in the world of John Constantine. It’s an interesting take in that their interpretations have a lot to do with consciousness. Going in that direction, the producers explore psychology and how magic and the supernatural might be a type of science in this universe.
In Constantine’s dealings with the occult, there’s also a huge aspect of sacrifice. One cannot perform the type of magic Constantine does without losing something. This revelation certainly ups the stakes, allowing audiences to truly feel the high cost of our hero’s deeds.
Constantine: City of Demons WonderCon Panel 2018
EVP of Blue Ribbon Content at Warner Bros. Peter Girardi, Matt Ryan, and writer J.M. DeMatteis discuss the animation project and where it fits in the overall DC universe. The three also talk about their research efforts to bring Constantine to life. And, lastly, every panel isn’t complete without fan questions—which ranged from specific reasons behind production choices to “who would win in a fight?”
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Constantine: City of Demons is one of the best Hellblazer stories brought to a medium outside of comics. With Matt Ryan’s amazing performance as the mage, this tightly woven story is sure to satisfy any comic book fan who’s looking for a dark tale that’s not in the category of your traditional black-and-white heroics.
Constantine: City of Demons will be available on Digital and on Blu-ray on October 9, 2018
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of the Blu-ray we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.
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