Imagine that you could see demons and angels, were on a first name basis with both God and Satan’s right-hand men and made a living casting demons out of other people.

Then it’s a good bet that your name is John Constantine.

In the continuing wave of comic book movies, Constantine stands alone as the darkest one yet. While it contains a main character dealing with a personal struggle—just like Spiderman, Elektra, Daredevil and The Punisher—its subject matter stretches to include heaven, hell and the war for Earth.

Another major difference from the comic books we’re used to is that John Constantine, played by Keanu Reeves, is quite possibly the farthest thing from a superhero we’ve seen yet. Ever since he was small, he could see things that no one else could. When no one would believe him, he attempted to kill himself. He was revived, but he had been clinically dead for twenty minutes and the damage had been done.

Because the church believes that attemptive suicide is a mortal sin, he has no choice but to go to hell when he dies. He then discovers that he has lung cancer and he has less than a year before he is to die. So he spends his days sending demons back to hell in hope of buying his way into heaven.

When her twin sister apparently commits suicide from jumping off the roof of the psychiatric ward where she was staying, police detective Angela Dodson, played by Rachel Weisz, must pair up with the reluctant hero to figure out the mystery of her sister’s death, and to discover why there are demons after her.

This movie is quite remarkable. The special effects are spectacular and the plot is not so overused that you can predict the outcome before the movie is halfway over. The acting is nothing to laugh at and you find yourself rooting for Constantine. Some of the concepts were fresh, such as the fact that the angel Gabriel is in fact a woman and that angel wings are not the pearly white ones we are used to. However, some things make you scratch your head. The Spear of Destiny somehow plays a role in this, but we’re not quite sure how. And which side is Gabriel on?

Another thing you should watch out for is that this movie is for people with open minds. Constantine describes God as “a kid with an ant farm” when it comes to humans and Satan is especially witty, telling Constantine after he’s cut his wrists that “if you cut too deep, you hit the tendons and finger movement goes out the door.” The movie is definitely not for the faint of heart.

So if you don’t mind taking a visit to hell or hanging out for a few minutes with Satan, then you should go check this movie out.

I give it three stars.