“EEEE”
Took in Constantine last night, and it was…well, it was okay, I suppose. A bit drab and dreary and lacking in energy, even during the film’s infrequent action scenes. It only picked up when Gabriel (played by Tilda Swinton) and the extremely quirky Satan (played by Peter Stormare) showed up on screen. My girlfriend noted that it reminded her of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, only without the humor. It wasn’t bad, as such, just vaguely disappointing. Occasionally a reference to a specific story element from Hellblazer would pop up in the film, which would just remind me of how said element was handled better in the comics. And as pal Dorian notes, the character of John Constantine is fundamentally different, beyond the cosmetic changes.
I’m also very tired of movies with mumbled dialogue. Speak up, for God’s sake!
Speaking of Constantine, my scan from this post (regarding the pronunciation of Constantine’s name) is popping up here and there, and I hope everyone realizes that I don’t really think it makes any difference how they say his name. As I said, it just amused me. However, even though this wasn’t what I intended to do, when I bought the tickets at the box office last night, I didn’t use the “-teen” pronunciation. The other pronunciation just kinda popped out, I swear.
The only comic book related trailer I saw last night was Batman Begins, and the audience seemed somewhat interested in the goings-on up until the reveal of the Batman mask. At that point, you could hear a very soft wave of groans throughout the theatre.
I didn’t think it looked that bad, but maybe the general movie-going audience isn’t ready for a Bat-flick so soon after this disaster.
I also saw the trailer for Stealth, which pal Dorian also saw and made what is probably a true statement about it. However, Kid Chris saw the trailer during one of the three(!) times (in three different theatres, no less) he saw Constantine on Friday and he was telling me about it on Saturday. A robot plane that’s turned evil by a lightning strike? Fantastic. It can’t possibly be any good, but it looks fun in an entirely trashy sort of way. This trailer also got a more positive reaction from our audience than the Batman Begins one did.
So, in Captain America #172 (April 1974), Cap and the Falcon, shortly after a battle with Moonstone, make this insightful deduction:
And, since at this point in time, they’re fugitives from the law and lacking in resources, they decide to hitch a ride to Nashville:
…where they’re picked up by a very open-minded truck driver who’s willing to give a ride to the nice interracial gay couple (observation courtesy the ubiquitous pal Dorian, natch):
But upon arriving in Nashville, Cap and the Falcon encounter the Banshee, in what must be the character’s most unflattering portrayal ever:
And that’s pretty much all I have to say about this comic. I mostly just wanted to show you that last panel. Holy cow.
