Life, Death, Heaven and Hell - the big issues of existence are dealt with in the latest DC comic adaptation, but not in the way you might expect. "Hellblazer" was a comic which started off life as a character in "Swamp Thing" before graduating onto his own comic series. Created by legend Alan Moore in 1985, the lead character of John Constantine is described as "a working-class mage, a thief, a con-artist, former punk, and savior of the known universe from the forces of dark & light. Constantine is by turns a total bastard, a drunk, a trickster, an adrenaline junkie, a womanizer, and sometimes, when no one is looking, a nice guy. He has no superpowers, only a sharp wit, a little bit of magic, and a reputation Aleister Crowley would envy".

Now, Warner Bros. has turned the property into this Fall's "Constantine", an FX-filled supernatural action thriller starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, Peter Stormare & Shia LaBeouf . Don't expect an empty action movie though, this isn't touted as a blockbuster along "Hulk" or "X-Men" lines but rather a nicely twisted tale with a richer background and exploration of the Occult which should raise a few eyebrows - combined with some kick ass demon head busting action.

The plot follows the discovery of the Spear of Destiny (aka. The Spear of Longinus - the spear which pierced Jesus Christ's side on the cross during the Crucifixion) in New Mexico by 'The Scavenger' (Jesse Ramirez) who the proceeds to LA where forces come into play to try and obtain the item. Constantine himself, like the description above, is essentially a small-time alcoholic, chain smoking darkly humored demon hunter who's certainly no "Buffy" style hero - he sleeps with half-breeds, takes on demons (including a man made entirely of vermin) and generally hates the world but is trying to get his way into heaven as its preferable to end up there for eternity.

With the Spear now in play though, Constantine finds himself going up against evildoers like Balthazar (Rossdale), Satan and his son, and the archangel Gabriel (Swinton). Helping him along is a woman named Angela (Rachel Weisz) investigating the death of her twin sister under mysterious circumstances.

A few weeks before Christmas I found myself and several other journos in a limo on the 101 heading toward a place some would consider Hell on Earth - LA's South Central suburb of Compton. Its not the safest neighbourhood in the city, but it works beautifully for the crew who've shot quite a bit around the area and assembled some quite impressive sets there.

Our exploration took us inside the Angeles Abbey Memorial Park (pictured above). If the mausoleum looks familiar it should, its been seen several times before - most notably posing as a market bazaar in Marrakesh in ABC's spy drama "Alias". Like that show, the "Constantine" people redressed the interior to suit their purpose - the place posing as a reliquary housing all sorts of elaborate museum like pieces including paintings, statues, several sacrophagus, and assorted items all done in a way that looks like everything that's there has been sitting there for decades if not centuries. Culture wise its very mixed too with items from South East Asia, Nazi Germany, China, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, etc. Its also a hang of Midnite (Hounsou), a character who has helped Constantine in the past and who has something John will need to cross over into the Hell version of Los Angeles.


Essentially the building is a long hallway with a second storey balcony on which we were perched alongside two hundred or so stone wall coffins watching the filming below. The scene itself showed John & Midnite entering the reliquary and talking about what they proposed to do. Keanu was dressed in a simple black suit and white shirt, whereas Djimon was in a full pimp daddy outfit with a crushed velour copper suit, 60's wallpaper patterned shirt, loads of bling-blings (scropions), snakeskin Cuban heel boots and a nifty hat - suffice it to say its not something you'd wear out on the street (esp. in this neighbourhood) without being shot at - here's a peek.


Keanu wore the same outfit earlier that week when the crew used a nearby bowling alley where a character named Beeman (Max Baker) works out of - essentially a lot of equipment is stashed in the mechanical two-storey catwalks behind the pin-sorting machines. One of the film's key moments was shot there - Angela asking him what he plans to do, John's answer - f**k the balance of life, I'm taking these evildoers out. Throughout the whole conversation he assembles an item that would make any merchandiser or eBay collector drool - the film's most interesting prop called the 'Holy Shotgun' - essentially a big ass rifle with one of those revolving barrels and a horizontal mounting beam essentially making the whole thing look like a big cross (a flashy one too, its all wood and golden metal).

Today comes the first part of a special two-part examination of the movie. Along with this report today comes an interview with director Francis Lawrence, and a special interview with star Keanu Reeves about the movie whilst next week I chat with producer Lauren-Schuler Donner, Djimon Hounsou and assorted others on the project who spill lots more about what to expect so stay tuned.