Written by Ernie Altbacker
Directed by Matt Peters
Constantine (to the Spectre): "I accept my punishment. No more tricks."
It's been less than a year since John Constantine (Matt Ryan) got benched from Legends Of Tomorrow and only a few days since the show's cancellation was announced. Fortunately,in animation form, this particular version of the character has some life left in them as this particular showcase demonstrated.
Following the events of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, the Spectre (Lou Diamond Phillps) has decided that John can spend eternity in the House of Mystery for his interference in the universe. While it's later revealed that the Spectre's decision was meant to be merciful, Constantine's experience was anything but that.
Trapped in the magical house, Constantine had all of his friends and even a family with Zatanna and two kids named Della and Jack but rather repeatedly they turned into demons. Also repeatedly was the way that Constantine kept getting himself killed by his loved ones every time he learned more about his punishment.
The deaths are inventive and if this was a live action feature, they'd be wonderfully gory, silly and definitely meriting an R Rating. Saying that, I've never been a fan of the Constantine/Zatanna pairing and nor do I buy the 'love of my life' bit here. With the comics embracing Constantine with male characters in varying continuities, it's high time these animated movies did similar and no, a joke about King Shark doesn't cut it. Get with the times, DC animated.
Outside of that though, we did get an amusing bit where Constantine managed to set Nergal, Beezelbum and Ashok against one another in order to escape the House of Mystery. It's a classic Constantine bit, followed by a revealing confrontation with the Spectre and Constantine getting a grim reminder that the universe isn't quite done with him yet.
- The showcase clocks in at 26 minutes with accompanying shorts for Blue Beetle/The Question and The Losers and Kamandi.
- I really don't like the animation for Constantine in this one. Definitely a downgrade compared to his previous looks in the animated universe.
- Let's just say toilet water can be used for a spell when no other source of water is available.
- Chronology: A hell of a time for Constantine in his predicament.
Constantine: The House Of Mystery has it's moments. Some top notch voice acting, inventive kills (loved the tree eating him) and proper consequences for previous actions. It's solid stuff and hopefully a reassuring sign that even if we've lost Matt Ryan in live action, we still have him in animated form as John Constantine for the foreseeable future.
Rating: 7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment