The devil’s in the details, the old adage goes, and it’s never been more true than it is in Constantine. With set and prop design that’s to die for, atmosphere that oozes out of every scene (sometimes literally) and just a dash of dark humor,  it’s no wonder this one-of-a-kind take on John Constantine has become a cult classic. Throw in special effects and a visual style that both scream 2005 and the movie’s basically a time capsule to an era gone by.

But, you might be asking, does it still hold up twenty years later? Absolutely. Constantine is a film that manages to be both a product of its time and timeless simultaneously, a magic trick that only the Hellblazer himself can pull off.

First, we have to acknowledge that the John Constantine we meet in the 2005 film is different from the character you know from the comics. Portrayed by Keanu Reeves as a dark-haired American antihero, this Constantine doesn’t have a long legacy of sorcery in his ancestry. His involvement in the occult feels more like a malevolent curse, and its gloom affects everything he does, from his work to his jokes. Constantine has some of the best lines in the movie, practically worth the price of admission by themselves. He’s also not super nice, so he does have that in common with his comic book counterpart, at least.

The darkness is so thick in Constantine that it manifests physically in almost every scene. Shadows become creatures themselves, a sticky black ooze covers objects of evil and no surface is clean or shiny. The atmospheric film makes the consistent dread feel palpable, achieving the same effect of flipping through the pages of comic book to see the overall tone set by the artist and colorist.

Packed with similar rich details, the sets themselves tell a story. It’s worth pausing the film on any scene just to look at everything. The lined-up jugs of holy water in John’s apartment. The luxurious disorder of Papa Midnite’s domain. The stacks of newspapers spilling over in Father Hennesy’s living room. Every single thing on Beeman’s cluttered ceiling, desk and shelves in the back of the bowling alley. (The WD-40 mixed in with occult artifacts is a nice touch.) And the books. So many books, littering almost every scene, adding to the weight and significance of the religious aspects of the story. Constantine is a master class in set design.

John Constantine finds most of the information he needs and his next move in the yellowed pages of those books instead of from a few swipes on a smartphone screen—this was 2005, after all. In fact, it’s all so very 2005. It’s seen in the costumes, the songs playing in the background and, naturally, the special effects. But it’s part of the charm of Constantine. It’s the religious themes, symbols and characters that add the timelessness to the story. Those secrets could just as easily be explored in 2025 and feel just as compelling.

If it’s been a while since you last saw Keanu Reeves in Constantine, it’s time to give it another watch. Not only because it was one the first wave superhero films before they became a mainstay in theaters, but also because it embraces being one unreservedly. (Special shoutout to Peter Stormare for eating up his scenes as the devil.) Heck, I bet you didn’t know—or perhaps have forgotten—that it even has one of the first sequel-teasing post-credits scenes in a comic book movie. Sorry, other superheroes, Constantine did it before it was cool.

And, best of all, there’s no better time than right now to rewatch! To commemorate its 20th anniversary, Constantine is now available in 4K Digital and Blu-ray. Buy or rent it today to see more delicious details than ever as you embrace the movie in its full 2005 glory.
 

Kelly Knox writes about all-ages comics and animation for DC.com and is the author of several nonfiction books about some of your favorite film franchises. Follow her on X at @kelly_knox and Bluesky at @kelly-knox.com to talk superheroes, comics and pop culture.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Kelly Knox and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.