Keanu Reeves plays a Neo-like character in this biblical action movie based on a comic book.

With its intense focus on a distinctly Roman Catholic metaphysical cosmology, Constantine acts less like a typical comic book adaptation than it does an attempt to turn Paradise Lost into a blockbuster action movie.

And the result is not nearly so dire as one might fear. Reeves again demonstrates his fondness for characters who wear black and carry the fate of humanity on their wiry shoulders as Constantine, a damned soul trying to play himself back into God’s good graces by acting as a sort of freelance exorcist. There’s some blather about the balance between good and evil and an eternal wager between God and Satan, all of which involves Rachel Weisz’s cop Angela. Like her twin sister who committed suicide, Angela has psychic tendencies, and may be part of a grand plan by Satan’s son Mammon to enter our plane of existence.

CONSTANTINE ( * * * )
Directed by Francis Laurence.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz and Tilda Swinton.
(Rated R, 121 mins.) At the Century Cinemas Del Monte Cinema, Century Park Seven and Northridge Cinemas.

Since this is a comic book adaptation—based on the DC/Vertigo series Hellblazer—there are certain familiar elements in play. Director Francis Lawrence—a music video veteran making his first feature—goes for that gloomy, atmospheric vibe that music video veterans so adore. The action beats come at regular intervals, pitting Contantine in cool battles against things like a demon whose body is a conglomeration of insects. And there’s a gallery of colorful supporting characters: Constantine’s eager apprentice Chas (Shia LaBeouf); Hennessy (Pruitt Taylor Vince), the troubled priest with his own psychic torments; and Beeman (Max Baker), Constantine’s Q-like supplier of anti-demon weaponry.

Despite the triumphs, there’s also a slightly off-center quality to the whole enterprise, starting with Constantine. Nobody’s kidding anybody any more about Keanu Reeves’ versatility as an actor, but he has the requisite gaunt presence for this character—a terminally ill grunt in the battle against evil. The production design shows some real visual ingenuity, from the scooped-out skulls of prowling demons to a vision of hell that resembles the ultimate L.A. traffic jam (not an inappropriate analogy, for those who’ve never endured one). And there are stylish touches like having Angela obscured in silhouette during one exchange with Constantine, as though she were in a confessional.

Mostly, though, there’s that whole Miltonian sensibility that permeates the film. Tilda Swinton turns in creepy work as an androgynous angel with a dark edge, nicely matched by Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale as a slick demon. The tug-of-war between heaven and hell frames the entire narrative, including the envy of angels for the preferred place of humans in creation. And in the finest tradition of Paradise Lost, the best moments all go to Satan himself, played here by a magnificently scene-stealing Peter Stormare. Somehow it all feels appropriately…epic.

It also feels familiar, which hinders Constantine whenever it’s not going for the literary gusto. There’s a bit of Exorcist here, a bit of Blade there, a touch of Hellboy, and echoes of plenty of other supernatural thrillers. But it’s clever, and it’s got guts, and sometimes guts are enough. Forgive Constantine its scriptural trespasses as it delivers the most entertaining divine warfare this side of Paradise.