Well, the CONSTANTINE trailer has arrived, and it's a bit of a mixed bag. There are some sequences that seem effectively chilling, with some good demonic SFX in particular. But there are other parts that seem really hokey, really clean-cut and stagey in that bottom-drawer network TV kinda way, and the lead actress seems to be wooden as a plank. But of course, the show will rise or fall on the success of its leading man. John Constantine is one of the most charismatic protagonists in comics, and I can't quite put my finger on whether Matt Ryan is striking the right chord or not. He looks the part, and generally seems closer to the Constantine of the comics than Keanu Reeves did, at least. But - and this could be down to a 3-minute trailer not capturing the nuances of the role, I'll admit - he seems here to me pretty much a standard hero with some quips up his sleeves rather than the acerbic, manipulative anti-hero of the comics. And Matt Ryan's accent is VERY Welsh, with it only sporadically sounding like he's even attempting a Liverpool accent. Jury's out on this one, but I shall hope for the best. CONSTANTINE would be wise to draw some inspiration from its NBC stablemate, HANNIBAL, in trying to nail down a tone.
