Francis Lawrence’s Constantine (2005) is exactly the kind of movie I would have loved as a teenager. The main character has a kind of angst that won’t quit, due to the fact that he’s terminally ill and knows that he’s going to Hell because of one measly mortal sin he committed as a youngster. He is feared and respected because of his powers. When I was fifteen, I would have wanted to be John Constantine. Who cares about death and demons? I just wanted to be feared and respected!

I like this movie because it has a message that I should have heard when I was a teenager. I was so wrapped up in the quest to build myself up that I didn’t stop to think that sacrifice was the real answer to my misery. Constantine has the same problem. In a conversation with the angel Gabriel, he asks, “What does [God] want from me?” Gabriel answers, “Only the usual self-sacrifice—belief.” Constantine is so wrapped up in himself that he can’t understand why his work doesn’t qualify as self-sacrifice. “I’m pulling demons out of little girls,” he says, “Who’s that for?” But what Constantine fails to grasp is that exorcism is not something that he does for God, but more of an “extreme sport” (so say the director Francis Lawrence and producer Akiva Goldsman on the DVD commentary). Gabriel calls him on this by pointing out, “Everything you’ve ever done, you’ve only done for yourself.” As difficult as it is for Constantine to hear, it appropriately describes his current motivation. The rest of the movie is about Constantine trying to learn the difference, and I believe the story remains true to the message of the Bible.

The movie is filled with the characters’ struggles over various religious issues, from the question of why suicide is a sin to whether or not God has a plan for us. “God’s a kid with an ant farm,” says Constantine bitterly. “He’s not planning anything.” In this sense, the movie has much more of an Old Testament feel. Mankind’s place in the struggle between Heaven and Hell comes straight out of Job: our lives sometimes seem to be a struggle because of some ongoing game between God and Satan. This notion chafes on Constantine’s nerves, and I think it’s one we Christians can struggle with as well. In the end, though, it doesn’t stop him from doing the right thing.