NBC Releases Trailer For Constantine

NBC dropped the first trailer for its new series Constantine today, and I must say, it looks pretty good. The style and the effects, for me, are spot on, and at the very least, in picking Welsh actor Matt Ryan (from Criminal Minds:Suspect Behavior, not the Atlanta Falcons QB), they manage to get his looks down, which is a step up from the the terrible 2005 movie adaptation with his wooden majesty Keanu Reeves. My feelings are also not hurt by the inclusion of the supercute Lucy Griffiths, one of the saving graces of the past season of True Blood.

For the uninitiated, Constantine is an adaptation of the DC/Vertigo series, Hellblazer, which tells the story of the crass con man/occult detective/blue-collar magician known as John Constantine (whose character was originally created by the great Alan Moore). Constantine is the quintessential antihero, often using terribly ruthless means to achieve his ends. With his deadpan wit and his general “give everyone the finger attitude”, he appears on the surface to be a cynical, self-serving ass, but his actions ultimately reveal a man who genuinely wants to do some good with his life.

Being a longtime Hellblazer fanatic, I am still very concerned about the ability of a major network series to be able to be true to the notoriously vulgar, dirty, and violent Vertigo comic series. It seems that they just plan to replace all the “fuck” and “shite” with extra helpings of “bollocks” and “bloody”, which I suppose I can get behind, but I remain convinced that to give John Constantine his due, this should be an HBO or Cinemax, or at least an FXX joint.

Anyhow, check out the trailer below. What do you think, ProFans? Is this one a winner or a flop?

http://youtu.be/uPE2oBnzROY