10 Comic Book Films That Ignored The Source (That Fans Still Loved)

When fans of the superb 1990s DC/Vertigo series Hellblazer heard the inevitable movie adaptation would star an American lead playing an American Constantine, things were not off to a good start.

The 2005 Francis Lawrence movie stars the breathtaking Keanu Reeves in the role of everyone’s favourite Liverpudlian magic trickster, adapting the 1991 Garth Ennis “Dangerous Habits” Hellblazer storyline onto the big screen.

Very little of the original plot would eventually make its way on film, but the results oddly worked better than expected.

The action-horror-noir flick made the right calls in not taking itself too seriously, building a great cast between Tilda Swinton as the angel Gabriel and a very young Shia LaBeouf as a very improbable sidekick, while focusing on making a fun film rather than imitating and already superb comic book.

While a vocal audience still would have preferred a “proper” Hellblazer movie, Keanu Reeves’ Constantine is either beloved as a cult movie or by many fans as a guilty pleasure.