Constantine: City of Demons 4K/Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros)

Constantine: City of Demons is an 2018 animated web series that was put together as a full length feature for home video. It was directed by Doug Murphy (Justice League Action, Young Justice, & Mighty Ducks). It’s an adaptation of the Vertigo graphic novel Hellblazer: All His Engines by Mike Carey & Leonardo Manco. It was produced by David S. Goyer (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Krypton, Assassination Nation, & Da Vinci’s Demons) & Greg Berlanti (Doom Patrol, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, & Legends of Tomorrow). It’s connected to live action Constantine series & Justice League Dark film. It was originally separated into 5 episodes for The CW’s online streaming platform CW Seed.

John Constantine (played by: Matt Ryan from Constantine, Justice League Dark, Arrow, & Legends of Tomorrow) wakes up from his daily nightmares in London. He is visited by his old friend Chas Chandler (played by: Damian O’Hare from Justice League Action, Hatfields & McCoys, Hell on Wheels, & Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) that he hasn’t seen in over a decade. Chas asks John to help his daughter Trish (played by: Laura Bailey from Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files, Dragon Ball Z, Detective Conan, & Resident Evil: Degeneration) who has fallen into a coma. He suspects Dark Magic is involved. Chas’s wife Renee (played by: Emily O’Brien from Get Married or Die, The Young and the Restless, The Bad Batch, & Restoration) is hesitant at first but she agrees to let him look into the situation. John goes to Los Angeles to help them out. He summons the Nightmare Nurse Asa (played by: Laura Bailey from Monster High, Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind, Naruto: Shippûden, & From the Dark) for assistance. Renee tells Asa about John & Chas’s troubled friendship. Their mentor Alex Logue was using his daughter to conjure the demon Nergal. John & Chas investigate the strange events while trying to save Trish. They meet Beroul (played by: Jim Meskimen from Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justice League: Doom, & The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) who is hiding his true identity, he knows them from the past. John is forced to work for the monster in order to save his friend’s daughter. He brings in Aztec death god Mictlantecuhtli (played by: Rick D. Wasserman from Batman: The Killing Joke & Justice League vs. Teen Titans) to create a distraction so he can finish his plan. All hell breaks loose between these unholy creatures. Can they escape these evil demons before it’s too late for Trish????

Constantine hasn’t had much luck when it comes to adaptations. The movie wasn’t exactly high praised & the television series only lasted one season when all the other superhero shows were killing it at the same time. I think John Constantine is one of the most under-rated characters when it comes to comic book or graphic novel material. Matt Ryan has embraced the character more than any actor so far. He’s made several appearances since the TV show got cancelled & he nails it every time. That’s definitely one of the best things about City of Demons. The rest of the supporting vocal cast was good & the animation was great for this. I love that they didn’t water anything down here & pushed it to match the original source material. That’s one that you can always expect with this franchise, it will be real & true to the dark universe it lives in. It was very fun & entertaining, it had a nice script that kept your attention the whole time. Hopefully, more adaptations will follow or maybe even a new live action film someday, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 2160p (1.78:1) transfer with HDR10 looks stunning in 4K! The HD makes this a major improvement over the standard blu ray. Sometimes these animated features honestly don’t look much different on their UHD releases but this one definitely does. It has a English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track for the 4K disc. All of the dialogue is very clean, the action / suspense is elevated, & the music has a nice boost to it. The blu ray has more variety when it comes to the audio which includes French: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, & Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 on there. It also has English SDH & French subtitles. The blu ray has additional subtitles which include German SDH, Japanese, & Spanish.

Let’s discuss the special features provided by Warner Bros on the blu ray! “The Sorcerer’s Occultist: Understanding John Constantine” is almost 14 minutes. It has interviews with director Doug Murphy, producer Butch Lukic, executive producer David Goyer & author/occult expert Jason Louv. They chat about the character & his history. They mention he’s nothing like any other superhero. They talk about the noir & old school detective vibe he has. They bring up previous & other material involved with him. He go into his world & how different it is compared to the others. “Constantine: City of Demons WonderCon Panel—2018 ” is almost 21 minutes. It features actor Matt Ryan, screenwriter J.M. DeMatteis & Peter Girardi from Blue Ribbon. They chat about the character & City of Demons. Matt Ryan mentions how voice over work compares to live action. They say they hope to do more with Constantine in the future. They talk about Justice League Dark & Legends of Tomorrow. They answer questions from the crowd. It has a variety of DC related “Trailers”. It has a slipcover, digital code, & a blu ray copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!