Based on the wildly popular comic book character from DC Comics, seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine (Matt Ryan) is armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and a wickedly naughty wit. He fights the good fight — or at least he did. With his soul already damned to Hell, he’s decided to abandon his campaign against evil until a series of events thrusts him back into the fray, and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect the innocent. With the balance of good and evil on the line, Constantine will use his skills to travel the country, find the supernatural terrors that threaten our world and send them back to where they belong. After that, who knows…maybe there’s hope for him and his soul after all. Also starring Angelica Celaya as Zed, Charles Halford as Chas and Harold Perrineau as Manny.

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Video Quality

Constantine: The Complete Series debuted on Blu-Ray in 2016 with a lovely AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original 1.78:1. Having watched both the original broadcast and streaming versions of the show, this disc proves to be the ideal way to consume this as it provides a much more consistent and stable image. There are no egregious instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable here. The level of detail this presentation ekes out is quite striking, as all of the subtle details in the production design are easily visible.

The color palette stays fairly natural even within the prevalence of shadowy enclaves. Key locations and special effects display some wondrous instances of beautiful colors radiating off the screen. Black levels are nice and deep as they give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. The highlights do not succumb to any blooming in this presentation. Skin tones appear very natural across the entire cast. The Blu-Ray is quite stunning as it showcases the style of the series to much success.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with an especially active DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that creates a fully three-dimensional world. One of the standout aspects of this show is the score that aids the mood of the story. This perfectly sets the tone, and it creates a nicely enveloping soundscape that draws you deeper into the show. Dialogue always comes through clearly without being overshadowed by the score or any sound effects. Kinetic moments are given the necessary power in the mix with a forceful showing in the low end. Ambient sounds are also carefully placed in the rear channels. The track handles panning effects around the room really well so that everything sounds authentic to the world. The audio presentation here is fantastic on all levels.

Special Features

Constantine – On The Set: A minute-and-a-half-long introduction to the show from the cast and creative team.

2014 Comic-Con Panel Q&A with Cast and Creators: An 11-minute look at the Comic-Con panel featuring co-creators David S. Goyer and Daniel Cerone, Matt Ryan (“Constantine”), Harold Perrineau (“Manny”), Angélica Celaya (“Zed”) and Charles Halford (“Chas”). There are discussions about crafting a new version of the pilot, the casting of the titular character, the dynamics between the characters, and more.

DC Comics Night at Comic-Con 2014: A 30-minute featurette celebrating DC television of the time with a panel featuring the cast and creative team of Gotham, Arrow, The Flash, and eventually Constantine.

Trailer: A minute-and-a-half-long trailer is provided.

Final Thoughts

Constantine was a short-lived effort from DC television, but the character was beloved enough to be an important part of the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow team for quite a spell. This subsequent series may be where many really took to this interpretation of the character, but the original single-season series has a lot to appreciate as a supernatural drama that wasn’t made to survive on NBC. Matt Ryan fits this character like a glove, and it is great fun watching him interact with otherworldly beings. Some growing pains in this debut season likely would have been ironed out more with additional installments, but it is worth seeking out if you are a fan of the character. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring an amazing A/V presentation and a couple of fun special features. It is great to have the entire series available on Blu-Ray now. Recommended

Constantine: The Complete Series can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.