Hellboy «««
PG-13, 122m. 2004
Cast & Credits: Ron Perlman (Hellboy), John Hurt (Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm), Selma Blair (Liz Sherman), Rupert Evans (John Myers), Karel Roden (Grigori Rasputin), Jeffrey Tambor (Tom Manning), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien). Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Peter Briggs based on the comic books by Mike Mignola. Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
“Unique.”
That’s the word John Hurt’s wise old Professor Bloom says to the new FBI agent he has personally recruited to describe the kind of work they do for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a top secret government agency in Newark, New Jersey.
“That’s a word you’ll hear quite a bit around here,” Bloom says.
Unique is just one of the few positive things to say about Hellboy; a fun, dark, imaginative popcorn movie filled with intriguingly strange characters that comes in a time where a lot of what of I see on the big screen lately seems to be inspired by something better.
Perhaps my reason for embracing it comes from the fact my only familiarity with the story is the title itself seeing the graphic novels amongst the latest assortment of titles at the comic book store every week. I am familiar with the origins of Batman, Spiderman, Superman, the Hulk, and now Daredevil and X-Men, thanks to the recent big budget movie adaptations. Up until now, I had no idea who or what Hellboy was or where he came from.
At first sight Hellboy is nothing more than a little red devil baby with tiny horns and a wagging tail with a taste for Baby Ruth bars and beer. “Hellboy” as Professor Bloom names him was spawned off by the Nazis as part of an experiment thwarted by American forces during World War II. He is almost like a rendition of that little devil that might often speak to us in our minds whenever we’re thinking about doing something mischievous.
The creature grows up to be a red colored, muscle bound giant with a deformed right hand. I assume that right hand is some sort of key to get into Hell. Then there are those two noticeably round wooden bottle cap corks on his forehead which I learn later are remnants of the large horns he sprouted while growing up.
The character is played by Ron Perlman, an actor who I have only known from his role on television’s Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990) and who from the start, looks like he is enjoying playing the part. When he isn’t out tracking down creatures of the underworld, Hellboy spends his time spying on his girlfriend, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a pyrotechnic with the ability to start fires. He is a cigar chomping, beer loving beast who underneath all that red skin is a guy with a heart who’s looking for love.
“How am I ever going to get a girl,” Hellboy complains. “I drive around in a garbage truck,” in reference to the fact every time he and his agents are sent out-the red colored devil has to ride in a van to conceal his bizarre appearance.
I’ll admit Hellboy reminded me of other movies having to do with the paranormal. On one level, it is like The X-Files (1993-2002) where there is this underground top secret organization who investigate as Bloom says, “things that go bump in the night. We are the ones who bump back.” At one point early on, news clippings of front page stories are shown about some walking demon with a tail where the pictures are always blurry.
There is even an FBI Head of Special Operations (Jeffrey Tambor) who goes on national TV to debunk such rumors of a walking demon running around New York comparing the appearances to how pictures of UFOs are always blurry.
“God knows, people manage to get good pictures at a wedding,” he says.
On another level, beings like Hellboy, Liz, and in particular Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), some sort of scholarly alien looking man fish who was born the day President Lincoln was assassinated and has the ability to read minds, are like a twisted version of the X-Men. Society would never accept them for their looks or powers.
If the film has any shortcomings, I found it to be with the confusing plot involving the Nazi villains led by Rasputin (Karel Roden) who wants to bring about the end of the world going through the same time portal that Hellboy came from. I didn’t care so much about the forces of darkness as I did for the big red colored muscle bound devil, his fire spawning girlfriend, and the talking green fish who might just be a direct descendant from the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).
Hellboy is a movie with an originally clever idea (demon from Hell fights on the side of good) with an exceptionally memorable hero who just wants to be like the rest of us. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a sequel, if Hellboy comes out of hiding just to set the record straight with those comic artists who’ve been cashing in on his name for years and who he says have never drawn his eyes correctly.
©4/7/04
PG-13, 122m. 2004
Cast & Credits: Ron Perlman (Hellboy), John Hurt (Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm), Selma Blair (Liz Sherman), Rupert Evans (John Myers), Karel Roden (Grigori Rasputin), Jeffrey Tambor (Tom Manning), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien). Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Peter Briggs based on the comic books by Mike Mignola. Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
That’s the word John Hurt’s wise old Professor Bloom says to the new FBI agent he has personally recruited to describe the kind of work they do for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a top secret government agency in Newark, New Jersey.
“That’s a word you’ll hear quite a bit around here,” Bloom says.
Unique is just one of the few positive things to say about Hellboy; a fun, dark, imaginative popcorn movie filled with intriguingly strange characters that comes in a time where a lot of what of I see on the big screen lately seems to be inspired by something better.
Perhaps my reason for embracing it comes from the fact my only familiarity with the story is the title itself seeing the graphic novels amongst the latest assortment of titles at the comic book store every week. I am familiar with the origins of Batman, Spiderman, Superman, the Hulk, and now Daredevil and X-Men, thanks to the recent big budget movie adaptations. Up until now, I had no idea who or what Hellboy was or where he came from.
At first sight Hellboy is nothing more than a little red devil baby with tiny horns and a wagging tail with a taste for Baby Ruth bars and beer. “Hellboy” as Professor Bloom names him was spawned off by the Nazis as part of an experiment thwarted by American forces during World War II. He is almost like a rendition of that little devil that might often speak to us in our minds whenever we’re thinking about doing something mischievous.
The creature grows up to be a red colored, muscle bound giant with a deformed right hand. I assume that right hand is some sort of key to get into Hell. Then there are those two noticeably round wooden bottle cap corks on his forehead which I learn later are remnants of the large horns he sprouted while growing up.
The character is played by Ron Perlman, an actor who I have only known from his role on television’s Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990) and who from the start, looks like he is enjoying playing the part. When he isn’t out tracking down creatures of the underworld, Hellboy spends his time spying on his girlfriend, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a pyrotechnic with the ability to start fires. He is a cigar chomping, beer loving beast who underneath all that red skin is a guy with a heart who’s looking for love.
“How am I ever going to get a girl,” Hellboy complains. “I drive around in a garbage truck,” in reference to the fact every time he and his agents are sent out-the red colored devil has to ride in a van to conceal his bizarre appearance.
I’ll admit Hellboy reminded me of other movies having to do with the paranormal. On one level, it is like The X-Files (1993-2002) where there is this underground top secret organization who investigate as Bloom says, “things that go bump in the night. We are the ones who bump back.” At one point early on, news clippings of front page stories are shown about some walking demon with a tail where the pictures are always blurry.
There is even an FBI Head of Special Operations (Jeffrey Tambor) who goes on national TV to debunk such rumors of a walking demon running around New York comparing the appearances to how pictures of UFOs are always blurry.
“God knows, people manage to get good pictures at a wedding,” he says.
On another level, beings like Hellboy, Liz, and in particular Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), some sort of scholarly alien looking man fish who was born the day President Lincoln was assassinated and has the ability to read minds, are like a twisted version of the X-Men. Society would never accept them for their looks or powers.
If the film has any shortcomings, I found it to be with the confusing plot involving the Nazi villains led by Rasputin (Karel Roden) who wants to bring about the end of the world going through the same time portal that Hellboy came from. I didn’t care so much about the forces of darkness as I did for the big red colored muscle bound devil, his fire spawning girlfriend, and the talking green fish who might just be a direct descendant from the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).
Hellboy is a movie with an originally clever idea (demon from Hell fights on the side of good) with an exceptionally memorable hero who just wants to be like the rest of us. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a sequel, if Hellboy comes out of hiding just to set the record straight with those comic artists who’ve been cashing in on his name for years and who he says have never drawn his eyes correctly.
©4/7/04
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