Hellboy

Posted by Greg

November 11, 2007

Hell Yeah

**** out of *****

Years ago, when Guillermo del Toro (Devil’s Backbone, Blade II) wanted to make a film version of Mike Mignola’s cult comic book Hellboy, no one would give him a chance. Comic book adaptations had peaked with Superman II, they said. His plans were further derailed when Joel Schumacher ruined Tim Burton’s genre-defining Batman movies with two ghastly sequels. Then Brian Singer came along and made a comic book movie that was smart and sleek and kicked some major ass, and the race to find the next X-Men was on. There was still a small problem though - most people had never even heard of Hellboy, much less read any of the comics. But with the release of del Toro’s stylish and faithful adaptation, hopefully it won’t stay that way.

Hellboy is a strange enough idea for a comic, let alone a big-budget movie. During WWII, the Nazis are trying to use black magic to summon an otherworldly force to ensure that their enemies will be wiped from the face of the Earth. When their project is attacked at the critical moment by a team of American soldiers, their plans are ruined, but not before something makes it through the portal they opened up - a tiny, red, horned baby demon. Adopted by the brilliant paranormal investigator Trevor Broom (John Hurt) and given the name Hellboy, he’s raised as a force of good rather than evil.

Fast forward 60 or so years. Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is now an agent of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a secret arm of the American government. As Dr. Broom puts it, “There are things that go bump in the night. And we are the ones who bump back.” When a situation comes up that requires the unique skills of the BPRD, the enormous Hellboy, with his giant gun, right arm made of solid rock and disposition of Oscar the Grouch, is the first guy into the storm. When dealing with otherworldly menaces, the shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later approach is apparently the way to go.

When the menace that first created Hellboy returns to finish the work they started so many years earlier, it’s up to the demon in question to save the day. With the help of pyrokinetic Liz (Selma Blair), the object of his unrequited love, hyper-intelligent icthysapien Abe and FBI agent John Myers (Rupert Evans), Hellboy follows a trail of clues that will hopefully lead him to destroy the evil force that created him before they have a chance to unleash hell on Earth.

If you think that it sounds like a strange and eccentric movie, you’re right, and it certainly doesn’t fit into the normal definition of a comic book film (that being big-budget, wide appeal, family friendly marketing opportunities). Indeed, several times during the movie I found myself thinking, “Okaaay, that’s a far-out idea,” - and this is while watching a flick about a 7-foot tall, cigar-chomping demon with an attitude.

However, del Toro handles the proceedings with a cool hand and clear vision that stays very true to the comic, studio suits be damned. Despite what I said about the movie being pretty unusual, it does have moments that truly belong on a big screen in front of an audience. Some amazing and entertaining action scenes are interspersed throughout, and the computer animation is flawlessly done. Especially of note is the amazing prosthetic/cgi work on Abe and the very threatening looking Sammael, the dog-beast from hell that makes the demon dogs in Ghostbusters look like fuzzy kittens.

Ron Perlman is tremendous in the title role, which might just be the best casting decision since an obscure actor named Peter O’Toole was picked to play Lawrence of Arabia. A pretty lofty claim, sure, but once you see the humor, bad ass-ness and plain entertainment value that Perlman brings to the role, you might agree with me - quite a feat considering that he’s completely covered in bright red paint and rubber prosthetics for the entire movie. I’ve also got to mention Kroenen, the leader of the evil pack. For a character to be this creepy and not utter a single word for the whole movie is an impressive achievement.

I’ve said a lot of good things about Hellboy so far, but you might have noticed that they all pretty much relate to the film’s visuals and cast. The script is kind of weak and lost me several times, with characters following obscure clues that make no sense to the audience. It’s also established that the bad guys are truly grim and freaky, but remind me again exactly why it is that they want to end the world 60 years after their primary threat disappeared? Their motivations aren’t given much thought.

But despite all that, Hellboy certainly entertains. Hats off to del Toro who fought off the studios legendary and standard requests to give any slightly off-kilter movie a wider appeal (they wanted Hellboy to be human who changes into a demon when he gets mad; and who can forget when they requested that Superman fight a polar bear in the upcoming remake?).

It’s not a movie for all tastes and certainly not one that can be easily categorized, as it plumbs the extremes of different genres - action/sci-fi/comedy/fantasy/etc. Part Men in Black, Exorcist, X-Men and X-Files, it’s nonetheless a solid piece of entertainment that brings together a fine cast for a movie that should give the burgeoning comic book genre another boost of credibility.

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