Hellboy

When you are watching a comic book movie you have to take certain things for granted. The superpowers, strange villains, things like that. They are there in a non-existing world; saying they are implausible is true but not relevant. What a comic book movie needs is a nice story that is set in its own world (although real existing places can be there too), an entertaining superhero played by an actor who is able to really create the character, spectacular visual effects that fit the action but most of all it needs to breath the right mood. 'Spider-Man 2' did a perfect job, 'X2', 'Blade II' and now 'Hellboy' come very close. The difference is that 'Hellboy' is the first from what will probably become a series.

The superhero in 'Hellboy' is, of course, Hellboy (Ron Perlman). How he arrives on earth has something to do with Nazis, around 1944, which we see in the first ten minutes of the movie. Let us say he is just here, present day, on the good side, with a professor named Bruttenholm (John Hurt) as his father figure; he was there when Hellboy came from hell. The villains are the same Nazis, you learn why they are still alive, and a lot of monsters they have created. We also meet a love interest for Hellboy named Liz (Selma Blair) and his new partner, Agent Myers (Rupert Evans).

So Hellboy will fight the Nazis and the monsters, but there is more. His father figure is close to death and the love interest, who sets on fire when she is excited, is not really interested. What makes this movie entertaining, besides the right mood we constantly feel, is the dry humor Ron Perlman brings to the character. Hellboy is supposed to be a secret for the outer world although rumors of his existence are there. When Agent Myers goes for a walk wit Liz Hellboy gets jealous and follows them over rooftops where he encounters a nine year old boy. The boy recognizes Hellboy and the scenes that follow the encounter are close to brilliant.

There are other very fine moments. At one point a character asks why photographs of UFO's, aliens or Hellboy are always blurry, not very sharp. We see the truth in this question although ironically in a comic book world the question is very out of place; Hellboy does exist. May be this is not the best comic book movie, but entertaining it is. Compare it to another 2004 movie like 'Spider-Man 2' this one seems flawed although we can see the same amount of fun the characters have. Compare it to the dark and brutal 2004 comic book movie 'The Punisher' and this one is terrific, feels like a comic book the entire time, has an interesting hero with humor. That everything around it is pretty silly we just have to take for granted.

Alright, so seeing as how I'm comment #430, I don't imagine that anyone is going to read my review, or that anyone will be encouraged to watch Hellboy because of anything that I'll say. There are others who have written short novels on IMDb about what a great movie this is, so there's no point in me doing more of the same.

Suffice it to say that this movie is beautifully shot, well acted (with the exception of the kid who plays the FBI agent) and directed by masterful Guillermo Del Toro with style and grace. It's not for everyone, and those who are fans of the comic will probably enjoy it more than your average moviegoer. But if you like movies like The Crow or Darkman, this one is right down your dark little alley.

I've been slowly making my way through Guillermo del Toro's catalogue of movies and this is my first time watching Hell Boy. If you're a Del Toro fan, then this one won't disappoint. He's such a superior director - he adds artistry to this action film through his use of shot making, pacing and colour. At times, the dialogue attempts to be a bit too cute and the love story adds little to the plot, but overall, it's a fun movie that doesn't try to overextend itself.

This movie is a fun watch, but mainly because of Ron Perlman. The action is well done and the story is great, but Perlman makes the character of Hellboy (a demon raised by "the good guys") just amazingly human, with a wry sense of humor. You would be hard pressed to find anyone anywhere who could do this character as well as Perlman, let alone better. The physicality seems to have been tailor made to fit Perlman's features and the delivery of the lines is just so understatedly comedic that there are few who could pull it off at all.

Of course, there are a couple times when the special effects are a little weaker than you would hope, but it doesn't detract from the movie as a whole. For instance, in the final battle scene, there are a couple shots where the Hellboy character clearly appears to be GC. But the fight moves so fast that you don't have much time to focus on those shots before something else amazing happens.

See it. Love it.

What a cracking little film this is, haven't seen it since the cinema in 04' and it's better now than then with some sensational effects. Great script with Ron doing a splendid job. I've never read comics as I don't like them, but I'd go so far as to say, apart from Batman, this is the best comic book to movie tie in ages... not cheesy, just the right amount of comedy in it and good solid acting. Music could've done with a alittle more inspriation, but this film looks great with some lovely lit scenes especially when hellboy is in the snow, he looks fanastic ;-)

Can't wait for the sequel Pug