Hellboy (2004)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

One of my favorite movies. Hellboy is one of the those movies I didn't truly appreciate when I first saw it. I first saw it on Cable TV in a hotel when I was a kid. As a kid I enjoyed it, but I didn't think of it as anything more than just action film. a good one, but as a kid, I never saw it as anymore. On re-watching it as an adult, I Find it may be one of my favorite films ever. Guillermo Del Toro, in tradition, turns Pulp into Poetry. Hellboy has some of his best defined characters.Hellboy is the reverse chosen one. Instead of the farm boy destined to prophecieded to save the world, He is told to destroy. But thanks to the nurturing of Professor Broom, He decides to fight for everything good and just.What keeps this entire dilemma engaging is Hellboy's constant attitude. He is a hero, and you root for him. But it's very visible that if the wrong thing happened, He could turn to the dark side.Anyone self conscious will relate to Hellboy, and for the record Hellboy and LIz is easily one of the best movie couples ever. This movie is fantastic.

Guillermo Del Toro's two Hellboy films are a wildly different pair, both incredible thrill rides and well worth anyone's time, but I think I will always prefer the first. With the second he took the Pan's Labyrinth approach, presenting a fairy tale world and showcasing makeup effects that were very similar to that film, an esoteric and elemental vibe. There's just something about the Lovecraftian, steam punk WWII aesthetic of the first that works better for me, and seems to fit our red pigmented protagonist a little more. These films would be nothing without the essential and hard won casting of Ron Perlman, though. He brings a lively vitality, hulking physicality (he fits the part even before the prosthetics go on) and lovable sarcasm, and when you see him in action there is really no other actor you could envision bringing this character to life. It's laughable to think that Del Toro fought the studio for years to get Ron in the role, turning down the likes of Vin Diesel and Nic Cage (what oh what were they thinking), not compromising for a second, knowing the film he wanted to make. Well, Ron got cast in the end, as we now know, and he's not so much playing Hellboy, he just is Hellboy, he's that perfect for the role. When he's backed up by Del Toro's near godlike creativity and imagination (the two partner on projects frequently and it's genius every time), you get a piece of comic book escapism as exciting and adventurous as this. Hellboy was the result of a nazi experiment gone wrong, in which certifiable nut job Grigori Rasputin (freaky deaky Karel Roden) and his minions open a portal to a dark universe, in attempt to summon forth anything that could turn the tides of war (not the brightest idea, if you ask me), and instead out crawls infant Hellboy, a cranky crimson imp with a big stone appendage and an attitude to match. Kindly professor Trevor Broom (John Hurt) raises the creature to be a force of good and protection for our world, and soon enough he grows into eight foot tall, wise ass, cigar chomping, asss kicking Ron Perlman, now a valuable and formidable asset to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, an order that strives to keep the darkness at bay. Joined by his on and off flame Liz Sherman (pun intended, as she's literally a firestarter), Professor Broom, rookie agent Meyers (Rupert Evans) and humanoid swamp thing Abraham Sapien (Doug Jones, dubbed out with David Hyde Pierce), he sets out to shield New York, the planet and the universe from Rasputin, who has returned with notions of finishing the cataclysmic work he started decades ago. The action is propulsive and rousing, initially in NYC streets and subway tunnels, and then in a far off arctic locale where a gateway to some dark dimension opens once more and a suspiciously Cthlhu esque deity of destruction peers out. Del Toro has stated before that he prefers to think of his work as 'eye protein' rather than eye candy. Well, call it what you will, his films are nothing short of dazzling on all levels, and Hellboy is no exception. There's visual splendour in every frame, from the painstaking costumes, makeup and props (Perlman has a great big gun for that great big hand), to the production design and seamless computer wizardry, the world we see on screen is immersive and entertaining for the entire journey. Roden makes a frothing madman out of Rasputin, always nailing the villain when he shows up, and stopping said show here with his theatrical and baroque insanity. My favourite has to be Kroenen though, a sharply dressed, mute nazi assassin with a face only a mother could love and a set of knives you'd be foolish to get in the way of. He's an inspired and truly creepy villain that sets the apocalyptic dial on the highest setting when he shows up. Jeffrey Tambor provides additional comic relief as the long suffering suit who serves as the face of PR for the bureau, and props to Brian Steele as Sammael, a seriously pisssed off demon set loose by Rasputin in the city streets, leading to one blockbuster of an action sequence. As far as comic book films go, this is a gold standard of filmmaking, world building and good old fashioned storytelling, all of which Del Toro is a master at. It wouldn't have been the same without him, without Perlman and especially without the magic that happens when they work together.

This movie sounds stupid on the outside, but its actually pretty good. The reason i say this movie sounds stupid is because read the plot. The son of the devil is raised to fight dark and mythical monsters that are hell bent on taking over the world. First the pros. So the makeup and special effects they have on these characters are astounding. Hellboy's even looks cool. The plot is actually kinda simple, but its simple entertainment. Simple entertainment doesn't neccesairly make a good movie, but it makes a pretty entertaining one. By the way if you love action in movies, then you are gonna like this film because it is totally action packed. But now the cons. So some of the characters aren't really engaging. Some of the characters i didn't care for because they don't really have much to do. So overall i really enjoyed Hellboy. It was entertaining, eye popping, and action packed fun. In my opinion, i say it represents a good example of a summer blockbuster.

Hellboy is a good movie with a well developed plot and a talented cast. It certainly stands out as being a much different superhero movie that what we are used to, it does not follow the same predictable elements, and Ron Perlman's stunning performance showcases a truly unique character. I felt the movie focused far too much on Rupert Evans, who really was the main character, the one who the audience follows and see how he reacts to the situation. His typical, cliché role gets very tiresome when there are so many interesting, bizarre characters, such as Hellboy himself, who we would have preferred follow. I also found Hellboy and Liz's relationship to be poorly developed, they talk about the great memories they have, but we do not get to see a whole of them together first hand, as a result of this I did not particularly care about them ending up with each other or separated. While it has its imperfections, Hellboy mostly makes up for it with a unique story and a dedicated performance from Ron Perlman, worth the watch if you are looking for a good action or fantasy film. A demon is raised by a secret US agency to battle forces of darkness. Best Performance: Ron Perlman Worst Performance: Rupert Evans