Hellboy (2004)
Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffery Tambor, Karel Roden and John Hurt.
Written and Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Based upon the Dark Horse comic created by Mike Mignola
112 minutes.
Rated PG-13.
Comic book movies are usually hit or miss. Some capture the imagination of the film
audience while annoying the fans of the comic it was based on. Some are too literal of a translation;
others are not literal enough and make for a poor adaptation. There are two things you can always count on
from Hollywood these days, more sequels and more comic films.
Hellboy is one of the better comic based films around. I have not read the comic, and frankly had never heard of it before the film was released. But I can imagine that the comic plays more like a graphic novel, like The Crow. The film is about a scientist who works for the US Army during World War II. Evil Nazis and old Russian wizards open a portal to hell as a way to win the war. Before the portal is closed something crosses over into our world, hellboy. We then jump forward to the present day. Hellboy is part of a secret FBI team that fights evil spirits, demons, that sort of thing. Hellboy is rough, tough, and doesn’t like being told what to do. He’s also in love with Selma Blair.
The film has heavy religious themes throughout. Hellboy is in essence, a demon that learned to fight for the other side. There is much talk of good and evil spirits, how they became what they are, and what effect they have on society. This makes the film very dark. It’s a much darker than any other comic film I can remember, including The Crow.
The cast does a good job. The writing and direction of Del Toro are also well done. One gets the sense that Del Toro has a very active imagination, and it comes across on screen. The effects are very solid, making for some very exciting action sequences.
However, this isn’t going to be a film for everyone. I doubt it would make for good casual viewing. It’s dark, it’s at times gross, and it carries some very deep messages with it. Comic book films will be around as long as they continue to make money. All the big ones have already been done with sequels and everything else. What we’re left with are these smaller, less known comics. In some ways I think they make for better films, because the expectations aren’t as high. Hellboy was a fun film and for a comic based production, that’s a pretty good sign.
Grade: B-
Written by David Bohnert