Hellboy

HB-054 [R289-10Ar].jpg (22996 bytes)

Hellboy 2004
Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt, Karel Roden and Doug Jones/David Hyde Pierce. Based on the comic book by: Mike Mignola Screen Story by: Guillermo del Toro and Peter Briggs Screenplay and Direction by: Guillermo del Toro.

Well, this was fun. Nothing like a good demon or two to brighten up a Sunday afternoon, and it did have its moments. God knows Perlman had some wonderfully funny lines, and the film is gonna make money. Like Raiders of the Lost Ark (81), Hellboy plays on Adolf Hitler's oft-discussed passion for mysticism and all things occult. The story's good, the cast is good, and the direction definitely doesn't suck.

But you know? I didn't bring anything special out of that theatre with me. A couple of yuks over well-remembered lines delivered with Perlman's devil may care [no pun intended] attitude and some kick-ass SPFX, but other than that.... nothing. It looked good, it did deliver, but this one is a piece based on the love of a comic book hero. And the hero, in that vast body suit [Gad! Ron, that must have a been a bitch to deal with every day! Cool tail though.] isn't all that sympathetic. I'll take Mel Gibson's tortured hero in Lethal Weapon (87) any day over this.

I also have a problem with the demon gods and their lesser fellows. Apart from Sammael (Brian Steele) and his ..siblings...they all look alike. Long squiggly things and the big guy when he finally appears is nothing much more than a giant octopus. The first one or two encounters are cool but then it's done. I like a bit of variety in my demons. It makes for more exciting fight scenes rather than the same thing over and over again.

David Hyde Pierce's dialogue delivery for Abe Sapien (the body is played by Doug Jones) is one of the highlights of the film for me. I'm quite fond of wiseass lagoon creatures and Abe is just that. He's also sensitive and most tender toward his buddies there at the FBI. This is definitely a role for Kevin G. Shinnick, a NYC actor whom I've known for a long time. I'm always casting him in something. A word for John Hurt whom I have enjoyed for so many years now. It's always good to see him on the screen and as Professor Broom he delivers with his usual alacrity.

Part of my problem with comic book heroes on screen is that I've yet to see anything as exhilarating as Superman (78) starring Christopher Reeve (and directed by the very same Richard Donner of Lethal Weapon fame). Well... I'll accept the possibility that I'm old-fashioned, but continue to say that until you can come up to the level of Donner's comic book vision of 1978 I am gonna grouse about it. [Jessie’s Theatre Viewing Rule #3: Always have a good film waiting at home. That way, after you sit through something dissatisfying you can get your movie rocks off properly.]

HB-121 [R110-10R].jpg (47537 bytes)
An obvious Democrat, Hellboy
(Perlman) becomes annoyed
with an SUV.

HB-239 [R245-08A].jpg (24852 bytes)
Doug Jones and David Hyde Pierce (Abe Sapien) perform with John Hurt
in a touching scene from Hellboy.

That said I do want you to go see it as the concept of Hellboy is a real kick and it's a good-looking film. A high-end B film [with an A film budget] Hellboy is worth your time. You'll laugh as a lot as the dialogue is good, just don't expect any Academy Awards here. But get the DVD when it's available, as a legacy for those kids you haven't had yet. They'll thank you for it in the end.

—Jessie Lilley